Greenland sharks live in the Arctic Ocean.
This kind of shark swims slow. It doesn’t see well. And it lives a long, long time.
Greenland sharks live in very cold water. The oldest one found may have been 400 years old. Hello, grandma shark!
©Nick Caloyianis (shark); Jim McMahon/Mapman® (map)
Lexiles: 390L
Guided Reading Levels: H
Featured Skill:
Key Details,
Topic:
Science,
Common Core Standards
TEKS Standards
About the Article
English Language Arts Focus
Key details, Labels
Science Focus
Animal behaviors
Step-by-Step Lesson Plan
Essential Question
The essential question of this issue is What happens in cold places? The articles below connect to this theme.
- Picture This: “Grandma Shark,” p. 2
- Background Builder: “The Coldest Place,” p. 8
- Big Read-Aloud: “Escape From the Ice,” p. 10
- Mini History: “The True Story of Popsicles,” p. 30
- Poetry: “Snow Mail,” p. 32
Through the above genres, students will discuss:
- Have you ever been to a cold place?
- What do people need to survive in the cold?
- What are snow and ice like?
- What happens in cold places?
IMPLEMENTATION SUGGESTIONS
Whole Class
- Our Picture This! feature provides an amazing photo, labels for children to read and understand, and knowledge- building facts. Read “Making Funny Faces” as a whole class. Have a discussion about getting information from pictures and the nonfiction feature: labels.
Writing Block
- After reading and discussing the article, you can return to it later for your writing block. Have children label a Greenland shark using our skills page or their own drawings.
1. BEFORE READING
Show a Video (7-10 minutes)
- Watch the anchor video “Get Close to Sharks” to activate background knowledge and vocabulary. How is the Greenland shark similar to or different from other sharks?
Show a Video (7-10 minutes)
Preview Visuals/Text Features (7-10 minutes)
- Take a close look at the photo. Ask children to share what they notice. What does the map tell us? Help them see that we get information from pictures as well as text.
- Let children know that labels point to parts of the picture and tell us more about it. Have children find a label and follow the arrow with their fingers. Model reading a label.
2. READ THE MINI ARTICLE (15-30 MINUTES)
- Gauge the readability of this text for your class. Students can whisper read, you can read aloud, or you can invite individual students to read portions of the text.
- Now have a discussion about what they learned about the shark from both the picture and the words in the article.
3. AFTER READING: FOCUS ON SKILLS (10 MINUTES)
Writing Focus: Key Details/Labeling (15 minutes)
- Have children label and color their own shark with the Label a Grandma Shark skills page.
ELA Focus: Key Details/Labeling (15 minutes)
- This version of the Label a Grandma Shark page will allow you to give the same content at a lower skill level.
Text-to-Speech