Infusion of Literacy into the Science Curriculum
Book Information:
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The Watcher
Jeanette Winter
Schwartz & Wade
2011
9780756942649
Economical art and language produce a fully fleshed-out
biography of Jane Goodall, tracing her early years as a
watcher of English fauna to her adult work as scholar of
animal behavior in Africa. Winter’s deliberate illustrations, as
rich, complex and unaffected as all great folk art, complement
equally engaging, unadorned text. Initial illustrations break
through square inset panels, encouraging readers to look,
pause and think about how Jane also broke out of boxy
boundaries. When Jane finally reaches Tanzania, revelatory
double-page spreads invigorate readers with their dense
lushness and panoramic views. Myriad trees dot hillsides;
countless stars congest the sky. Green mountains and
bustling canopies run off the page, and chimps scamper
across the book’s gutter. While crowded with shapes, color
and activity, Winter’s illustrations calm the eye with their
compositional integrity and cool palette. This gorgeous,
accessible biography allows young readers to absorb the
significance of Jane’s tireless research, her groundbreaking
discoveries and important work protecting Africa’s land and
animals. Quotes from Jane augment this inspiring book,
encouraging young people to join her as dutiful watchers of
the world
Arlington Central Library; Amazon for purchase
How can the book content be infused into the science curriculum?
Grade Level
Strands
Kindergarten
K-3
Scientific Investigation, Reasoning and Logic, Life
Processes, Living Systems, Earth Patterns, Cycles and
Change, Interrelationships in Earth/Space Systems
K.7
Life Processes
The student will investigate and understand basic needs and life
processes of plants and animals. Key concepts include
a) animals need adequate food, water, shelter, air, and space
to survive;
b) plants need nutrients, water, air, light, and a place to grow
to survive;
c) plants and animals change as they grow, have varied life
cycles, and eventually die; and
d) offspring of plants and animals are similar but not identical
to their parents or to one another.
Earth Patterns, Cycles, and Change
K.9
The student will investigate and understand that
there are simple repeating patterns in his/her daily life. Key
concepts include
c) animal and plant growth.
Grade 1
Scientific Investigation, Reasoning, and Logic
1.1
The student will demonstrate an understanding of
scientific reasoning, logic, and the nature of science
by planning and conducting investigations in which
c) objects or events are classified and arranged
according to characteristics or properties;
f) inferences are made and conclusions are drawn
about familiar objects and events;
g) a question is developed from one or more
observations;
h) predictions are made based on patterns of
observations;
i) observations and data are recorded, analyzed,
and communicated orally and with simple graphs,
pictures, written statements, and numbers; and
Life Processes
1.5
The student will investigate and understand that
animals, including humans, have basic needs and
certain distinguishing characteristics. Key concepts
include
a) basic needs include adequate air, food, water,
shelter, and space (habitat);
b) animals, including humans, have many different
physical characteristics; and
c) animals can be classified according to a variety of
characteristics.
Earth Patterns, Cycles, and Change
1.7
Grade 2
The student will investigate and understand weather
and seasonal changes. Key concepts include
a) changes in temperature, light, and precipitation
affect plants and animals, including humans;
Life Processes
2.4
The student will investigate and understand that
plants and animals undergo a series of orderly changes as they
mature and grow. Key concepts include
a) animal life cycles;
Living Systems
2.5
The student will investigate and understand that
living things are part of a system. Key concepts include
a) living organisms are interdependent with their living and
nonliving surroundings;
b) an animal’s habitat includes adequate food, water, shelter or
cover, and space;
c) habitats change over time due to many influences; and
Earth Patterns, Cycles, and Change
Grade 3
2.7
The student will investigate and understand that
weather and seasonal changes affect plants, animals, and their
surroundings. Key concepts include
Scientific Investigation, Reasoning, and Logic
3.1
The student will demonstrate an understanding of
scientific reasoning, logic, and the nature of science by planning
and conducting investigations in which
a) observations are made and are repeated to ensure
accuracy;
b) predictions are formulated using a variety of sources of
information;
d) natural events are sequenced chronologically;
g) questions are developed to formulate hypotheses;
h) data are gathered, charted, graphed, and analyzed;
i) unexpected or unusual quantitative data are recognized;
j) inferences are made and conclusions are drawn;
k) data are communicated;
l) models are designed and built; and
m) current applications are used to reinforce science concepts.
Life Processes
3.4
The student will investigate and understand that
adaptations allow animals to satisfy life needs and respond to
the environment. Key concepts include
a) behavioral adaptations; and
b) physical adaptations.
Living Systems
3.5
The student will investigate and understand
relationships among organisms in aquatic and terrestrial food
chains. Key concepts include
a) producer, consumer, decomposer;
b) herbivore, carnivore, omnivore; and
c) predator and prey.
3.6
The student will investigate and understand that
ecosystems support a diversity of plants and animals that share
limited resources. Key concepts include
b) terrestrial ecosystems;
c) populations and communities; and
d) the human role in conserving limited resources.
Earth Patterns, Cycles, and Change
3.8
The student will investigate and understand basic
patterns and cycles occurring in nature. Key concepts include
b) animal life cycles; and
Earth Resources
3.10
The student will investigate and understand that
natural events and human influences can affect the survival of
species. Key concepts include
a) the interdependency of plants and animals;
Grade 4
Grade 5
Sample Activities:
Grade 1
See 2 attached worksheets.
Grade K
"What Does the Chimp Eat?"
Topic: The students will be learning about how the Chimpanzee acquires
energy and the resources it needs to do so. In this, they will also be
learning the difference between predator and prey, and plant eating, meat
eating, and all eating animals.
Rationale: It is important for the children to acknowledge the chimp as a
component in the food chain of life. They need to be able to make the
distinction between those that are weaker and those that are stronger and
relate it to the concept of survival. It is also important for the children to be
able to compare and contrast the diet of the chimp with that of their own in
order to recognize the strong similarity of human and ape.
Prior Knowledge: The students are aware of the Chimpanzee’s
environment. They know of the different plants and animals that reside in
this environment. Therefore, they might be able to predict what the chimp
eats and how it goes about getting it.
Objectives: The students will be able to recognize that all animals need
food for survival. They will be able to identify the foods of the chimp and
the processes in which the chimp endures to acquire them. The students
will be able to relate these processes to the processes of human beings.
They will be able to perceive the chimp as an intelligent and strategic
creature. The students will be able to differentiate from predator and prey.
The students will be able to categorize the chimpanzee as an omnivore.
Hook: I will ask the children, "Why do we need food?" I will emphasize the
word "energy". I will then ask, "What are some of the foods we eat?" "Do
you think a Chimpanzee eats the same foods as we do?" "What kind of
foods do you think they eat?" I will have them sing a song I wrote
explaining what chimps like to eat. See song. I will then make a formal list
consisting of fruits, berries, flowers, leaves, grass, bark, nuts, fig, insects
(termites), small pigs, and antelopes.
Lesson Narrative:
1. I will ask the children, "How are some of the ways we get food?" "Do
you think chimps get food the same way we do?" "How do you think
chimps might get food?" I will list the correct responses and tell
them that they spend much time in trees searching for food and just
like us, squeeze fruit to see if its rip enough to eat. I will tell them
they use rocks like hammers to break open nuts and pods. I will tell
them that they drink by cupping water in their hands from lakes and
rivers and by using leaves to scoop up rainwater in the holes of
trees. I will then read them an excerpt from The Watcher.
2. I will tell the children that the pig and the antelope are called the
chimp’s prey, or food. I will have them repeat the word prey. I will
then say, "When the chimp hunts these animals it is called a
predator, or hunter. I will have them repeat predator. I will say, "So,
here the chimp is the predator and the pig and antelope are the
prey. Do you think anything tries to eat the chimp?" I will introduce
the leopard. I will ask, "So when the leopard hunts the chimp, is the
chimp the predator or the prey?" I will tell them that now the lion is
the predator, or hunter, and the chimp now the prey, or food.
3. I will tell the children that there are three groups of eaters. Animals
that eat plants called, herbivores, animals that eat other animals
called, carnivores, and animals that eat both plants and animals
called, omnivores. I will write these down on the board with there
descriptions. I will then ask, "Which kind of eater do you think the
chimp is?" (Omnivore)
Closure: I will have the children draw a picture of the chimp and any other
animal that we discussed today. I will have them label the chimp the
predator or the prey according to the picture. I will also have them label the
other animal accordingly.
Individualization: Those who need assistance in spelling can copy down
the new words I put on the board and use them in a sentence. For the
drawing exercise, those at a higher level can choose to write more about
their picture, while others may just label their animals as "predator" and
"prey".
Materials: poster board, drawing paper
Imagination: The students will use their imagination as they think of the
way chimps get their food. They will imagine how the chimps attack their
prey and are attacked by predators. They will envision a scene as they
draw their predator and prey.
Education for Democracy: The students will be able to witness a
hierarchy of power within the tropical forest food chain. They will see how
the chimps share food in hopes that they are shared with in the future, just
as people. The students will need to cooperate and sing the song in unison
to make it powerful.