Grade 1: Unit 2- Our Environment: Lesson 5 REMIX
Grade 1: Our Environment- Lesson 5
Lesson Focus
How do I harm the environment?
Lesson Overview
This lesson focuses on how humans can affect the environment in both positive and negative ways. It gives students an opportunity to explore how the environment can be harmed by humans. Students will listen to The Lorax and answer text dependent questions.
Teacher Planning and Preparation
The teacher should pre-read the text to familiarize themselves with the language used by the author.
The teacher will need to predetermine vocabulary that may need to be taught to students ahead of time that may enhance their understanding of the text. See lesson plan for suggested words to introduce.
Determine the most effective way to read the text to your students. If using multimedia, find the text and have it ready. If you use the technology option, you will need to create a teacher Playposit account. You can show the video through your account. Note that students would need to create their own account to access the video on their own. Use this link to create a free account.
The following websites provide alternate strategies and information for differentiation of lesson:
Apply appropriate elements of UDL
English Language Learners
Understanding What Students Can Do
Gifted Children
National Association for Gifted Children
Consider the need for Accessible Instructional Materials (AIM) when selecting texts, and captioned/described video when selecting video or other media for this lesson.
Special Education and 504 LD Online
The Educators Guide to Learning Disabilities and ADHD
Essential Questions
- What is an environment?
- How do we harm the environment?
- How do we help the environment?
- How can we save the Earth?
- How can we share our knowledge about the environment?
- What role do I play in the environment?
Unit Standards Applicable to this Lesson
Reading: Literature
- RL.1.1 Ask and answer questions about key details in a text.
- RL.1.3 Describe characters, settings, and major events in a story, using key details.
- L.1.4 Determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and multiple-meaning words and phrases based on grade 1 reading and content, choosing flexibly from an array of strategies.
Speaking & Listening
- SL.1.1 Participate in collaborative conversations with diverse partners about grade 1 topics and texts with peers and adults in small and larger groups.
- SL.1.2 Ask and answer questions about key details in a text read aloud or information presented orally or through other media.
Student Outcomes
- Students will listen and observe closely during a read aloud to answer text dependent questions.
- Students will describe changes in the story setting.
Materials
- Copy of the The Lorax by Dr. Seuss
- Teacher generated text dependent questions
- Student journals or writing paper one per student
- Environment Graphic Organizer one per student
- Copy of help/harm text organizer (or anchor chart for whole group)
Pre-assessment
Review the definition of the word environment with the students and have them discuss different environments that they have learned about in class so far. Display two images of the world on different sides of the room. One image should show the planet as healthy, green and full of life. Locate another image that shows the Earth as polluted, gray, full of buildings and smog, and limited life. Ask students which environment they would like to live in. Have students get up and move to the side of the room that matches their response. Once students have moved, ask them to explain their choice using evidence from the pictures. Come together as a whole class and continue to the discussion. Ask some of the following questions:
- Which image shows a healthy Earth?
- Which image shows an Earth that has been harmed? How do you know?
- How do you think the Earth was harmed?
- Is there a way we could help the Earth?
Lesson Procedure
Display the book The Lorax by Dr. Seuss. Have students identify the parts of the book, paying particular attention to the illustrations on the cover. Discuss with the students the environment shown on the cover. Have them describe the environment based on the cover. Ask students to brainstorm possible ways this type of environment can be harmed. (This idea can be used if students are not familiar with the book.)
Students will use context clues to determine meanings of vocabulary words. Find the sentence in the text and present the sentence to students either on the board, Smart Board, or sentence strips. Students will use the context of the sentence to figure out the meaning of the word.
Words selected should be words that if not introduced would impede comprehension of text.
- Smog– a mixture of smoke , fog and chemical fumes
- Dank– unpleasantly moist or wet
- Glorious– Having great beauty or splendor
- Nuisance– an annoying or troublesome person, thing, or way of doing something
- Grim– causing fear or alarm
- Heisted– to raise or become raised into position
The teacher will read The Lorax aloud to the students. As the story is being read, the students will listen closely to respond to text dependent questions. This text can be shown in other forms of media. (Video, short clips, etc.)
Technology Option- Use Playposit to create an interactive video of the text. The video will pause at predetermined points to ask text-dependent questions. This should be done whole class, as students can view through your account and do not need to create their own account. Refer to the sample “bulb” created for you by clicking on this link.
Sample text dependent questions:
- What words does the author use to describe the environment? This question can be asked after reading the page that starts off "Way back in the days…"
- Is the Once-ler actually causing harm by cutting down the trees? What details did the author use to help you know?
- How is the environment changing? Is it changing in a positive way or a negative way? How does the Once-ler feel about these changes? How does the Lorax feel about these changes?
Stop at various points during the read aloud to allow the students to "stop and jot" down how the environment is being harmed on their graphic organizer. Students can do this using words or pictures. The stop and jot strategy allows students to evaluate their understanding of the text as they are listening. The teacher stops the reading and allows the students a few seconds to reflect quickly on text events.
The following prompt can be used with the students: "What harm was done to the …?" Students will be analyzing harm done to the air, land, and water environments in the story.
After the read aloud is complete, ask students “What impact did the Once-ler have on the environment? Did he harm or help the environment? How do you know?” Refer to the text to provide evidence to support your responses. (Before and after pictures can shown using a document camera or from the video.)
Fill out the organizer using examples from The Lorax of how humans harm or help the environment. Note: Students will be adding to this organizer as they read additional texts. You may also want to create just one class chart together to add to throughout the unit.
Lesson Extension
- Write a friendly letter to the Once-Ler explaining something that he could do/change to help the environment.
- Discuss the following statement from the story: The Once-ler says, "Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It's not."Guide students to discuss what the Once-ler means. Refer back to the text to help student generate ideas. Have students record their ideas in their student journal.
- Grammar Mini Lesson:
- Explain that a pronoun is a word that takes the place of a noun.
- Teacher will show students pronoun sentence strips. Students will identify the pronouns in each sentence.
- Teacher will give students a page from the story and have them work with a partner to highlight pronouns found on the page.
- Teacher will model how to write a complete sentence using a pronoun correctly.
- Students will use their ideas from their journals to write an explanatory piece about what the Once-ler means. Students' writing should contain complete sentences using pronouns correctly.
Lesson Closure
Link the lesson to the focus question: How do I harm the environment? Use an exit slip and have students write about one way they learned the environment can be harmed.
Assessment
Teacher observation of the following:
- participation in class discussions
- contributions to class charts
- quality responses to questions
- participation in cooperative learning activities
- Student responses in writing journals and graphic organizers