Download Our Changing Earth

Our Changing Earth
Lesson Objectives
Our Changing Earth can be used in a shared
reading context to introduce and reinforce the
following skill:
S using specialized vocabulary.
Learning Outcomes
Students will be able to:
• use several methods to find the meanings of
specialized words;
• use what they already know to make analogies
and extend their understanding of a text.
Features of the Text
• Explanation that tells how and why
• Specialized vocabulary – core, mantle, crust
• Use of simile
• Cause and effect
• Photograph and diagrams
Connections
This extract was taken from the Orbit Chapter
Book Our Changing Earth. Orbit Chapter Books at
this level that provide opportunities to explore
specialized language and a glossary include
Hawaiian Magic, News Flash!, Our Changing Earth,
Asli’s Story, Finding Your Way, and Remembering the
Big Quake.
Those students who are interested in natural
phenomena and their effects may enjoy Hawaiian
Magic and Remembering the Big Quake as well as
the fiction Orbit Chapter Book The Scary Day.
The Shared Reading Lesson
Introducing the topic
Explain to the students that the shared reading
poster they are about to read is about natural
phenomena that change Earth’s surface. Find out
what they already know about this by asking:
– What is a natural phenomenon?
– What natural phenomena do you know about that can
change the surface of Earth?
– What are some of the specialized words that are used
to describe these features or events?
Record the students’ responses on chart paper. Tell
them that during the shared reading lesson, they
will learn more about the vocabulary associated with
natural phenomena.
Sharing the text
Show the students the shared reading poster Our
Changing Earth. Read the first paragraph aloud, then
check the students’ understanding by asking
questions, such as:
– What are some of the ways that Earth can change?
– Where do these changes often start?
– Is Earth solid right through? Which part of the text
tells you?
Look at the specialized words you recorded on chart
paper.
– Are there more specialized words in the first paragraph
that we can add to this list? (valleys, mountains,
glaciers, volcanoes, etc.)
Read and point out the features of the first labeled
diagram.
– What do you notice about the way these labels have
been set out? (bold type, colon, definition)
Explain to the students that this is a kind of
glossary.
– What other meanings do you know for these words?
(core of an apple, crust of bread)
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– How could you have used this knowledge to work out
their meanings if they had not been defined?
– Mantle also means a cloak or warm wrap. Can you
see any similarities between this meaning and the
way it is used here?
Explain that sometimes specialized words have a
more everyday meaning. We can use the meaning
that we are familiar with to help us understand the
specialized usage. This is called making an
analogy.
Read and discuss the second labeled diagram,
adding new specialized words to the chart. Read
the rest of the poster aloud.
Ask the students to explain in their own words
how volcanoes form.
– What is magma?
– How can we work out the meaning of the word from
the information in this poster? (Look at the definition
for mantle in the first diagram.)
– What is lava?
– Why do you think lava is called magma when it’s
inside a volcano and lava when it bursts out?
– How could we find the answer to this question? (ask
a scientist, use reference books, search on the
Internet)
Ask some of the students to look up lava and
magma in a dictionary. Compare the definitions
they find and discuss when the two words are
used.
– Can you find the simile in the text that describes how
lava moves?
Point out that sometimes difficult words are
explained by making comparisons to something
we are familiar with. For example, the red-hot
rock in Earth’s mantle is described as being
“runny like molasses.” This is another kind of
analogy. It compares something unfamiliar
(magma/lava) with something familiar (molasses)
to help the reader get a better understanding.
– To review our learning, what are some of the ways we
can work out the meaning of specialized vocabulary?
(context, analogy, glossary, dictionary, Internet, ask a
specialist)
Using the graphic organizer
Show the students the graphic organizer Specialized
Vocabulary. Explain that you are going to use it to
examine some of the ways that the students can
work out the meanings of unfamiliar words.
Write “core” in the first column on the graphic
organizer. Ask the students to help you complete
the remaining columns, referring back to the earlier
discussion.
Select words from the list of specialized vocabulary
that you made earlier and work through the same
process to complete the graphic organizer. Note that
not all of the words will generate entries for all of
the columns.
Conclude the lesson by rereading the shared reading
poster aloud.
Following Up
Over several days, use the graphic organizer to
analyze the specialized vocabulary in other
nonfiction texts to ensure that your students are able
to use more than one method to find the meaning of
an unfamiliar word. You could extend their learning
by studying other aspects of words such as
derivations, prefixes, and suffixes. The results of
these studies could be displayed as wall charts for
reference.
The students can:
• use individual copies of the graphic organizer to
list and analyze the specialized vocabulary that
they find in other nonfiction texts.
• challenge each other to a word quiz. They could
make a list of specialized words and challenge a
partner to work out their meanings without
using a dictionary. The dictionary can be used to
confirm the definitions at the end of the quiz.
• research how to be ready for an earthquake and
make an earthquake safety poster.
• research a natural disaster and present their
findings to the class.
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