Welcome to the Desert 6-pack Author: Philippa Werry ISBN: 9780790326795 Lesson Plan Blackline Master Grade Level: 1 Reading Level: E Strategy/Skill: Main ideas, Making predictions Genre: Nonfiction Theme/Topic: Habitats, Natural world Classification: Nonfiction Fluency: Early

Overview

This book is a simple scientific report on how animals and plants survive in the desert.  Vivid desert photographs are overlaid with images of a boy acting as a guide.  (Big idea: Scientists study plants and animals to help us understand them.)

Suggested Purposes

This book supports the following comprehension strategies:

• making and confirming predictions
• identifying the main ideas

It supports the following nonfiction strategies:

• using a picture glossary (boldface type)
• getting information from photographs

Features of the Text

• Nonfiction features:
  • cover flap, which provides support for identifying the big ideas and anchor words
  • the topic (habitats), which expands on pages 8 and 9 of the anchor book Being a Scientist
  • preview question on the back cover
  • questions that focus attention on the topic
  • bold text for glossary words
  • cutaway photographs
  • photographs of a boy who acts as the reader’s
  • guide
  • picture glossary
•  Word study:
  • contractions – it’s, doesn’t, there’s
  • medial sound “ee” – need, deep
• Questions marks
• Commas
• Exclamation point

For more information please see our Lesson Plan