Project GLAD
Jackson County School District #9
All About Owls
(2nd Grade)
IDEA PAGES
I. UNIT THEME
 Physical characteristics of owls aid in their survival
 Owl’s diet and nesting habits are dependent on its habitat
 Dangers to owls are both natural and human-made
 Cross Cultural Sensitivity: Owls impact on legends and folklore
II. FOCUS/MOTIVATION
 Cognitive Content Dictionary
 Inquiry Chart
 Literacy awards
 Read Aloud – Teacher Made Big Book
 Observation charts
 Realia
 Narrative Input Chart (My Little Book of Burrowing Owls – Hope Irvin Marston)
III. CLOSURE
 Process all charts and information
 Evaluate week
 Share Big Books and personal explorations
 Team exploration
 Portfolio
 On-going assessment of learning logs/journals
 Student-made tests
 Graffiti Wall
 Teacher-made tests
IV. CONCEPTS-- Grade 1/2
 Owls depend on their natural and harsh environments.
V. OREGON COMMON CORE STATE STANDARDS
English Language Arts
Reading
Foundational Skills
2.RF
Phonics and Word Recognition
2.RF.3 Know and apply grade-level phonics and word analysis skills in decoding words.
a. Distinguish long and short vowels when reading regularly spelled one-syllable words.
b. Know spelling-sound correspondences for additional common vowel teams.
c. Decode regularly spelled two-syllable words with long vowels.
d. Decode words with common prefixes and suffixes.
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e. Identify words with inconsistent but common spelling-sound correspondences.
f. Recognize and read grade-appropriate irregularly spelled words.
Fluency
2.RF.4 Read with sufficient accuracy and fluency to support comprehension.
a. Read grade-level text with purpose and understanding.
b. Read grade-level text orally with accuracy, appropriate rate, and expression on successive readings.
c. Use context to confirm or self-correct word recognition and understanding, rereading as necessary.
Literature
2.RL
Key Ideas and Details
2.RL.1 Ask and answer such questions as who, what, where, when, why, and how to demonstrate
understanding of key details in a text.
2.RL.2 Recount stories, including fables and folktales from diverse cultures, and determine their central
message, lesson, or moral.
2.RL.3 Describe how characters in a story respond to major events and challenges.
Craft and Structure
2.RL.4 Describe how words and phrases (e.g., regular beats, alliteration, rhymes, repeated lines) supply rhythm
and meaning in a story, poem, or song.
2.RL.5 Describe the overall structure of a story, including describing how the beginning introduces the story
and the ending concludes the action.
2.RL.6 Acknowledge differences in the points of view of characters, including by speaking in a different voice
for each character when reading dialogue aloud.
Integration of Knowledge and Ideas
2.RL.7 Use information gained from the illustrations and words in a print or digital text to demonstrate
understanding of its characters, setting, or plot.
Range of Reading and Level of Text Complexity
2.RL.10 By the end of the year, read and comprehend literature, including stories and poetry, in the grades 2–3
text complexity band proficiently, with scaffolding as needed at the high end of the range. c. Use context
to confirm or self-correct word recognition and understanding, rereading as necessary.
Informational Text
2.RI
Key Ideas and Details
2.RI.1 Ask and answer such questions as who, what, where, when, why, and how to demonstrate
understanding of key details in a text.
2.RI.2 Identify the main topic of a multi-paragraph text as well as the focus of specific paragraphs within
the text.
2.RI.3 Describe the connection between a series of historical events, scientific ideas or concepts, or steps in
technical procedures in a text.
Craft and Structure
2.RI.4 Determine the meaning of words and phrases in a text relevant to a grade 2 topic or subject area.
2.RI.5 Know and use various text features (e.g., captions, bold print, subheadings, glossaries, indexes,
electronic menus, icons) to locate key facts or information in a text efficiently.
2.RI.6 Identify the main purpose of a text, including what the author wants to answer, explain, or describe.
Integration of Knowledge and Ideas
2.RI.7 Explain how specific images (e.g., a diagram showing how a machine works) contribute to and clarify a
text.
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2.RI.8 Describe how reasons support specific points the author makes in a text.
2.RI.9 Compare and contrast the most important points presented by two texts on the same topic.
Range of Reading and Level of Text Complexity
2.RI.10 By the end of year, read and comprehend informational texts, including history/social studies, science,
and technical texts, in the grades 2–3 text complexity band proficiently, with scaffolding as needed at
the high end of the range.
Writing
2.W
Text Types and Purposes
2.W.1 Write opinion pieces in which they introduce the topic or book they are writing about, state an opinion,
supply reasons that support the opinion, use linking words (e.g., because, and, also) to connect opinion
and reasons, and provide a concluding statement or section.
2.W.2 Write informative/explanatory texts in which they introduce a topic, use facts and definitions to develop
points, and provide a concluding statement or section.
2.W.3 Write narratives in which they recount a well-elaborated event or short sequence of events, include
details to describe actions, thoughts, and feelings, use temporal words to signal event order, and
provide a sense of closure.
Production and Distribution of Writing
2.W.5 With guidance and support from adults and peers, focus on a topic and strengthen writing as needed by
revising and editing.
2.W.6 With guidance and support from adults, use a variety of digital tools to produce and publish writing,
including in collaboration with peers.
Research to Build and Present Knowledge
2.W.7 Participate in shared research and writing projects (e.g., read a number of books on a single topic to
produce a report; record science observations).
2.W.8 Recall information from experiences or gather information from provided sources to answer a question.
Language
2.L
Conventions of Standard English
2.L.1 Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English grammar and usage when writing or
speaking.
a. Use collective nouns (e.g., group).
b. Form and use frequently occurring irregular plural nouns (e.g., feet, children, teeth, mice, fish).
c. Use reflexive pronouns (e.g., myself, ourselves).
d. Form and use the past tense of frequently occurring irregular verbs (e.g., sat, hid, told).
e. Use adjectives and adverbs, and choose between them depending on what is to be modified.
f. Produce, expand, and rearrange complete simple and compound sentences (e.g., The boy watched the
movie; The little boy watched the movie; The action movie was watched by the little boy).
2.L.2 Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English capitalization, punctuation, and spelling
when writing.
a. Capitalize holidays, product names, and geographic names.
b. Use commas in greetings and closings of letters.
c. Use an apostrophe to form contractions and frequently occurring possessives.
d. Generalize learned spelling patterns when writing words (e.g., cage → badge; boy → boil).
e. Consult reference materials, including beginning dictionaries, as needed to check and correct
spellings.
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Knowledge of Language
2.L.3 Use knowledge of language and its conventions when writing, speaking, reading, or listening
a. Compare formal and informal uses of English.
Vocabulary Acquisition and Use
2.L.4
Determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and multiple-meaning words and phrases based on grade
2 reading and content, choosing flexibly from an array of strategies.
a. Use sentence-level context as a clue to the meaning of a word or phrase.
b. Determine the meaning of the new word formed when a known prefix is added to a known word
(e.g., happy/unhappy, tell/retell).
c. Use a known root word as a clue to the meaning of an unknown word with the same root (e.g.,
addition, additional).
d. Use knowledge of the meaning of individual words to predict the meaning of compound words (e.g.,
birdhouse, lighthouse, housefly; bookshelf, notebook, bookmark).
e. Use glossaries and beginning dictionaries, both print and digital, to determine or clarify the meaning
of words and phrases.
2.L.5 Demonstrate understanding of word relationships and nuances in word meanings.
a. Identify real-life connections between words and their use (e.g., describe foods that are spicy or
juicy).
b. Distinguish shades of meaning among closely related verbs (e.g., toss, throw, hurl) and closely related
adjectives (e.g., thin, slender, skinny, scrawny).
2.L.6 Use words and phrases acquired through conversations, reading and being read to, and responding to
texts, including using adjectives and adverbs to describe (e.g., When other kids are happy that makes me
happy).
Speaking and Listening
2.SL
Comprehension and Collaboration
2.SL.1 Participate in collaborative conversations with diverse partners about grade 2 topics and texts with
peers and adults in small and larger groups.
a. Follow agreed-upon rules for discussions (e.g., gaining the floor in respectful ways, listening to others
with care, speaking one at a time about the topics and texts under discussion).
b. Build on others’ talk in conversations by linking their comments to the remarks of others.
c. Ask for clarification and further explanation as needed about the topics and texts under discussion.
2.SL.2 Recount or describe key ideas or details from a text read aloud or information presented orally or
through other media.
3.SL.3 Ask and answer questions about what a speaker says in order to clarify comprehension, gather
additional information, or deepen understanding of a topic or issue.
Presentation of Knowledge and Ideas
2.SL.4 Tell a story or recount an experience with appropriate facts and relevant, descriptive details, speaking
audibly in coherent sentences.
2.SL.5 Create audio recordings of stories or poems; add drawings or other visual displays to stories or recounts
of experiences when appropriate to clarify ideas, thoughts, and feelings.
2.SL.6 Produce complete sentences when appropriate to task and situation in order to provide requested
detail or clarification. (See grade 2 Language standards 1 and 3 for specific expectations.)
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Social Sciences
Historical Knowledge
2.3.
Identify and describe community celebrations, symbols and traditions and explain why they are
important to some people.
Historical Thinking
2.4.
Differentiate between events that happened in the recent and distant past. .
Geography
2.7.
Use basic information on maps and other geographic tools to locate and identify physical and human
features of the community.
2.9.
Describe physical and human characteristics of the community.
2.10. Use and apply cardinal directions; locate and identify local physical features on maps (e.g., oceans,
cities, continents).
Civics and Government
2.11. Participate in rule setting and monitoring activities considering multiple points of view.
2.13. Evaluate how individuals, groups, and communities manage conflict and promote justice.
2.14. Give examples of and identify appropriate and inappropriate use of power and the consequences.
2.16. Identify ways students can have an impact in their local community.
Social Science Analysis
2.21. Evaluate information relating to an issue or problem.
Math
Mathematical Practices
2.MP.1
2.MP.2
2.MP.3
2.MP.4
2.MP.5
2.MP.6
2.MP.7
2.MP.8
2.MP
Make sense of problems and persevere in solving them.
Reason abstractly and quantitatively.
Construct viable arguments and critique the reasoning of others.
Model with mathematics.
Use appropriate tools strategically.
Attend to precision.
Look for and make use of structure.
Look for and express regularity in repeated reasoning.
Measurement and Data
2.MD
F.
Measure and estimate lengths in standard units.
G.
2.MD.1 Measure the length of an object by selecting and using appropriate tools such as rulers,
yardsticks, meter sticks, and measuring tapes.
2.MD.2 Measure the length of an object twice, using length units of different lengths for the two
measurements; describe how the two measurements relate to the size of the unit chosen.
2.MD.3 Estimate lengths using units of inches, feet, centimeters, and meters.
2.MD.4 Measure to determine how much longer one object is than another, expressing the length
difference in terms of a standard length unit.
Relate addition and subtraction to length.
2.MD.5 Use addition and subtraction within 100 to solve word problems involving lengths that are
given in the same units, e.g., by using drawings (such as drawings of rulers) and equations
with a symbol for the unknown number to represent the problem.
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2.MD.6 Represent whole numbers as lengths from 0 on a number line diagram with equally spaced
points corresponding to the numbers 0, 1, 2, ..., and represent whole-number sums and
differences within 100 on a number line diagram.
2.MD.9 Generate measurement data by measuring lengths of several objects to the nearest whole
unit, or by making repeated measurements of the same object. Show the measurements by
making a line plot, where the horizontal scale is marked off in whole-number units.
Geometry
J.
2.G
Reason with shapes and their attributes.
2.G.1
Recognize and draw shapes having specified attributes, such as a given number of angles or
a given number of equal faces. (Sizes are compared directly or visually, not compared by
measuring.) Identify triangles, quadrilaterals, pentagons, hexagons, and cubes.
Science Content Standards
2.1
2.1L.1
2.2
2.2L.1
2.3
2.3S.1
2.3S.2
2.3S.3
2.4
2.4D.1
2.4D.2
Structure and Function: Living and non-living things vary throughout the natural
world.
Compare and contrast characteristics and behaviors of plants and animals and the environments
where they live.
Interaction and Change: Living and non-living things change.
Describe life cycles of living things.
Scientific Inquiry: Scientific inquiry is a process used to explore the natural world
using evidence from observations.
Observe, measure, and record properties of objects and substances using simple tools to gather
data and extend the senses.
Make predictions about living and non-living things and events in the environment based on
observed patterns.
Make, describe, and compare observations, and organize recorded data.
Engineering Design: Engineering design is a process used to design and build
things to solve problems or address needs.
Use tools to construct a simple designed structure out of common objects and materials.
Work with a team to complete a designed structure that can be shared with others.
ELD PROFICIENCY STAGES
Proficiency Stage 1
Students at Proficiency Stage 1 (approximates ACTFL Novice-Low) can understand phrases, words, everyday expressions
and simple statements on familiar topics. Students communicate using memorized/rehearsed phrases, sentences and
questions. Students rely on contextual and visual cues. Through language study, they will begin to compare the language
and culture studied with their own. Interpretive Mode: Listening (Corresponds to ASL Receptive Skills) Students can
comprehend verbal or signed language from authentic and other sources (e.g., TV, radio, video, digital or live
presentations).
SL.PS1.IL.01
Demonstrate understanding of some words/signs, (phrases, everyday expressions and
simple statements on a limited range of familiar topics in everyday situations).
Recognize vocabulary related to familiar topics
Understand a short series of simple directions
Interpretive Mode: Reading (ASL Literary materials exist in video and digital forms)
Students can comprehend print and digital materials from a variety of authentic and
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other sources (e.g., websites, newspapers, letters, notes, applications, menus).
SL.PS1.IR.01
Identify some common words, symbols, phrases and cognates from familiar material.
Know letters or symbols of the target language
Combine symbols to form words
Understand common cognates, borrowed and high-frequency words and expressions from familiar
material
Use contextual and visual cues
Interpersonal Mode: Speaking (Corresponds to ASL Expressive Skills)
Students can understand and respond to what others say/sign.
SL.PS1.IS.01
Use memorized words/signs, phrases and expressions in everyday situations.
Provide basic personal information
Answer predictable questions with memorized responses
Use common greetings and farewells
Presentational Mode: Writing
Students can write ideas and information for an audience.
SL.PS1.PW.01 Write symbols/characters, basic high-frequency words and memorized phrases.
Make lists of familiar objects and vocabulary
Spell familiar words using the target language alphabet
Express simple ideas in short memorized phrases
Presentational Mode: Speaking
Students can speak to an audience about basic ideas and information.
SL.PS1.PS.01
Present basic information using common words, phrases and everyday expressions.
Present basic material in an organized manner
Use vocabulary sufficient to get meaning across
Rely on gestures or visuals to present ideas
Proficiency Stage 2
Students at Proficiency Stage 2 (approximates ACTFL Novice-Mid) can understand simple ideas on everyday topics and
identify some information embedded in familiar contexts. Student communication includes basic material, short
messages and the expression of simpleideas. Students use memorized/rehearsed phrases, sentences and questions.
Through language study, they will make connections with other content areas, compare the language
and culture studied with their own, and participate in local and global communities. Interpretive Mode: Listening
(Corresponds to ASL Receptive Skills) Students can comprehend verbal or signed language from authentic and other
sources (e.g., TV, radio, video, digital, or live presentations).
SL.PS2.IL.01
Demonstrate understanding of main ideas from short, simple conversations, narratives
and presentations on a limited range of familiar topics in everyday situations.
Recognize differences between formal and informal language
Listen to and demonstrate understanding of some common cognates, borrowed and high-frequency
words and expressions from familiar material
Listen to and demonstrate general understanding of short, predictable speech
Demonstrate ability to extract discrete information from simple communications
Use contextual and visual cues
Interpretive Mode: Reading (ASL Literary materials exist in video and digital formats)
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Students can comprehend print and digital materials from a variety of authentic and
other sources (e.g., websites, newspapers, letters, notes, applications, menus).
SL.PS2.IR.01
Obtain information from simple text, often using contextual cues.
Read and demonstrate understanding of some common cognates, borrowed and high-frequency
words and expressions from familiar material
Demonstrate understanding of short, predictable text
Demonstrate ability to extract discrete information from simple texts (e.g. posters, timetables, ads)
Use contextual and visual cues
Interpersonal Mode: Speaking (Corresponds to ASL Expressive Skills)
Students can understand and respond to what others say/sign.
SL.PS2.IS.01
Use memorized phrases, sentences and questions to express ideas or obtain information
on a limited range of topics in everyday situations.
Provide basic personal information
Give simple descriptions
Express likes and dislikes
Provide information about everyday activities
Answer predictable questions with memorized/rehearsed responses
Presentational Mode: Writing
Students can write ideas and communicate information for an audience.
SL.PS2.PW.01 Write from memory some high-frequency words, phrases and simple sentences and
questions.
Present basic material in an organized manner
Use vocabulary sufficient to get meaning across
Use visuals to enhance communication and maintain audience attention
Presentational Mode: Speaking
Students can speak to an audience about ideas and information.
SL.PS2.PS.01
Speak to an audience using memorized phrases and simple sentences.
Present basic material in an organized manner
Use vocabulary sufficient to get meaning across
Use some gestures or visuals to enhance communication
Attempt to maintain audience attention
Recite poems, rhymes, role-plays etc.
Proficiency Stage 3
Students at Proficiency Stage 3 (approximates ACTFL Novice-High) can identify main ideas and simple information on
familiar topics. Students communicate using some original sentences and questions, relying on memorized/rehearsed
material, to obtain and provide information. They participate in very simple conversations and get basic needs met in
the target culture. Through language study, they will make connections with other content areas, compare the language
and culture studied with their own, and participate in local and global
communities. Interpretive Mode: Listening (Corresponds to ASL Receptive Skills) Students can comprehend verbal or
signed language from authentic and other sources (e.g., TV, radio, video, digital or live presentations).
SL.PS3.IL.01
Demonstrate understanding of main ideas and some details from simple conversations,
narratives and presentations on familiar topics in everyday situations.
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SL.PS3.IR.01
Identify main ideas and some significant details on familiar topics
Identify information embedded in familiar contexts and connected to core academic content
Recognize expressions used in certain circumstances
Interpretive Mode: Reading (ASL Literary materials exist in video and digital formats)
Students can comprehend print and digital materials from a variety of authentic and
other sources (e.g. websites, newspapers, letters, notes, applications, menus, etc.).
Identify main ideas and some details from short simple texts.
Identify main ideas and some significant details on familiar topics
Standards By Design: Kindergarten, First Grade, Second Grade, Third Grade, Fourth
Identify information embedded in familiar contexts and connected to core academic content
Determine meanings by using contextual cues
Interpersonal Mode: Speaking (Corresponds to ASL Expressive Skills)
Students can understand and respond to what others say/sign.
SL.PS3.IS.01
Use memorized and some original sentences and questions to perform simple
communicative tasks in everyday situations.
SL.PS3.IS.02
Participate in simple conversations on a limited range of topics.
SL.PS3.IS.03
Conduct simple rehearsed transactions necessary for survival in the target culture.
Give simple descriptions
Express simple opinions
Give basic directions and commands
Use numbers in common situations, such as measurement, time and prices
Extend/accept invitations and make plans
Make purchases and acquire basic services
Presentational Mode: Writing
Students can write to communicate information and ideas to an audience.
SL.PS3.PW.01 Write some simple original sentences and questions relying on memorized/familiar
material.
Present material in an organized manner
Write short messages, postcards, simple descriptions and simple narrations
Provide information on applications and common documents
Presentational Mode: Speaking
Students can speak to communicate information and ideas to an audience.
SL.PS3.PS.01
Present material in a clear and organized manner using simple sentences and some
strings of sentences.
Present material in an organized manner
Leave short phone messages, make public service announcements, etc.
Recite poems and rhymes, perform songs, etc.
Use gestures or visuals to enhance communication
Maintain audience attention
Proficiency Stage 4
Students at Proficiency Stage 4 (approximates ACTFL Intermediate-Low) can identify main ideas and some supporting
information on familiar topics. Students communicate using rehearsed and original sentences and questions, to
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exchange ideas and to obtain and provide information. This includes participating in simple conversations and getting
some needs met in the target culture. Through language study, they will make connections with other content areas,
compare the language and culture studied with their own, and participate in local and global communities. Interpretive
Mode: Listening (Corresponds to ASL Receptive Skills)
Students can comprehend verbal or signed language from authentic and other sources (e.g., TV, radio, video, digital or
live presentations).
SL.PS4.IL.01
Identify main ideas and some supporting details in simple conversations and
presentations on familiar topics in everyday situations.
Identify main ideas and significant details on familiar topics
Identify the most significant ideas embedded in familiar contexts and connected to core academic
content
Recognize high-frequency idiomatic expressions
Interpretive Mode: Reading (ASL Literary materials exist in video and digital formats)
Students can comprehend print and digital materials from a variety of authentic and
other sources (e.g., websites, newspapers, letters, notes, applications, menus, etc.).
SL.PS4.IR.01
Identify main ideas and supporting details from simple texts.
Read short, authentic or teacher-generated text (e.g., poems, short literary text, periodicals)
Identify main ideas and supporting details in familiar contexts and/or connected to core academic
content
Provide a sequence of main events from text
Draw inferences and make simple predictions and conclusions
Interpersonal Mode: Speaking (Corresponds to ASL Expressive Skills)
Students can understand and respond to what others say/sign.
SL.PS4.IS.01
Create simple sentences and questions to exchange ideas and to obtain and provide
information.
SL.PS4.IS.02
Participate in simple conversations on a range of familiar topics in everyday situations.
SL.PS4.IS.03
Conduct predictable transactions necessary for survival in the typical daily life of the
target culture.
Describe with some supporting details
State feelings and emotions
Give directions
Make suggestions
Express needs, opinions and preferences
Make arrangements and plans
Report events in present time
Presentational Mode: Writing
Students can write to communicate information and ideas to an audience.
SL.PS4.PW.01 Create/Compose simple original sentences and questions on very familiar topics.
Convey information using simple original sentences and strings of sentences
Present material in an organized manner
Use vocabulary that is sufficient to provide information and limited explanation
Write messages, short letters, simple descriptions and simple narrations
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Make attempts to acknowledge/engage audience
Presentational Mode: Speaking
Students can speak to communicate information and ideas to an audience.
SL.PS4.PS.01
Speak to an audience to present material using strings of sentences and connected
discourse.
Present material in an organized manner
Convey information using simple original sentences and strings of sentences
Use vocabulary that is sufficient to provide information and limited explanation
Begin to make choices of phrase or content to maintain the attention of the audience
Proficiency Stage 5
Students at Proficiency Stage 5 (approximates ACTFL Intermediate-Mid) can identify main ideas and supporting
information from a wider range of sources. Students communicate using original language, questions and strings of
sentences to obtain and provide information. This includes participating in conversations and getting needs met in the
target culture. At this stage students begin to communicate in different time frames. Through language study, they will
make connections with other content areas, compare the language and culture studied with their own, and participate
in local and global communities. Interpretive Mode: Listening (Corresponds to ASL Receptive Skills)
Students can comprehend verbal or signed language from authentic and other sources (e.g., TV, radio, video, digital or
live presentations).
SL.PS5.IL.01
Demonstrate understanding of ideas and supporting details from longer and somewhat
more complex conversations, presentations and narratives on topics from everyday life.
SL.PS5.IL.02
Infer the meaning of some unfamiliar words and phrases when used in familiar contexts.
Identify main ideas and some supporting details on familiar and some unfamiliar topics
Identify significant ideas embedded in familiar contexts and connected to academic content
Recognize and understand high-frequency idiomatic expressions
Understand the use of verbal and non-verbal gestures, intonation etc., in contexts from the target
culture
Interpretive Mode: Reading (ASL Literary materials exist in video and digital
formats)
Students can comprehend print and digital materials from a variety of authentic and
other sources (e.g., websites, newspapers, letters, notes, articles, short works of
fiction).
SL.PS5.IR.01
Demonstrate understanding of ideas and supporting details from longer and somewhat
more complex written texts on topics from everyday life.
SL.PS5.IR.02
Draw conclusions and make inferences, supporting them with information from the text.
Read authentic texts with more abstract themes and ideas
Identify main ideas and some supporting details on familiar and some unfamiliar topics
Identify significant ideas embedded in familiar contexts and connected to core academic content
Recognize and understand high-frequency idiomatic expressions
Interpersonal Mode: Speaking (Corresponds to ASL Expressive Skills)
Students can understand and respond to what others say/sign.
SL.PS5.IS.01
Create language, questions and strings of sentences to exchange ideas and to provide
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and obtain information.
SL.PS5.IS.02
Participate in a more extended conversation using a variety of related questions and
responses on familiar topics.
SL.PS5.IS.03
Conduct a variety of transactions necessary for survival in the typical daily life of the
target culture.
Exchange personal feelings, thoughts, opinions and preferences
Express needs and wants
Ask for and give permission
Request, suggest and make arrangements or plans
Extend, accept or decline invitations
Give multi-step directions for a simple task
Describe events, things and people
Generate varied questions to extend or enrich conversation
Demonstrate control of present time; partial control of another timeframe (future or past time)
Describe events, things and people and make simple comparisons
Presentational Mode: Writing
Students can write to communicate information and ideas to an audience.
SL.PS5.PW.01 Create/Compose original language using questions and strings of sentences on familiar
and some unfamiliar topics.
SL.PS5.PW.02 Make attempts to maintain the attention of the audience.
Write short letters, descriptions, explanations and simple narrations
Express needs, make requests
Express opinions and preferences
Presentational Mode: Speaking
Students can speak to communicate information and ideas to an audience.
SL.PS5.PS.01
SL.PS5.PS.02
Present organized material in a sustained, connected manner using somewhat more
complex original language.
Make attempts to maintain the attention of the audience.
Convey information using strings of sentences, with some connected sentence-level discourse
Use vocabulary sufficient to provide information and limited explanation
Make choices of phrase or content to maintain the attention of the audience
Recite poems, songs, dramatic pieces from the target language/culture
Proficiency Stage 6
Students at Proficiency Stage 6 (approximates ACTFL Intermediate-High) can identify main ideas and supporting
information from more complicated texts and presentations. Students communicate using original language to obtain
and provide information. This includes participating in conversations and handling increasingly complicated situations in
the target culture. At his stage students can communicate in a variety of time frames and communicate
with others about topics of both personal and social interest. Through language study, they will make connections with
other content areas, compare the language and culture studied with their own, and participate in local and global
communities. Interpretive Mode: Listening (Corresponds to ASL Receptive Skills)
Students can comprehend verbal or signed language from authentic and othersources (e.g., TV, radio, video, digital or
live presentations).
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SL.PS6.IL.01
Demonstrate understanding of ideas and supporting details from longer and more
complex conversations, presentations and narratives on topics from everyday life and social issues.
SL.PS6.IL.02
Infer the meaning of unfamiliar words and phrases when used in familiar contexts.
Identify main ideas and supporting details on familiar and some unfamiliar topics
Identify significant ideas embedded in familiar and unfamiliar contexts and connected to core
academic content
Synthesize information from oral or signed presentations
Recognize and understand high-frequency idiomatic expressions
Understand the use of verbal and non-verbal gestures, intonation etc., in contexts from the target
culture
Infer and interpret the speaker’s intent
Interpretive Mode: Reading (ASL Literary materials exist in video and digital formats)
Students can comprehend print and digital materials from a variety of authentic and
other sources (e.g., websites, newspapers, letters, notes, articles, short works of fiction).
SL.PS6.IR.01
Demonstrate understanding of ideas and supporting details from longer and morecomplex
written texts on topics from everyday life and social issues.
SL.PS6.IR.02
Draw conclusions and make inferences, supporting them with information from the text.
Read authentic texts with more abstract themes and ideas
Identify main ideas and supporting details on familiar and some unfamiliar topics
Identify significant ideas embedded in familiar and unfamiliar contexts connected to core academic
Content
Recognize and understand high-frequency idiomatic expressions
Synthesize information from a variety of texts
Infer and interpret the writer’s intent
Interpersonal Mode: Speaking (Corresponds to ASL Expressive Skills)
Students can understand and respond to what others say/sign.
SL.PS6.IS.01
Create language, questions and connected discourse to exchange ideas and to provide
and obtain information.
SL.PS6.IS.02
Initiate, sustain and close an extended conversation using a series of related questions
and responses on a wider variety of topics.
SL.PS6.IS.03
Narrate and describe events that take place in various time frames.
SL.PS6.IS.04
Conduct a variety of transactions necessary for survival in the typical daily life of the
target culture, which may include a complication.
Exchange personal feelings, thoughts, opinions and preferences
Express needs and wants
Ask for and give permission
Request, suggest and make arrangements or plans
Extend, accept or decline invitations
Give multi-step directions for a simple task
Generate varied questions to extend or enrich conversation
Demonstrate control of present time; partial control of future and past time
All About Owls Level 2 OR
Jackson County School District #9 – Project GLAD
13
Describe events, things and people and make simple comparisons
Ask for and provide clarification and explanation
Use communication strategies to make oneself understood
Presentational Mode: Writing
Students can write to communicate information and ideas to an audience.
SL.PS6.PW.01 Present organized material in a sustained, connected manner using more complex
original language and a variety of time frames.
SL.PS6.PW.02 Narrate and describe across a wide-range of topics of personal and social interest.
SL.PS6.PW.03 Make attempts to engage and maintain the attention of the intended audience.
Write letters, descriptions, explanations, articles and narrations
Vocabulary is sufficient to provide information and explanation
Express needs, make requests and suggestions
Express and support opinions and preferences
Compose stories, short plays, poems etc.
Presentational Mode: Speaking
Students can speak to communicate information and ideas to an audience.
SL.PS6.PS.01
Present organized material in a sustained, connected manner using more complex
original language and a variety of time frames.
SL.PS6.PS.02
Narrate and describe across a wide-range of topics of personal and social interest.
SL.PS6.PS.03
Make attempts to engage and maintain the attention of the intended audience.
Convey information using connected sentence-level discourse with some evidence of logical
sequence and organization
Vocabulary is sufficient to provide information and explanation
Express needs, make requests and suggestions
Express and support opinions and preferences
Recite poems, songs, dramatic pieces from the target language/culture
Language Functions and Examples of Forms
Language Function
Examples of Language Forms
Expressing needs and likes
Indirect/ direct object, subject/ verb agreement, pronouns
Describing people, places, and things
Nouns, pronouns, adjectives
Describing spatial and temporal relations
Prepositional phrases
Describing actions
Present progressive tense, adverbs
Retelling/relating past events
Past tense verbs, perfect aspect (present and past)
All About Owls Level 2 OR
Jackson County School District #9 – Project GLAD
14
Making predictions
Verbs: future tense, conditional mode
Asking Informational Questions
Verbs and verb phrases in questions
Asking Clarifying Questions
Questions with increasing specificity
Expressing and Supporting Opinions
Sentence structure, modals (will, can, may, shall)
Comparing
Adjectives and conjunctions, comparatives, superlatives, adverbs
Contrasting
Comparative adjectives
Summarizing
Increasingly complex sentences with increasingly specific
vocabulary
Persuading
Verb forms
Literary Analysis
Sentence structure, specific vocabulary
Cause and Effect
Verb forms
Drawing Conclusions
Comparative adjective
Defining
Nouns, abstract nouns, pronouns, and adjectives
Explaining
Verb forms, indicative verb, declarative sentences, complex
sentences, adverbs of manner
Generalizing
Common, collective and abstract nouns, verb forms,
nominalizations
Evaluating
Complex sentences; increasing specificity of nouns, verbs, and
adjectives; correlative conjunctions
Interpreting
Language of propaganda, complex sentences, nominalizations
Sequencing
Adverbs of time, relative clauses, subordinate conjunctions
All About Owls Level 2 OR
Jackson County School District #9 – Project GLAD
15
Hypothesizing and speculating
Modals (would, could, might), compound tenses (would have
been)
Summarizing
Modals (would, could, might), compound tenses (would have
been)
All About Owls Level 2 OR
Jackson County School District #9 – Project GLAD
16
V.
VOCABULARY
adult
beak
bill
bird
bird of prey
branches
breeding
brood
burrow
camouflage
carnivore
characteristic
chick
clutch
compare
continents
contrast
curved
description
diet
digest
dissected
diurnal
dive
down
ear-tuft
egg tooth
endangered
environment
facial disc
feathers
feet
glide
habitat
hatch
incubation
insects
litter
migrate
migration
nestlings
nocturnal
omnivore
oviparous
owlet
pellet
perch
pesticides
pollution
prairie
predator
preen
prey
raptor
rod cells
rodent
roost
rufous
sharp
soar
species
survival
survive
swivel
talons
territory
threat
variations
visual field
wing
Description
some
few
many
have
are called
helps used to
belongs to
described as
is part of
is related to
Compare/Contrast
same
both
similar
because
different
unlike
_______er
_______est
_______er than
is not/are not
don’t
doesn’t have
however
although
Tier II
adaptation
aerodynamic
asymmetrical
binocular vision
coniferous
crepuscular
interdependence
ornithologist
regurgitate
Strigidae
Tytonidae
zygodactyl
All About Owls Level 2 OR
Jackson County School District #9 – Project GLAD
17
V. RESOURCES AND MATERIALS
Teacher Resource
2nd grade Simply Science Unit: “Feathered Friends”
Fiction:
 My Little Book of Burrowing Owls, Irvin Marston, Hope, ISBN 1-55971-547-2
 Owl At Home, Lobel, Arnold, ISBN 13: 978-1-4351-0768-7/10:1-4351-0768-3
 Owly, Thaler, Mike, ISBN 0-8027-7545-4
 Owl Moon, Yolen, Jane, ISBN 0-590-42044-5
 Screech Owl at Midnight Hollow, Lamm, C. Drew, ISBN 1568992653
 Good-Night, Owl!, Hutchins, Pat, ISBN-13 978-0-689-71371-2
 Owl Babies, Waddell, Martin, ISBN 978-0-7636-1710-3
 The Owl and the Woodpecker, Wildsmith, Brian, ISBN-13: 978-1-59572-050-4
 White Owl, Barn Owl, Davies, Nicola, ISBN 978-0-7636-3364-6
Nonfiction:
 I Can Read About Birds, Troll Associates, ISBN 0-89375-204-5
 Amazing World of Birds, Caitlin, Stephen, ISBN 0-8167-1748-6
 The Life Cycle of a Bird, Kalman, Bobbie, ISBN 0-7787-0684-2
 Science Kids: Birds, Davies, Nicola, ISBN 978-0-7534-6124-2
 Birds: Nature’s Magnificent Flying Machines, Arnold, Caroline, ISBN 1-57091-572-5
 I Can Read About Creatures of the Night, Cutts, David, ISBN 0-89375-202-9
 Birds of North America, Vanner, Michael, ISBN 1-405460308-2
 First Field Guide: Birds, Scholastic, ISBN 0-590-05482-1
 The Encyclopedia of North American Birds, Vanner, Michael, ISBN 0-7607-3460-7
 Birds of America, Shaw, Frank, ISBN 0-8317-0888-3
 Birds of Prey, Petty, Kate, ISBN 1-57335-162-8
 Birds of Prey, Frost, Paul D., ISBN 1-40547-131-X
 Incredible Owls, Martin, Justin McCory, ISBN 0-439-87637-0
 Owls, Ellwood, Nancy, ISBN 0-439-23780-7
 Zoobooks: Owls, Levi Biel, Timothy, ISBN 0-937934-32-1
 Bird Facts, Schneck, Marcus, ISBN 978-1-4351-1180-6
 Birds, Nests and Eggs, Boring, Mel, ISBN 1-55971-624-x
 Beaks, Collard III, Sneed B., ISBN 1-57091-388-9
 Top Readers Birds, Ryan, Denise ISBN 978-1-4351-1367-1
 Birds, Davies, Nicola, ISBN 978-0-7534-6124-2
 What is a Bird?, Kalman, Bobbie, ISBN 0-86505-892-x
 Bird Watch, Jennings, Terry, ISBN 1-4206-8151-6
 Animals That Live in the Forest: Owls, Macken, JoAnn Early, ISBN-13: 978-1-4339-2482-8
 Welcome to the World of Owls, Swanson, Diane, ISBN 1-55285-314-4
 Owls, Holmes, Kevin J., ISBN-13: 978-0-7368-8074-9/10: 0-7368-8074-7
 Owls, Lundgren, Julie K., ISBN 978-1-60694-773-9
 Owls, Mason, Adrienne, ISBN 978-1-55337-624-8
 Owls, Gibbons, Gail, ISBN 978-0-8234-2014-8
 Owls, Morgan, Sally, ISBN 978-1-4206-8111-6
 Quiet Owls, Riley, Joelle, ISBN 978-0-8225-9889-3
All About Owls Level 2 OR
Jackson County School District #9 – Project GLAD
18




Baby Owl, Lang, Aubrey, ISBN 1-55041-798-3
Barn Owl, Kitchen, Bert, ISBN 978-0-7534-5606-4
See How They Grow: Owl, DK Publishing, ISBN 978-0-7566-3372-1
The Book of North American Owls, Sattler, Helen Roney, ISBN-13: 978-0-395-90017-8
Poetry:
 The Owl and the Pussycat, Lear, Edward & Brett, Jan, ISBN#0-590-45405-6
Spanish titles:
 Buhos y lechuzas, Macken, JoAnn Early, ISBN#978-1-4339-2489-7
Multimedia:
 Learn 360 Digitalized Videos
Community Resources:
 Bugs-R-Us
Internet Resources:
 Owl Pages http://www.owlpages.com/
 Cornell Lab of Ornithology http://www.birds.cornell.edu/Page.aspx?pid=1478&ac=ac
All About Owls Level 2 OR
Jackson County School District #9 – Project GLAD
19
Project GLAD
Jackson County School District #9
All About Owls
(2nd Grade)
Planning Pages
I. Focus/Motivation
 Cognitive Content Dictionary with signal word
 Inquiry Charts
 Literacy Awards
 Read Aloud – Teacher Made Big Book “Have you Heard?”
 Observation charts
 Realia: Owl pellets, model owls
 Prediction-Reaction Guide
II. Input






Narrative Input – “My Little Book of Burrowing Owls”
Read Aloud “Owl Moon”
Graphic organizer—North America owl habitat map
Pictorial Input: Comparative (Barn Owl / Anna’s Hummingbird)
ELD Review
10/2 lecture with primary language
III. Guided Oral Practice
 T-graph and team points: Participation
 Picture file cards: sort – organizing, categorizing
 Exploration Report
 Personal Interaction: Legends and folklore
 Poetry and chants
 Mind Maps: Barn Owl
 Sentence patterning chart
 Cooperative work—numbered heads together
 Process Grid
 Mind Map
 Ongoing processing of chants and charts
 Science: Dissecting owl pellets
 Team Tasks
IV. Reading/Writing
Whole Group
 Compare and contrast
 Cooperative Strip Paragraph
 Found Poetry
 Poetry Frames
 Strip books
All About Owls Level 2 OR
Jackson County School District #9 – Project GLAD
20





Story Map
Big Book
Cooperative Strip Paragraph
Guided Imagery—Listen-n-sketch
Model Story mapping: “My Little Book of Burrowing Owls”
Small Group/flexible groupings
 Expert groups
 Flexible group leveled reading
 Struggling/emergent reading with Cooperative Strip Paragraph
 ELD group frame
 Partner reading –ear-to-ear
 Team Tasks (anything modeled whole class)
 Mind mapping
 Big Book
 Shared reading
 Team cooperative strip paragraph
Independent work (anything practiced in teams)
 Learning logs
 Interactive journals
 Individual explorations
 Individual Cooperative Strip Paragraph
 Mind mapping
 Writer’s Workshop
 Writing process
 Author’s chair
V. Extended Activities for Integration
 Build an owl’s nest: Use photos for students to use as models for their nests.
Students build a nest; label the type of nest, what owl uses it, where it is usually built, and what
it is made of. Students do a gallery walk to observe the nests.
 Owl report and diagram
 Feather observation. Students can create a feather book with the information they find.
 Owl calls: Record your voice making different owl calls.
 Design an owl using knowledge of characteristics: May be drawn or built using materials such
as paper plates or meat trays, colored construction paper, pipe cleaners, etc.
 Exploration report
 Personal exploration
VI. Closure
 Process all charts and chants
 Share Big Books and personal exploration
 Team exploration
 Group presentation of tasks
 Poetry and chanting
 Home / School connections
All About Owls Level 2 OR
Jackson County School District #9 – Project GLAD
21


Portfolio
On-going assessment of learning logs/journals
All About Owls Level 2 OR
Jackson County School District #9 – Project GLAD
22
Project GLAD
Jackson County School District #9
All About Owls
(2nd Grade)
Sample Daily Lesson Plan (SDLP)
*Strategies appearing in italics are presented daily in the classroom
Day 1:
FOCUS/MOTIVATION
 Three Personal Standards
 Literacy Awards - Super Scientist awards
 Cognitive Content Dictionary with Signal Word
 Prediction-Reaction Guide
 Observation Charts
 Inquiry Chart
 Portfolios
 Teacher Made Big Book: Have You Heard?
INPUT
 Graphic Organizer: North America Map—Habitat Location
- 10/2
- Lecture with Primary Language Group
- Learning Log
- ELD review
 Chant
 Comparative Input Chart: Barn Owl/Anna’s Hummingbird
- 10/2
- Lecture with Primary Language Group
- Learning Log
- ELD review
GUIDED ORAL PRACTICE
 T-graph for Social Skills (Participation) with team points
 Picture file activities
- Free Exploration
- Open Sort
- Closed Sort
 Exploration Report
 Personal Interaction—Owls in legends and folklore
 Chants
INPUT

Narrative Input Chart—“My Little Book of Burrowing Owls”
- Learning Log
- ELD Review
- Personal Interaction
All About Owls Level 2 OR
Jackson County School District #9 – Project GLAD
23
READING/WRITING/LANGUAGE ARTS
 Writer’s Workshop
- Mini-Lesson
- Write
- Author’s Chair
 Flexible Reading Groups
 ABC Book - Owls
CLOSURE




Interactive journals
Revisit inquiry charts, poetry and input charts
Read Aloud
Home School Connection
All About Owls Level 2 OR
Jackson County School District #9 – Project GLAD
24
Project GLAD
Jackson County School District #9
All About Owls
(2nd Grade)
Sample Daily Lesson Plan (SDLP)
Day 2:
FOCUS/MOTIVATION
 Three Personal Standards & Literacy Awards
 Cognitive Content Dictionary with Signal Word
 Process Home/School Connection
 Review input with word cards—Graphic Organizer: North America map, and Pictorial Input:
Barn Owl with word cards and picture file cards
 Review Narrative: act out, word cards & conversation bubbles
 Process Chant
- Highlight/ sketch, add picture file cards
GUIDED ORAL PRACTICE
 T-graph for Social Skills with team points
 Poetry/Chants
READING/WRITING/LANGUAGE ARTS
 Interactive Journal
 Writer’s Workshop
 Flexible Reading Groups
 ABC Book
 Flexible Grouping
- Expert groups
- Team Tasks
* Team Task Menu
* T-Graph
* Team Share
CLOSURE




Interactive journals
Revisit inquiry charts, poetry and input charts
Read Aloud
Home/School Connection
All About Owls Level 2 OR
Jackson County School District #9 – Project GLAD
25
Project GLAD
Jackson County School District #9
All About Owls
(2nd Grade)
Sample Daily Lesson Plan (SDLP)
Day 3:
FOCUS/MOTIVATION
 Cognitive Content Dictionary: Student selected vocabulary
 Process Home / School connection
 3 Personal Standards and Literacy Awards
 Process Poetry - highlight, sketch and add picture file cards
 Story Map—“My Little Book of Burrowing Owls”
INPUT



Act out narrative/words/conversation bubbles
Read Aloud
Chant
GUIDED ORAL PRACTICE
 Expert Groups: Team Tasks
 Oral Team Evaluation
 Sentence Patterning Chart
- Read, Trade, Flip chant
 Mind Map
 Process Grid
 Chants
READING/WRITING/LANGUAGE ARTS
 Journal
 ABC Book
 Cooperative Strip Paragraph
- Read, respond, revise, edit
 Flexible Group
- Team Tasks
 Reading/Writing Workshop
- Mini-lesson
- Write
- Author’s chair
CLOSURE


Review Charts
Home School Connection
All About Owls Level 2 OR
Jackson County School District #9 – Project GLAD
26
Project GLAD
Jackson County School District #9
All About Owls
(2nd Grade)
Sample Daily Lesson Plan (SDLP)
Day 4:
FOCUS/MOTIVATION
 3 Personal Standards and Literacy Awards
 Cognitive Content Dictionary with stumper word
 Process chants: highlight, sketch, add picture file cards
INPUT


Read Aloud
Chant
GUIDED ORAL PRACTICE
 Chants
 DRTA
READING/WRITING/LANGUAGE ARTS
 Flexible Group Reading
 Team Tasks – Written Evaluation
 ELD Group Frame
 Clunkers and Links: At or above level reading
 Writer’s Workshop
 Poetry Frame
 Focused reading: Read walls with personal CCD / Picture Dictionary
 Listen and sketch
 ABC Book
CLOSURE



Process Inquiry Chart
Chant
Home/School Connection
All About Owls Level 2 OR
Jackson County School District #9 – Project GLAD
27
Project GLAD
Jackson County School District #9
All About Owls
(2nd Grade)
Sample Daily Lesson Plan (SDLP)
Day 5:
FOCUS/MOTIVATION
 Cognitive Content Dictionary with stumper word
 3 Personal Standards and Literacy Awards
 Process Poetry: highlight, sketch, add picture file cards
 Read Aloud
READING/WRITING/LANGUAGE ARTS
 Flexible Group
 Team Tasks
- Written Evaluation
- Team Presentation
 Struggling readers with cooperative strip paragraph
 Ear to ear reading
 Writer’s Workshop
GUIDED ORAL PRACTICE
 Chants
 Focused Reading - Read the walls with individual CCD
CLOSURE









Process Inquiry Chart
Team Big Book
Evaluate week
Class chant
Teacher-Made Test
Portfolio
Team Exploration
Individual Exploration
Student-made tests
All About Owls Level 2 OR
Jackson County School District #9 – Project GLAD
28
Literacy Awards
Photos found at Yahoo Images, Google Images
Photos not included due to copyright.
Book Marks, Notebooks, Picture Cards showing the following images and containing
information about them:
Ornithologist
Barn Owl
Burrowing Owl
Elf Owl
Eastern Screech Owl
Spotted Owl
Snowy Owl
Owl’s Physical Characteristics: Eyes, Ears, Beaks, Necks, Feathers, Feet
Owl Habitats: Desert, Tundra, Forest, Prairie
All About Owls Level 2 OR
Jackson County School District #9 – Project GLAD
29
(insert photo of
Burrowing Owls)
Burrowing owls are so
named because they
live underground in
burrows that have been
dug out by small
mammals like ground
squirrels and prairie
dogs. They are covered
in brown spotted
feathers and have long
legs. They also sport
distinctive white
“eyebrows” above
bright yellow eyes.
They are one of the
smallest owls in North
America.
(insert photo of Elf
Owls)
Elf Owls, like other owls
have excellent night
vision. They can't see in
complete darkness, but
they can see quite well
in low-light. They also
have excellent hearing.
They can catch their
prey in complete
darkness, by pinpointing
it using their ears rather
than eyes. Elf owls have
"silent flight" which
means they don't make
any noise as they
approach their prey. The
sound of their wing beat
is muffled by softened
feathers on the leading
edges of their wings.
All About Owls Level 2 OR
Jackson County School District #9 – Project GLAD
(insert photo of
Northern Spotted Owls)
Northern spotted owls are
very territorial and
intolerant of habitat
disturbance. They prefer
old-growth forests with tree
canopies that are high and
open enough for the owls
to fly between and
underneath the trees.
Preferred areas have large
trees with broken tops,
deformed limbs or large
holes used as nesting sites.
Each pair needs a large
amount of land for hunting
and nesting, and although
they do not migrate,
spotted owls may shift their
ranges in response to
seasonal changes, such as
heavy snows, that make
hunting difficult.
30
(Teacher Made Big Book)
Have You Heard?
By Mary Van Wesep
Have you heard? The owl is a bird. And, like all birds, owls have eyes. But, the owl’s
eyes are unique.
 Most birds have eyes on the sides of their heads, but owls have eyes that face forward
giving them binocular vision. This means they can see an object with both eyes at the
same time.
 Seeing well in the dark is the major function of an owl’s eyes. The owl’s eyes are very
large. They are tubular, rather than round, enabling more light to enter the eye.
 The owl’s eyes allow it to navigate through their habitat in the dark. An owl can see 3
times better in the dark than you can. Owls that are diurnal and hunt during the day also
use their excellent eyesight to find food.
 Owls are long sighted and cannot focus on objects which are too close.
 Humans can roll their eyes and move them side to side and up and down within the eye
sockets. The owl’s eyes are too big and are not able to move independently in the eye
sockets. In order for an owl to see in a different direction, it has to turn its entire head.
 Owl eyes have three eyelids: one for blinking, one for sleeping and one for keeping the
eye clean and healthy.
All About Owls Level 2 OR
Jackson County School District #9 – Project GLAD
31
Have you heard? The owl is a bird. And, like all birds, owls have ears. But, the owl’s
ears are unique.
 Owls have an excellent sense of hearing. In fact, owls hunt mainly by sound, not sight.
A barn owl can capture prey when blindfolded. However, they cannot capture prey if one
of their ears is plugged or if they lose their facial disc feathers.
 An owl’s ears are elaborate structures. They are large vertical slits bordered by flaps of
skin in front of and/or in back of the opening. These flaps expand, contract, and adjust the
ear opening size.
 Owl ears are not on top of the owl’s head. Those “ears” you see on a number of species
are feathers called ear tufts and they have nothing to do with hearing. The owl’s ears are
located on the facial disc behind the eyes and are hidden by feathers. The flattened facial
disc of an owl funnels sound to the bird’s ears and magnifies it as much as ten times to
help the bird hear noises humans can’t detect. It acts just like the satellite dish that
collects signals for your television.
 In some owl species the ears are located asymmetrically. This means that one ear is
higher than the other.
All About Owls Level 2 OR
Jackson County School District #9 – Project GLAD
32
Have you heard? The owl is a bird. And, like all birds, owls have a beak or bill. But, the
owl’s beak is unique.
 The beak of the owl is short, curved and downward-facing. The beak is usually hooked
at the tip for gripping and tearing its prey. The downward-facing beak allows the owl to
have a clear field of vision, as well as direct sound into the ears without deflecting sound
waves away from the face.
 The owl’s sharp beak is usually hooked at the tip for gripping and tearing prey. Owls
cannot chew their prey since, like all birds, they do not have teeth. Instead, they swallow
small prey whole. They must tear larger prey into small pieces before swallowing. They
later regurgitate or throw up pellets of material (bone, fur and feathers) they could not
digest.
 In many species, the bill is partly hidden by feathers so it appears smaller than it actually
is.
 The nostrils are positioned towards the base of the beak. Most Owls have a very poor
sense of smell.
All About Owls Level 2 OR
Jackson County School District #9 – Project GLAD
33
Have you heard? The owl is a bird. And, like all birds, owls have a neck. But, the owl’s
neck is unique.
 Owls are unable to move their eyes in the sockets because of the size and tubular shape of
the eyes. To compensate for this restriction, most owls are able to turn their head
halfway around a circle in either direction, meaning they can see straight behind by
turning to the left or right. An owl can also tilt its head, so it is looking from upside
down.
 They can turn their heads nearly all the way around because of their flexible necks. This
is a unique feature that humans don’t have. The owls’ vertebrae are what allow it to see
to the sides and behind. The bones in the neck and back are part of the vertebra.
Humans have seven bones (or vertebrae) in the neck. An owl has twice that! An owl’s
14 vertebrae in the neck allow it to rotate its head, seeing in nearly every direction, even
though its body stays in the same spot.
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Have you heard? The owl is a bird. And, like all birds, owls have feet. But, the owl’s feet
are unique.
 Owls have very strong feet. The toes are called talons and they are sharp and curved.
The owl’s prey is killed by using its talons to crush the skull and knead the body.
 Owls have zygodactyl feet with two toes pointing forward and two toes pointing
backward. This gives the birds a stronger, more powerful grip so they can be more
effective predators.
 The underside of the talon foot is covered with a rough, bumpy surface which allows the
owl to grasp its prey and hold it without having to keep the muscles tightly contracted.
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Have you heard? The owl is a bird. And, like all birds, owls have feathers. But, the owl’s
feathers are unique.
 Owls fly almost silently and more slowly in comparison to other birds of prey. Most
owls are
nocturnal and being able to fly without making any noise gives them a strong advantage
over their prey .
 The feathers on owls’ wings have several unique features that enable them to minimize
the sound made when flapping their wings. The result of these modifications is totally
silent flight which means that prey are not forewarned of attack and the owl can use its
hearing at its best without the noisy wing beats possessed by other birds.
 The facial disc is a conspicuous circle of feathers around each eye. These feathers can be
adjusted in order to sharply focus sounds that come from varying distances onto the owls’
asymmetrically placed ear cavities.
 Another adaptation that helps owls sneak up on their prey is the dull coloration of their
feathers which can make them almost invisible.
 The thick soft plumage insulates the owl while it is exposed to cold night time
temperatures.
 Because owls do not see well up close, caught prey can be felt by owls with the use of
filoplumes – small hair-like feathers on the beak and feet that act as “feelers”.
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Habitat Map
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All About Owls Level 2 OR
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ELD Questions for Comparative Input Chart








Point to the Barn Owl’s wings
Point to the Anna’s Hummingbird’s beak
Is this a nest? (point to hummingbird nest) Yes / No
Are these owl eggs (point to the hummingbird’s eggs) Yes / No
What are these? (point to the owl eggs)
What does the owl eat? (point to diet heading)
Where does the hummingbird live? (point to the habitat heading)
What does the barn owl look like?
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Narrative Input
My Little Book of Burrowing Owls
By Hope Irvin Marston
Adapted by Mary Van Wesep
Copyright permission granted to reprint by Mary Van Wesep
One spring evening, two burrowing owls flew over the grasslands of Montana. They dropped
to an empty prairie dog burrow. They crept inside and looked around their old nest. Another
animal had lived in it over the winter, and it was a mess. The owls would clean it up. The busy
little, brown birds pecked at the walls with their beaks.
SWISH! SWISH! The male bird kicked the dirt backward toward the burrow opening. Out flew
little puffs of dirt. When the owl stopped to rest, his mate finished the cleaning.
The next day the owls lined their nest with feathers and dead grass and with dried cow manure.
They left some manure outside the burrow. The smell would attract insects, like beetles, that
they could eat.
Over the next two weeks the female laid a clutch of seven eggs. Twice a day, in the early
morning and, again, in the evening, she hopped up to the entrance for food. “Rasssp! Rasssp!”
She called to her mate. He flew to her with food. Sometimes it would be a mouse that he
swooped down from the air to catch. Or, it would be a scorpion that he had chased on the
ground and caught. On another day, it might be an insect that he caught in mid-air. The female
appreciated any food that he brought to her. The first egg hatched on the twenty-eighth day of
incubation. Day, after day, another little owlet, no bigger than your thumb, broke through its
shell. Each of the seven owlets opened its eyes when it was five days old.
When the owlets were about two weeks old, they hobbled out of the crowded burrow. They
huddled in the bright sunlight near the entrance. “Kook-COO!” “Kook-COO! They called,
like tiny roosters trying to crow. They wanted to be fed. Down, swooped their father with a
small garter snake. The owlets rushed at him on their spindly legs. They grabbed the snake
from his beak and gobbled it up.
When they were three weeks old, the owlets could run and hop. They could preen their feathers
and flap their wings. Now it was time for them to learn to hunt for their own food. Their father
taught them how to catch grasshoppers and other bugs.
One morning the owlets sat in the sun near the burrow. Suddenly, the mother owl began to bob
her body. She swiveled her head. “Tweee-chikit-chikit-chikit-chik!” A predator was
creeping, closer and closer. “Eep! Eep! Eep!” cried the owlets as they hurried into the
burrow to get away from the fox. Their mother rushed in right behind them. As the fox came
toward the burrow, it heard, “Hissszzzz! HisssZZZZZZZ! HISSSZZZZZ!” It sounded like
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a rattlesnake. The fox turned and ran back across the prairie. The little owls had scared the fox
away. It didn’t know frightened burrowing owls hissed like rattlesnakes.
The owls learned to fly when they were six weeks old. Still, they stayed near the burrow. They
perched on fence posts to watch for prey on the ground. When they saw a mole or a mouse,
they would fly down and grab it with their sharp talons. They flew over the grass in search of
locusts, moths, or dragonflies. The parent owls sat on the ground and fluffed their feathers.
They pushed their faces into the loose soil and swiveled their heads, scattering the dirt over
their facial disks. By bathing in the dust, they got rid of loose feathers and fleas. Soon the
seven owlets were dust bathing too. As the owlets grew, their nest became too crowded. One
by one they moved into empty burrows of their own nearby.
One fall morning, frost covered the ground. A cold wind blew. The owls had trouble finding
food. It was time to leave the northern prairie and migrate south to warm weather. In the spring
they would return to raise families of their own.
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ELD Questions for Narrative Input Chart
 Point to the owl
 Point to the burrow
 Is this a Fox? (point to fox) Yes / No
 Is this an owlet (point to mama) Yes / No
 What is this? (wing)
 What is this? (sky)
 Tell me about the burrow.
 Why did the owl family fly away?
 What were the owls afraid of?
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POETRY
BOOKLET
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Owls Here, Owls There,
Owls, Owls Everywhere
Owls here, Owls there,
Owls, owls everywhere!
Nocturnal owls hunting silently,
Crepuscular owls flying swiftly,
Carnivorous owls eating hungrily,
And camouflaged owls hiding carefully.
Owls in the old growth forest,
Owls throughout the world,
Owls under the ground,
And owls over me
Owls here, Owls there,
Owls, owls everywhere!
M. Van Wesep, 2011
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Ornithologist Bugaloo
I’m an ornithologist and I’m here to say,
I study the owl species in every way.
Sometimes I write a paper, sometimes I read a book,
But, usually, I just go and take a look.
Nocturnal, diurnal, crepuscular, too,
Doing the ornithologist BUGALOO!
I see that good eyesight helps owls see at night,
They are able to spot prey in very low light.
Specialized feathers make for silent flight,
Giving unsuspecting prey a terrible fright.
Nocturnal, diurnal, crepuscular, too,
Doing the ornithologist BUGALOO!
Some hunt at night, others during the day,
Then they eat their prey in a different way.
They swallow it whole, that’s the deal,
The owl thinks it is a delicious meal.
Nocturnal, diurnal, crepuscular, too,
Doing the ornithologist BUGALOO!
M. Van Wesep, J. Casad, 2011
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I Can Spell
I can spell eyes, e-y-e-s,
I can spell ears, e-a-r-s,
I can spell beak, b-e-a-k,
But I can’t spell characteristics.
I can spell neck, n-e-c-k,
I can spell wing, w-i-n-g,
I can spell feet, f-e-e-t,
But I can’t spell characteristics.
I can spell crown, c-r-o-w-n,
I can spell throat, t-h-r-o-a-t,
I can spell belly, b-e-l-l-y,
But I can’t spell characteristics.
Yes I can!! Yes I can!! Charac-teris-tics,
CHARACTERISTICS! CHARACTERISTICS! CHARACTERISTICS!
M. Van Wesep, L. Carroll 2011
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Owl Cadence
We just know what we’ve been told.
Owls are worth their weight in gold.
Hunting fish and rodents too,
Owls are nocturnal birds of prey.
Sound off…rodents
Sound off…nocturnal
Sound off 1 2 3 4, Look up!
Their eyes are binocular and cannot move,
They see around by moving their neck,
Radiating feathers surround the eye,
Giving the owl a wide-eyed look.
Sound off…binocular
Sound off…feathers
Sound off 1 2 3 4, Look up!
The largest is the Great Grey,
They live in the northern hemisphere.
The smallest are the Pygmy and Elf,
Found in the US and Mexico.
Sound off….sizes
Sound off…habitats
Sound off 1 2 3 4, Look up!
J. Casad, 2011
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I Know an Elf Owl
I know an elf owl,
A brownish elf owl,
A brownish elf owl,
The smallest owl in the world.
With wings that are long
And a short barred tail
He lives in the desert
To get the insects that he’ll eat.
I know an elf owl,
A brownish elf owl,
A brownish elf owl,
The smallest owl in the world.
With extra-long legs,
He lives in a cacti hole,
Avoiding snakes and bobcats,
Crying his whi-whi call
I know an elf owl,
A brownish elf owl,
A brownish elf owl,
The smallest owl in the world.
J. Casad, 2011
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Yes, Ma’am
Is this a Barn owl?
Is this a Barn owl?
How do you know?
How do you know?
Yes, Ma’am.
Yes, Ma’am.
It has a heart shaped face.
Its favorite food is small rodents.
Is this an Elf owl?
Is this an Elf owl?
How do you know?
How do you know?
Yes, Ma’am.
Yes, Ma’am.
It’s the smallest owl in the world.
It lives in a cactus hole.
Is this an Eastern Screech owl?
Is this an Eastern Screech owl?
How do you know?
How do you know?
Yes, Ma’am.
Yes, Ma’am.
It has ear tufts.
It lives in the forest.
Is this a Burrowing owl?
Is this a Burrowing owl?
How do you know?
How do you know?
Yes, Ma’am.
Yes, Ma’am.
It lives underground.
It likes to eat insects.
Is this a Snowy owl?
Is this a Snowy owl?
How do you know?
How do you know?
Yes, Ma’am.
Yes, Ma’am.
It is white all over.
It lives in the tundra.
Is this a Spotted owl?
Is this a Spotted owl?
How do you know?
How do you know?
Yes, Ma’am
Yes, Ma’am
It lives in old growth forests.
It is brown with white spots.
And are you through?
Did you tell me true?
What did you chant?
What did you chant?
Yes, Ma’am
Yes, Ma’am
Owls
Owls
M. Van Wesep, 2011
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DATE: __________________________
ALL ABOUT OWLS
HOME/SCHOOL CONNECTION
Ask your family to tell you what they know about owls. Sketch or write what your
family shared with you.
Parent ________________________________
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Student _________________________
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DATE: __________________________
ALL ABOUT OWLS
HOME/SCHOOL CONNECTION
Tell your family about the physical characteristics of barn owls, where they live,
what they eat, and how they are threatened. Make a sketch of some of the things you tell
them.
Parent ________________________________
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Student _________________________
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DATE: __________________________
ALL ABOUT OWLS
HOME/SCHOOL CONNECTION
Retell the narrative story “The Burrowing Owl” to your family. What was their
favorite part? Sketch or write what your family shared with you.
Parent ________________________________
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DATE: __________________________
ALL ABOUT OWLS
HOME/SCHOOL CONNECTION
Read one poem from your poetry booklet to your family. Explain it to them and
sketch it below.
Parent ________________________________
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FECHA: __________________________
TODO SOBRE LOS BUHOS
CONEXIÓN HOGAR/ESCUELA
Pide a tu familia lo que saben sobre los búhos. Haz un boceto o escribe unas frases
describiendo las ideas de tu familia.
Padre ________________________________
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Estudiante _______________________
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FECHA: __________________________
TODO SOBRE LOS BUHOS
CONEXIÓN HOGAR/ESCUELA
Habla a las personas de tu familia acerca de los buhos del granero. Donde viven?
Que comen? Estan en peligro? Haz un dibujo que muestra las ideas que les explicaste.
Padre ________________________________
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Estudiante _______________________
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FECHA: __________________________
TODO SOBRE LOS BUHOS
CONEXIÓN HOGAR/ESCUELA
En tus propias palabras, diles a las personas de tu familia la historia, “The Burrowing
Owl.” Cual parte de la historia les gusto mas? Haz un dibujo o escribe unas frases
describiendo la parte favorita de tu familia.
Padre ________________________________
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Estudiante _______________________
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FECHA: __________________________
TODO SOBRE LOS BUHOS
CONEXIÓN HOGAR/ESCUELA
Leele un poema de tu libreta de poesia a una persona de tu familia.
Explicale de qué se trata el poema y haz un dibujo abajo.
Padre ________________________________
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Expert Group
Elf Owl
Description
The Elf Owl is the smallest owl in the world. It is only 5 inches tall. Its wingspan is 9 inches
and it weighs 1 to 1.5 ounces. It has a short tail. The head is round. Their overall color is
brownish-grey with some white on the wings and belly. The eyes are pale yellow with white
eyebrows.
Habitat
Elf Owls are found mainly in riparian habitats (places where there is water) or in areas where
saguaro cactus are plentiful. Their range is southwest USA to Central Mexico and Baja
California. In the winter, northern populations migrate to Central Mexico. They can also be
found in ravines, canyons, plateaus, and on mountain slopes.
Life Cycle
Elf Owls nest in natural tree cavities and abandoned woodpecker holes that can be found in
giant cacti, oak trees, and sycamores. The nests are about 15 to 35 feet from the ground. The
female elf owl will lay 2 to 4 white eggs over 1 to 3 days. Incubation lasts at least 2 weeks.
Sometimes the female hunts and leaves the male to incubate the eggs. In the wild, elf owls live
3-6 years.
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Predators
The Elf Owl’s predators can include other owls, snakes, coyotes, bobcats and ringtail. Most
predators find it difficult to access the owls nest high up in a saguaro. The most important threat
to the elf owl is habitat loss both of its riparian forest habitat and desert-scrub habitats.
Diet
Elf Owls are nocturnal and hunt at night. They feed primarily on invertebrates such as moths,
crickets, scorpions, centipedes and beetles. On occasion they might eat a mouse or small bird.
Most prey is captured in flight. Like most owls, they tear their prey into pieces and then
swallow the pieces whole.
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Expert Group
Spotted Owl
Description
The Spotted Owl is a medium-sized owl. It is about 18 inches tall. Its wingspan is 48 inches
and it weighs 1 to 2 pounds. Their overall color is dark brown with white spots on its head,
neck, back, and under parts. The eyes are dark brown. This coloring helps it to camouflage
with the tree bark.
Habitat
Spotted Owls are found in old-growth forests. They prefer shaded mountain slopes and
canyons. Their range is northern California and the Pacific Northwest of the USA to the
southern parts of British Columbia, Canada. They do not migrate.
Life Cycle
Spotted Owls can nest in a variety of places, such as stick nests of Northern Goshawks, large
tree cavities, or on broken tops of large trees. The female will lay 2 to 3 eggs. Incubation lasts
for 30 days. The female does all the incubation and the male delivers food to the nest. In the
wild, spotted owls live as long as 10 years.
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Predators
Spotted Owl predators include the Great Horned Owl, the red-tailed hawk, and the common
raven, which goes for the eggs. The most important threat to the Spotted Owl is habitat loss
resulting from logging. Natural disasters such as fire, volcanic eruptions, wind storms and
climate changes are a threat.
Diet
Spotted Owls are nocturnal and hunt at night. They perch or “sit and wait” to dive down onto
prey. They feed primarily on flying squirrels, wood rats, mice and other small rodents. They
also eat gophers, rabbits, hares, birds, insects and reptiles. They either eat the food right away
or store it for later use.
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Expert Group
Eastern Screech Owl
Description
The Eastern Screech Owl is a small owl. It is about 7 - 10 inches long. The wing span is 22
inches. It weighs about 6 ounces. It can be either a bright, red-brown color or a drab gray.
Habitat
Eastern Screech Owls are found in woodlands, deciduous forests, and parklands. Their range is
east North America from east Montana and the Great Lakes to the Gulf of Mexico down to
Northeast Mexico. They do not migrate.
Life Cycle
Eastern Screech Owls nest in the cavities of deciduous trees such as oaks, elms, and maples.
The female will lay 3 to 5 eggs. A new egg is laid every 2 days. Incubation is about 26 days.
Female do most of the incubation but males will help. In the wild, eastern screech owls live as
long as 10 years.
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Predators
Eastern Screech Owl predators include the other owls like the Great Horned Owl and the Barred
Owl, mink, weasels, raccoons, skunks, snakes, crows, and Blue Jays. Other threats to the
Eastern Screech Owl include: poisons, parasites, and diseases including malaria and avian pox.
Diet
Eastern Screech Owls are nocturnal and hunt at night. They feed primarily on shrews and deer
mice, but they will also eat insects, earthworms, snails, spiders, crayfish, other owls,
chipmunks, squirrels, song birds, snakes, frogs, toads, salamanders, rats, and rabbits. Small
prey is swallowed whole while large prey is torn into bite-sized pieces.
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Expert Group
Snowy Owl
Description
The Snowy Owl is a large-sized owl. It is about 27 inches tall. Its wingspan is 4.5 – 5.5 feet
and it weighs 2 to 4 pounds. Their overall color is mostly white with some brown bars and
spots. This coloring helps them camouflage with the snow. The eyes are golden and rather
small for an owl.
Habitat
Snowy Owls are found in the Arctic tundra or open grasslands and fields. Their range is from
the western Aleutians in Alaska to northeastern Manitoba in Canada. They migrate.
Life Cycle
Snowy Owls nest on the ground, where the female makes a shallow hole with her talons. The
nests are lined with scraps of vegetation and owl feathers. The female will lay 5 to 8 white
eggs, one every 2 days. Incubation lasts for 32 days. Only females incubate the eggs. The
male delivers food to the nest. In the wild, snowy owls live as long as 9 years.
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Predators
The Snowy Owl’s predators include Arctic foxes and wolves. Skuas and jaegers take eggs or
chicks. Other threats are climate change, collisions with automobiles, and gunshot wounds.
Diet
Snowy Owls are diurnal and hunt during the day. They are nomadic meaning they move to
where prey is plentiful. Their primary prey is lemmings. The adult owl can eat 3 to 5
lemmings each day. They swallow their prey whole. They eat other mammals like small
rodents to large hares. They eat birds ranging from small songbirds to medium sized geese.
They perch or “sit and wait” to dive down onto prey. The prey is caught in the air or on the
ground.
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All About Owls
Mind Map
Description
Habitat
Name of Owl
Diet
Predators
All About Owls Level 2 OR
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Life Cycle
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All About Owls
Process Grid
Name
Description
Habitat
Life Cycle
Predators
Diet
Barn Owl
Elf Owl
Spotted Owl
Eastern
Screech Owl
Snowy Owl
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