Nick Garbutt
Long fingers help it dig for bugs. Yum!
The aye-aye is awake at night. It has big yellow eyes. It has long fingers. But those things just help it get food.
Maybe it is not so creepy after all.
Thorsten Negro/imageBROKER/Blue Planet Archive
Do You Think I'm Creepy?
Do you think the aye-aye is creepy?
From the October/November 2023 Issue
Learning Objective: Students will practice gathering information from text about and images of an aye-aye.
Lexiles: 280L
Featured Skill:
Key Details,
Vocabulary: ears, eyes, fingers
Topic:
Science,
Common Core Standards
TEKS Standards
About the Article
English Language Arts Focus
Nonfiction text features: photographs & labels
Science Focus
Animal adaptations and behavior
Vocabulary
ears, eyes, fingers
Step-by-Step Lesson Plan
Implementation
Whole Group
Pairings and Text Connections
- From the Storyworks archive: “Picture This!: Rainbow Squirrel,” September 2022; “Picture This!: Grandma Shark,” December 2022/ January 2023
- Suggested books: Stellaluna by Janell Cannon; How to Lose a Lemur by Frann Preston-Gannon; One Day in the Eucalyptus, Eucalyptus Tree by Daniel Bernstrom and Brendan Wenzel
Before-Reading Resources
- Video: Truth About Creepy Creatures (7 minutes) Build background knowledge and excitement.
- Vocabulary Slideshow: (5 minutes) eyes, ears, fingers
Suggested Reading Focus
Information from text and images/Labels (20 minutes)
- Ask students to take a close look at the photo of the aye-aye. What do they notice about it? How would they describe it? Do they think it looks creepy?
- Have students point to the labels on the page. Remind them that labels tell us more about the picture.
- Read the mini article for more facts about the aye-aye. Then read the labels for more details.
- Discuss what students learned about the aye-aye from both the picture and the words in the article.
- Finally, take a poll: Do students think the aye-aye is creepy? Have them explain their reasons.
After-Reading Skills Practice
- Skills: Key details/labeling (15 minutes)
Extension Science Activity
Skills: Scientific observation (15 minutes)
- Look at a picture of a ring-tailed lemur and the picture of the aye-aye. Compare the two animals. What is the same? What is different?
Text-to-Speech