Rhapsody with Raptors:
Connecting Science with
Common Core ELA Standards
Deborah McMurtrie – DeborahMc@usca.edu
Gary Senn – SennG@usca.edu
Bridget Coleman – BridgetC@usca.edu
http://rpsec.usca.edu/Presentations/SCMSA2014/
• Programs for Teachers
• Programs for Pre-service Teachers
• Programs for Students
Rhapsody with Raptors
1. Raptor lesson: Structured note taking
2. Mystery Metaphor activity
3. Examine talons, wings, and feathers;
generate lists of “Bird Words”
4. Find examples of figurative language in
poetry and children’s literature
5. Compose a Cinquain poem
What is a Raptor?
A raptor is a bird.
A raptor is a carnivore.
A raptor is a predator.
A raptor seizes its prey with its talons.
Raptors are also called
BIRDS OF PREY.
Example: Owl, hawk, eagle, osprey
Owl
What does it look like?
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Large round eyes
Round, fluffy body
Concave facial disks
Fringed feathers
What can it do?
How does it do it?
• Keen sight & hearing • Silently
• Silent flight
• Stealthily
• Seize prey with talons
Hawk
What does it look like?
What can it do?
How does it do it?
• Supraorbital ridges
• Keen sight & hearing • Swiftly
• Sleek, aerodynamic body • Fast flight
• Powerfully
• Curved, hooked beak
• Seize prey with talons
Common Core ELA: K-12
Anchor Standards for Language
Vocabulary Acquisition and Use
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.CCRA.L.5
Demonstrate understanding of figurative
language, word relationships, and nuances
in word meanings.
Common Core ELA: Grade 5
Language Standards
Vocabulary Acquisition and Use
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.L.5.5
Figurative Language: Similes and Metaphors
Reading Standards: Literature
Craft and Structure
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.5.4
Figurative Language: Similes and Metaphors
Common Core ELA: Grade 6
Language Standards
Vocabulary Acquisition and Use
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.L.6.5- Figurative Language
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.L.6.5a- Personification
Reading Standards: Literature
Craft and Structure
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.6.4- Figurative Language
Common Core ELA: Grade 7
Language Standards
Vocabulary Acquisition and Use
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.L.7.5- Figurative language
Reading Standards: Literature
Craft and Structure
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.7.4- Alliteration
Figurative Language
Figurative language can be used to paint a
picture or to compare two things.
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Similes
Metaphors
Personification
Alliteration
Onomatopoeia
Similes
A simile is a figure of speech that
compares two unlike things that have a
shared quality. Similes use the words “like”
and “as.” Examples:
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She is as free as a bird.
It is as light as a feather.
He is as wise as an owl.
You eat like a bird.
She watched me like a hawk.
Metaphors
A metaphor is a figure of speech in which
there is an indirect or implied comparison
between two unlike things. The signal
words “as” or “like” are not used. Examples:
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He is a night owl.
She is an early bird.
Birds of a feather flock together.
A bird in the hand is worth two in a bush.
She is a graceful bird in flight.
Personification
Personification gives human
characteristics to objects, animals, or
ideas. Examples:
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The Barred Owl said, “Who cooks for you?”
The bird’s eyes danced in the moonlight.
Time stood still when the hawk detected the rat.
The branch groaned in protest.
The owl wore matching stripes.
Alliteration
Alliteration is a repetition of the first
consonant sounds in several consecutive
words. Examples:
• Wide-eyed and wondering, we watched the
winged warriors
• One outrageous, over-achieving oviparous owl
• Few flew fast as feathers flapped
• Ravenous raptors rapidly rip rats and
regurgitate
Onomatopoeia
Onomatopoeia is the use of words that
mimic sounds or sound like their meaning.
Examples include:
Flutter
Rustle
Woosh
Screech
Clatter
Whinny
Trill
Crunch
Rip
Retch
Swoop
Twitch
Raleigh the Barred Owl
Just the Facts
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An owl was hunting a mouse.
The bird was hit by a car.
The driver took it to a vet.
Its wing was broken.
Adding Imagery
• One night a Barred Owl spotted a tiny
mouse.
• He readied his talons and leaped from a
tree.
• The headlights of a car blinded him.
• He lay on the side of the road.
Adding Sensory Details
• Scanning the forest floor for movement, his
keen eyes spotted a tiny grey mouse.
• Ears twitching, the timid creature scurried out
from under a rock.
• Just before he pounced on his prize, he was
blinded by a blaze of harsh bright lights.
• The majestic bird appeared to be a lifeless
heap of battered feathers sprawled in the road.
A sliver of moonlight
barely illuminated the
November night sky.
The nocturnal predator
was perched on a
branch in the forest. He
was hungry. Two weeks
of heavy rain had
seriously curtailed his
hunting, and the nights
were getting colder. He
needed food.
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Scanning the forest floor for movement, his keen eyes spotted a
tiny grey mouse. A greasy fast food bag, tossed carelessly from
a car window, had attracted the mouse’s attention. Ears
twitching, the timid creature scurried out from under a rock.
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The Barred Owl saw an opportunity. Focused on his prey,
he readied his razor-sharp talons and silently leaped from
the branch of the old hickory tree.
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The owl was so
focused on catching his
next meal that he saw
nothing else. Just
before he pounced on
his prize, he was
blinded by a blaze of
harsh bright lights.
Tires squealed as the
driver slammed on the
brakes.
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The girl stopped the car and jumped out, horrified. The
majestic bird appeared to be a lifeless heap of battered
feathers sprawled in the road. His large eyes were
closed but he was breathing. He was clearly in shock.
The girl wrapped the trembling owl in a towel. She gently
lifted him up, placed him in the car, and drove to her
veterinarian’s office.
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The x-rays revealed that the Barred Owl’s left wing was
broken. “Owls, like all birds, have bones that are as
hollow as straws,” the vet said. “The hollow bones are
lightweight, which help them fly, but they are also quite
fragile.”
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The owl was gently placed in a pet carrier and transported
to the home of a raptor rehabilitator. A raptor rehabilitator
is a person who works with injured birds of prey, such as
hawks and owls. Their goal is to provide medical
treatment until the bird can be released back into the wild.
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Similes and Metaphors
Why is the Great Horned Owl called a “Tiger with Wings?”
Cliché
Clever
Poor as a church mouse,
Strong as an ox,
Cute as a button,
Smart as a fox.
Thin as a toothpick,
White as a ghost,
Fit as a fiddle,
Dumb as a post.
Bald as an eagle,
Neat as a pin,
Proud as a peacock,
Ugly as sin.
As poor as _______.
As strong as ______,
As cute as ______,
As smart as ______.
As thin as ______,
As white as ______,
As fit as ______
As dumb as ______.
As bald as ______,
As neat as ______,
As proud as ______,
As ugly as ______.
Unusual Comparisons
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How is a pencil like a railroad?
How is snow like an hourglass?
How is a soaring eagle like a light bulb?
How is a mirror like a book?
How are wildflowers like stars?
How is moonlight like jewelry?
How is a bird like a heart?
How is spring like death?
Mystery Metaphor/Simile Box
Select an object from the box. How could this
object represent what a raptor looks like, what
a raptor can do, or how the raptor can do it?
A ______________________
is like a _________________
because ________________.
Hands-On Bird Words
• Brainstorm a list of adjectives that describe
what the wings, talons, and feathers LOOK like
and FEEL like (such as shape, color, texture)
• Brainstorm a list of nouns that share physical
characteristics with raptors (such as plane,
knife, hook)
• Brainstorm a list of verbs related to raptors
(such as stalk, grasp, kill)
• Brainstorm a list of adverbs related to raptors
(such as fiercely, stealthily, powerfully)
Finding Figurative Language
Choose from:
•Poetry
•Children’s Literature
•Raleigh’s Story
Look for:
• Similes
• Metaphors
• Personification
• Alliteration
• Onomatopoeia
Children’s Literature
Owl Moon
by Jane Yolen
Adopted by an Owl by Robbyn
Smith van Frankenhuyzen
Poetry Analysis
The Eagle
By Alfred, Lord Tennyson (1851)
He clasps the crag with crooked hands;
Close to the sun in lonely lands,
Ring’d with the azure world, he stands.
The wrinkled sea beneath him crawls;
He watches from his mountain walls,
And like a thunderbolt he falls.
Figurative Language
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Simile- compares 2 things using like or as
Metaphor- indirectly compares 2 things
Alliteration- repeats first consonant sounds
Personification- gives human characteristics
Onomatopoeia- sounds mimic meanings
Compose a Cinquain
Line 1- One-word title
Line 2- Two adjectives
Line 3- Three word phrase
Line 4- Four descriptive words
Line 5- One word synonym for title
Cinquain Example
Owl
Enormous eyes
Hunts at night
Majestic wings, silent flight
Raptor