Subjects
Subject(s)
Arts & Humanities
--Language Arts
Educational Technology
Science
--Life Sciences
----Animals
Social Studies
--Current Events
Grades
Grades 2-up
News Content
In recent weeks, a handful of zoos have witnessed the births of baby animals.
Anticipation Guide
Write the following animal names in a list on a board or chart: walrus, anteater, panda, zebra, chimpanzee, and crocodile. Everyone knows that a baby cat is called a kitten but, before reading this weeks News for Kids article, you might ask students to identify the names of any of these animals babies. Write students responses next to the animal names.
News Words
Next, introduce these words that appear in the News Word Box on the students printable page: debut, aquarium, captivity, separated, accident, and public. Discuss the meanings of any of those words that might be unfamiliar. Then ask students to use one of those words to complete each of these sentences:
Read the News
Click for a printable version of this weeks news story Baby Animals Debut at Zoos.
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More Facts to Share
You might share these additional facts with students after they have read this weeks news story.
Comprehension Check
Revisit the Anticipation Guide at the top of this lesson; ask students to check their list of animal baby names against the names used in the article. The correct baby names are calf (walrus), pup (anteater), cub (panda), foal (zebra), infant (chimp), and crocklet (crocodile).
You might follow-up that activity by asking some of these questions:
Recalling Detail
Think About the News
After considering this weeks Think About the News question on the students printable page, what name did your students give the baby walrus? After your students share their name for the walrus, you might provide this information about the name given to the walrus born at the New York Aquarium:
A contest was held to help name the baby walrus. Four names were posted online, and people around the world were invited to vote. The four name choices were all Yupik words; Yupik is an Eskimo language spoken in western Alaska, where the babys parents are from. The names were Utvak (which means ice cube), Ukiivak (king island), Utumek (earth), and Akituusaq (gift given in return). The babys name was revealed on the TODAY Show on October 12. The babys name is Akituusaq, (pronounced AHKEE-too-sack.) The mother walruss name is Kulusiq, or Kulu for short.
Follow-Up Activities
Sequencing and timelines. The San Diego Zoo offers news releases that provide excellent material, including pictures, for creating a timeline. Create a timeline of the baby pandas life from the time zookeepers learned that Bai Yun was expecting to the latest release. Update your timeline as new releases are issued. So far, the headlines (and dates) on your timeline might match these headlines of the zoos releases:
Science and baby animals. A baby walrus is a calf. A baby panda is a cub. Do you know what other animal babies are called? If you teach younger students, you might quiz students to see if they know the correct names for some of the animal babies listed below. If you teach older students, you might let them loose in the library on a scavenger hunt for some baby names. How many can they find?
Animal Baby Names
Animal | Baby Name |
---|---|
alligator | hatchling |
armadillo | pup |
bat | pup |
beaver | pup or kitten |
camel | calf |
cheetah | cub |
coyote | pup or whelp |
deer | fawn |
eagle | fledgling or eaglet |
elephant | calf |
ferret | kit |
gerbil | pup |
giraffe | calf |
goat | kid |
horse | foal, colt (male), filly (female) |
kangaroo | joey |
lion | cub |
monkey | infant |
raccoon | cub |
seal | pup |
skunk | kit |
turkey | poult |
turtle | hatchling |
zebra | colt or foal |
Geography. Have students point out on a U.S. map the locations of the six zoos mentioned in this weeks News for Kids article. Those locations are New York City; Washington, D.C.; San Diego, California; Denver (Colorado); Kansas City (Missouri); and Chicago, Illinois.
Assessment
Use the Comprehension Check (above) as an assessment. Or have students work on their own (in their journals) or in their small groups to respond to the Think About the News questions on the news story page or in the Comprehension Check section.
Lesson Plan Source
Education WorldNational Standards
LANGUAGE ARTS: English
GRADES K - 12
NL-ENG.K-12.1 Reading for Perspective
NL-ENG.K-12.2 Reading for Understanding
NL-ENG.K-12.8 Developing Research Skills
NL-ENG.K-12.9 Multicultural Understanding
NL-ENG.K-12.12 Applying Language Skills
LANGUAGE ARTS: Foreign Language
GRADES K - 12
NL-FL.K-12.2 Cultures
MATHEMATICS: Representation
GRADES Pre-K - 12
NM-REP.PK-12.3 Use Representations (Timelines) to Model and Interpret Physical, Social, and Mathematical Phenomena
SCIENCE
GRADES K - 4
NS.K-4.3 Life Science
GRADES 5 - 8
NS.5-8.3 Life Science
GRADES 9 - 12
NS.9-12.3 Life Science
SOCIAL SCIENCES: Geography
GRADES K - 12
NSS-G.K-12.1 The World in Spatial Terms
See recent news stories in Education Worlds News Story of the Week Archive.
Article by Ellen Delisio
Education World®
Copyright © 2007 Education World
10/17/2007