5 6 2 saving an american symbol TG

Saving An American Symbol SUMMARY This article discusses why and how conservationists help control the population of buffalo.. LESSON VOCABULARY bleached carcasses scrawny starvation

Saving An

American Symbol

SUMMARY This article discusses why and how

conservationists help control the population

of buffalo It also talks about the history of

buffalo hunting and its effects and explains

why buffalo were hunted

LESSON VOCABULARY

bleached carcasses

scrawny starvation

suspicions tundra

INTRODUCE THE BOOK

INTRODUCE THE TITLE AND AUTHOR Discuss with

students the title and the author of Saving An

American Symbol Based on the title and cover

photograph, ask students what they think

this book will tell them about the American

buffalo Ask how the title is a clue to the

book’s contents

BUILD BACKGROUND Discuss what students

know about animal extinction Ask them to

name animals that are extinct or are in danger

of extinction Prompt them to talk about ways

that people can save animals from extinction

PREVIEW/USE TEXT FEATURES As students

preview the book, draw their attention to

the photographs and sidebars Direct their

attention to the chart on page 18 and ask

students what this chart says about the

buffalo population Based on these text

features, ask students what they think this

book will be about

READ THE BOOK

SET PURPOSE Have students set a purpose for

reading Saving An American Symbol Students’

own interest in animals or a related topic should guide this purpose Suggest that students think about how people can affect the wildlife populations

STRATEGY SUPPORT: TEXT STRUCTURE As students read, recognizing a text’s structure

or organization of ideas will help them with comprehension A graphic organizer can help students keep track of the important ideas

in a text Using a cause-and-effect graphic organizer, ask students to list the causes of the decrease in buffalo

COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS

PAGE 5 What is the main idea on this page?

(Buffalo were important to Native Americans’

survival.)

PAGE 5 What details support the main idea

from above? (They used buffalo meat for food,

made clothing and shelter from buffalo hides, and made tools from the bones.)

PAGES 12–13 What does this chart show about the progress of conservation? (that

conservation efforts have increased over time)

PAGES 13–14 What effects has the conservation movement had on buffalo?

(It has increased awareness and helped save the buffalo population from extinction.)

5.6.2

MAIN IDEA AND DETAILS

TEXT STRUCTURE

116 Saving An American Symbol

Skill Work

REVISIT THE BOOK

READER RESPONSE

1 Possible response: Topic: Killing off buffalo;

Main Idea: Things got worse for the buffalo

after the transcontinental railroad was

finished; Detail: Train passengers killed

buffalo for sport; Detail: Buffalo carcasses

dotted the plains; Detail: Dead buffalo

rotted in the sun

2 Sequence or chronological order; The

history of buffalo is told starting from

pre-European days, through their near

extinction, and to more recent efforts to

save them

3 Wild and conserve are the base words

Wilderness is an area that is wild or

uninhabited by humans Conservation is

the act of conserving or saving something

4 Responses will vary.

EXTEND UNDERSTANDING As students look

at the photographs, ask them why certain

ones help them understand what the author

is saying Ask them to point to specific

photographs to help them explain their ideas

Draw their attention to the photograph on

page 9 Ask students to discuss how this

photograph helps illustrate hunters’ negative

effects on wildlife

RESPONSE OPTIONS

WRITING Ask students to imagine they are in

charge of saving an endangered animal, like

the Giant Panda Ask them to write a plan

with steps that explain how they will go about

saving the animal

SCIENCE CONNECTION

Students can learn more about

the buffalo or an endangered

species by researching it on the

Internet or in the library Suggest that they

find one endangered species that interests

them and find out ways to help save it

Saving An American Symbol 117

TEACH/REVIEW VOCABULARY

Have students look up the meaning of each vocabulary word Then have them write a sentence using each word Challenge them

to come up with sentences using a different form of each vocabulary word

Have students look up the meaning

of each vocabulary word Then have them write a translation for each word in their home language Ask them to use each word

in a sentence of their own

TARGET SKILL AND STRATEGY

MAIN IDEA AND DETAILS Remind students

that the main idea is the most important idea about a topic Supporting details are

small pieces of information that tell more about the main idea As students read, have them answer the following questions on a sheet of paper: What is the main idea of this book? What is the most important idea about this topic? What are some details that support or tell about the main idea?

TEXT STRUCTURE Reinforce to students

that recognizing text structure is the ability

to recognize the organization of a piece of writing Familiarizing themselves with a text’s structure will aid in their comprehension

of the text As students read, have them answer the following questions in a graphic

organizer with the heading Cause and Effect:

What happens to the buffalo? What causes this to happen? What have conservationists done to help the buffalo? What effects did this have?

ADDITIONAL SKILL INSTRUCTION

CAUSE AND EFFECT Remind students that

cause is why something happened and effect

is what happened As students read through this book, have them list reasons why Native Americans hunted buffalo Suggest they use a graphic organizer to list the causes and effects of buffalo hunting

© Pearson Education 5

Name

Main Idea and Details

• The main idea is the most important idea about a topic

• Supporting details are small pieces of information that tell more about the main idea

Directions Use the diagram below to write the main idea and supporting details of

Saving An American Symbol.

Saving An American Symbol

118

Main Idea

Supporting Details

© Pearson Education 5

Name

119

Vocabulary

Directions Write the vocabulary word that matches each definition.

Check the Words You Know

bleached decay scrawny suspicions

carcasses parasite starvation tundra

1 rot

2 doubts

3 arctic plain

4 skinny

5 dead animal bodies

6 made lighter in color

7 hunger

8 small organism

Directions Write the vocabulary word that is the opposite of each word or phrase.

9 large

10 a full stomach

Saving An American Symbol