Poison Dart Frogs

							                                Poison Dart Frogs
                              Jennifer Owings Dewey

              Subject: Science                                   Grade Level: Third

Standards of Learning:
Science 3.4: The student will investigate and understand that behavioral and
physical adaptations allow animals to respond to life needs. Key concepts
include:
           methods of gathering and storing food, finding shelter, defending
             themselves, and rearing young; and
           hibernation, migration, camouflage, mimicry, instinct, and learned
             behavior.
English 3.5: The student will demonstrate comprehension of a variety of printed
materials. Key concepts include:
           ask and answer questions.
           use information to learn about new topics
           write about what is read
English 3.10: The student will record information from print and nonprint
resources.

Techniques:
Directed Reading Activity (DRA)

Strategies:
Asking questions
Apply background knowledge
Listing
Organizing Ideas
Gain important facts

Skills:
Vocabulary development
Comprehension
Word recognition
Use of graphic organizers
Outline
Locate specific information

General Objectives:
The student will:
1. Comprehend non-fiction text.
2. Infer meaning from written material.
3. Be able to outline important facts about poison dart frogs.

Specific Objectives:
The student will:
1. Make a KWL chart about Poison Dart Frogs.
2. Fill in the “What we Know” and “What we want to find out” parts of the chart.
3. Listen to Poison Dart Frogs.
4. Participate in a discussion about what they learned from the book and tell the
main points of the book.
5. Fill in the part of the KWL chart about “What was learned.”

Procedures for Teacher:
The teacher will:
Before Reading:
       1. Ask the students what they already know about poison dart frogs and
have them write it in the appropriate column on the KWL chart and then have
them fill in the column about what they want to know about poison dart frogs.
       2. Show the students some pictures of poison dart frogs from the book
and ask them to predict where they think poison dart frogs live and why they are
so poisonous.
       3. Ask the students to think about whether they would ever want to come
in contact with a poison dart frog, and see how many students change their
answer after they have had the story read to them.

During Reading:
      1. Read Poison Dart Frogs aloud to students. Stop about every 3-4 pages
and ask comprehension questions to make sure that every student is
comprehending the information and staying on task. While reading, write on the
chalkboard vocabulary words that you come across that the students do not
know the definitions of after you ask them.

After Reading:
Responding to the text:
       1. Go around the classroom and ask each student to tell you one thing
that they learned about poison dart frogs, and have them write it in the
appropriate column of the KWL chart. Have the students tell you if they would
ever want to come in contact with a poison dart frog and why or why not.

Exploring the text:
       2. The students will add the words that the teacher wrote on the board
while reading the text to the word wall. Students will write the definitions of these
words in their notebook.

Applying the text:
       3. The students will make a Fish Bone Graphic Organizer. They will put
the main idea (poison dart frogs) in a box at the top and then have supporting
ideas branch off of the main idea.
       4. Depending on the class you can decide how many supporting ideas the
students have to have.
Picture of Graphic Organizer:




Closing:
       The lesson will conclude by the teacher reviewing the new vocabulary
words that the students added to the word wall and wrote the definitions of in
their notebook. The teacher will go around the room and ask students to read
the definition that they wrote down for one of the words.

Evaluation:
      The teacher will observe the students as they make their graphic
organizers to make sure that the students understand what the supporting ideas
are. The teacher will also evaluate how well the students understood the book
when the teacher asks the students to share one thing that they learned after the
teacher finished reading the book.

Materials:
 Poison Dart Frogs, Jennifer Owings Dewey
 Index cards for the word wall
 Construction paper for graphic organizers
 Markers
 Chalk

Extension:
For homework, the students will write meaningful sentences using the vocabulary
words that they wrote definitions for. They will share them with the rest of the
class the following day.

Another activity that the students could do would be a mini-report. The students
could be assigned to write a one-page report on one of the different types of
poison dart frogs, they are listed in the book under their picture. The students
should include where their type of poison dart frog is found and what it looks like
and its habitat. The students could share these reports with the class; they could
also draw a picture of their poison dart frog.

Lesson plan written by:
Nicole Kretsos
Longwood College