A guide for using our resources

Children will read the story of a real-life sea lion that left her home at the zoo.

Vocabulary: fiction, flood

Science Focus: ocean animals

  1. Watch a Video:
    Let’s Explore the Ocean

     

  2. Read the Issue:

    Escape at the Zoo

     

  3. Play a Game:

    Ocean Punctuation

    Skill: punctuation

     

  4. Complete Skill Sheets 

    Reading Checkpoint

    Skill: key details

     

    Which Long e?

    Skill: long vowels

     

    Compare Fiction and Nonfiction

    Skill: compare / contrast

     

  5. Lesson Boosters 

  • Paired Text Suggestion: Sammy the Seal by Sid Hoff

  •  

    Phonics Focus: Long oo Sound

     

  • Hands-on Activity: Observe Sea Lions!

CCSS (and states that have similar standards): RL.1.1 key details; RF.1.1 punctuation; RF.1.3 decode words; RF.1.2 vowel sounds; W.1.2 writing; RI.1.10 read and discuss first-grade texts; SL.1.2 ask and answer questions

Simple, spectacular ideas to boost your lessons.

Paired Text Suggestion: Sammy the Seal by Syd Hoff

  • Follow Sammy as he leaves the zoo for the day and goes on adventures around the city including going to school and learning to read!

Phonics Focus: Long oo Sound

  • Have students underline all words that have oo in them. Most of the words students find will make the long oo sound, such as: zoo, zookeeper, and pool. Can they find the exception to this rule? (flood)

Hands-on Activity: Observe Sea Lions!

Skills: observations, animal behavior

Materials: Observe Sea Lions! skill sheet, pencil, crayons

  • Students can take a virtual trip to the aquarium to observe and record sea lion behavior!
  • Have students observe real sea lions via a live sea lion cam. To “visit” the Georgia Aquarium, go to https://www.georgiaaquarium.org/webcam/california-sea-lion-cam/. The El Paso zoo also has a live feed at https://www.elpasozoo.org/zoo-cams/sea-lion-cam-outside/.
  • As they watch, or afterward, provide students with the Observe Sea Lions! printable and a pencil. Have students write and draw what they observed.