Teaching Plans 

CCSSELA:  CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.3.7 Use the information gained from illustrations (e.g., maps, photographs) and the words in a text to demonstrate understanding of the text (e.g., where, when, why, and how key events occur). 

Suggested Delivery:  Independent Read

Key Vocabulary: 

• Paleontology: The branch of science concerned with fossil animals and plants 

• Prehistoric: Relating to or denoting the period before written record. 

• Trilobite: An extinct marine arthropod that occurred abundantly during the Paleozoic era, with a carapace over the forepart, and a segmented hind part divided longitudinally into three lobes.

• Ambulocetus: Meaning "walking whale" is an early cetacean with short limbs and large feet used for swimming. Along with other members of Ambulocetidae, it is a transitional fossil that shows how whales evolved from land-living mammals. 

• Paleo Newscaster: A person who reads broadcast news stories but has a primary focus 

• Opabinia:  A soft-bodied animal, measuring up to 7 cm in body length, and its segmented trunk had flaps along the sides and a fan-shaped tail. 

• Live Stream: A live transmission of an event over the internet. 

• Primate:  a group of mammals that includes some of the most intelligent animals. The major kinds of primates are humans, apes, monkeys, tarsiers, lemurs, and lorises. 

Building Schema: 

Before Reading:  Have students complete the following Edpuzzle about the features of a graphic novel. As the videos play questions will pop up for the students to answer to demonstrate understanding of the video.  

 During Reading:  Have students participate in a think-aloud, in this process, you read a text aloud while verbalizing thoughts, predictions, questions, connections, and reflections. This helps students understand how to actively engage with the text, make inferences, and monitor their comprehension. Have students monitor their thinking-aloud process with the following checklist. 

After Reading: Using an editing site like Canva have students create a collage of images, words, and other visuals to demonstrate the comprehension of the characters, storyline, and other elements found within the text.

 An Example can be found Here

Writing Activity: After exploring the features of graphic novels and being introduced to Paleontology have students research other prehistoric creatures and have students add another character to the book. Have them answer questions like 

• How would they be there? 

• What purpose would they serve? 

• How could this character affect the plot and themes found in the book? 

• Have students create a character dossier, where they include likes, dislikes, and personality traits of this character. Then have them compare this character to others in the book

Have them rewrite sections of the book including their new character.

Extend The Text