Lesson 15: Animal Mothers and Babies

Animal Mothers
and Babies

Focus Objectives

Learn the many way

s
animal mot hers take
care of their
babies.

Students will be able to:

understand the main idea and supporting details
of simple expository information
use self-correction strategies to monitor
comprehension

TESOL Objective

Level 1.4
Word Count: 75
Reading Level Correlation
s:
Early Intervention Level
7
Guided Reading Level E
DRA Level 7
Lexile 460

Students will use English to interact in the classroom.

Word Work

High-Frequency Words: take, find,

many
Word Study: word chunk patterns
ub and en
Know Your Words activity sheet
(page159)

baby
feed
food
keep
mothers

Comprehension Skills

Understanding Main Idea and

Supporting Details
Monitoring Comprehension
Things Mothers Do activity sheet
(page160)

Teacher Created Materials

TCM 14579

Dona Herweck Ric

e

Writing
Trace and practice high-frequency and
vocabulary words.

Cross-curricular Connections

Academic Vocabulary

Animal
Mothers
and Babies

Social Science: Students know the

roles of parents and the extended
family in supporting a strong family
and promoting the health of children.
Science: Students know that animals
closely resemble their parents.

Building Fluency

Reading the book: repeated readings

with audio support; choral reading
Reading the poem: poetry folder;
repeated readings
Animal Mothers poem (page 158)

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Lesson 15: Animal Mothers and Babies

(cont.)

Word Work
1. High-Frequency WordsWrite the
words take, find, and many on the board.
Read each word aloud. Depending
on students abilities, you may wish to
introduce the high-frequency words one
at a time.
Give students lined paper and a variety
of colored pencils. Say and point to the
featured high-frequency word. Have
students repeat the word and write it
on their papers using a different color
for each letter.
If you have a classroom word wall, have
students add the high-frequency words
to it. As time permits, read the word
wall together to reinforce mastery of
high-frequency words.

2. Word StudyWrite the ub word chunk

on a sheet of chart paper using a red
marker.
Have students brainstorm other words
that end with ub. Write these words
on the chart paper. The list of words
may include cub, dub, hub, and rub.
Repeat the process above for the en
word chunk.
For additional practice with the words
in this lesson, have students complete
the Know Your Words activity sheet
(page 159).
adding words
Tip: When
to the list, use a black

marker for the beginning sound and

a red marker for the ub word chunk.
For example, the c in cub would be
black and the ub would be red.
This will help students identify the
beginning (onset) and featured word
chunk (rime).

Academic Vocabulary
1. Develop students vocabulary by naming
animal babies. Write the heading Animal
Babies on the board or chart paper. Under
it, list all the words that students can
provide. Your chart may look similar to
the chart on the right.
2. Instruct students to add the academic
vocabulary words to their dictionaries.
Encourage them to write a word, phrase,
or sentence for each word and to include
a picture.

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Animal Babies
kittens

puppies

chicks

cubs

goslings

foal

calf

hatchling

Teacher Created Materials

Lesson 15: Animal Mothers and Babies

Comprehension

(cont.)

English Language
Support

Before Reading
1. Introducing the BookTell students the title of the book.
Ask students, What do you think this book will be about? Ask if
they have ever seen other books about this same topic.
Ask students to imagine that there is more to the cover picture.
Ask them to tell you what they think might be around the
elephants.

Build prior knowledge

and vocabulary before
introducing the book.
Discuss ways in which
human mothers take care
of their children. Discuss
ways in which animal
mothers might be similar
to and different from
human mothers using a
Venn diagram.

2. Monitoring ComprehensionDisplay the cover of the book. Ask

students to name some things they already know about elephants
from looking at the picture. Praise them for using the picture clues.
Read the title aloud. As students offer suggestions, ask if they
think it is an important fact about the elephants. For example,
if someone says the elephants are playing, ask students if they
think that fact is important now that they know the title.
Ask students to name important things about animal mothers and babies that might be
included in the book.

During Reading
1. Monitoring ComprehensionRead the title of the book, pointing to each word as you
read it.
Read the book with students, showing them photographs prior to reading the text. For
example, on page 8, cover the text. Ask students to describe what is happening in the
picture. Encourage all responses such as eating or feeding. Then look at the text and
determine what guesses, if any, fit with the text. Lead students to the idea that making
predictions from the pictures can help them when they come to text they dont know.
Read pages 48 of the book with students, pausing to discuss the photographs and to
comment on what they see and think.
2. Understanding Main Idea and Supporting DetailsUsing the choral-reading strategy,
read the title aloud with students.
Ask students whether the title tells what the book is about. Ask them to explain how the
title can help you understand the important parts of the text.
After reading each page, ask students to make comparisons between the animal on the
page and human mothers. Ask them if thinking about people they know helps them to
better understand the text of the book. Encourage students to add sentences to the text.
Now have students read the book independently. Monitor and check for understanding.
Assessment OpportunityMonitor students as they read the
highfrequency words.
Teacher Created Materials

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Lesson 15: Animal Mothers and Babies

Comprehension (cont.)
After Reading
1. Building Oral LanguageDiscuss whether or not students
think animal mothers love their babies. Can animals love? Let
this be an open discussion with no right or wrong answers.
Encourage students to use real-life examples to explain their
opinions.

(cont.)

English Language
Support
Assign a partner to each
student. Ask each pair
to select an animal to
portray. One will be the
mother (or father) and one
will be the baby. Each
team can show the class
something that the animal
parent does for the baby.

2. Understanding Main Idea and Supporting DetailsAsk

students to tell you what the book is about in as few words
as they can (such as families or how moms take care of
babies). Inform them that telling about the book in as few
words as possible can help them identify the authors main
idea. Then ask students to provide some details from the
book. Explain that these details help the reader better understand the book but are not the
authors main reason for writing the text. For additional practice with the comprehension
skill in this lesson, have students complete the Things Mothers Do activity sheet (page 160).

Writing
Create a cloze activity. Write each sentence from the book on chart paper, deleting a key word
from each. For example, Animal mothers take _______ of their babies. Have students take turns
filling in the blanks.
Allow below-grade-level students to use a word bank when writing the words.
Have on-grade-level students write the high-frequency words several times until they can
write the words fluently.
Encourage above-grade-level students to write the words and then additional sentences
that include additional high-frequency and vocabulary words.

Cross-curricular Connections
Social ScienceIn groups, look for magazine pictures of families with
children. Use these pictures to create a class book about how family
members help each other. For a picture of a mother handing a child food,
students may write, Moms help kids eat healthy.
ScienceProvide students with a variety of pictures of animal and human
babies. Have students match the baby with the mother. Discuss how
babies often resemble their parents, but not always.

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Teacher Created Materials

Lesson 15: Animal Mothers and Babies

(cont.)

Building Fluency
1. Reading the BookUse one or all of the following methods for fluency practice:
Use a copy of the book (provided on the Teacher Resource CD) along with the professional
audio recording (provided on the Audio CD) so students can practice reading the book to
build fluency. Listening to the book being read aloud will give students an idea of how to
use proper intonation, expression, and pacing when reading.
Use the choral-reading strategy to read the book several times with students and allow
students to practice reading the book silently and in pairs.
2. Reading the PoemUse one or all of the following methods for fluency practice:
Discuss the Animal Mothers poem (page 158). Compare and contrast the book and the
poem by asking students questions, such as How is the poem similar to or different from
the book?
Provide copies of the poem for students to keep in a poetry folder. They can practice
reading the poems in this folder during free-choice time and independent or paired
reading time.
Write the poem on a sheet of chart paper. Take time to reread it throughout the day.
Choral and repeated readings are effective strategies for building fluency. Encourage
students to create actions and gestures or a tune to go along with the poem.
You may wish to use the professional recording of the poem provided on the Audio CD to
support fluency development.
Assessment OpportunitiesUse the oral reading record and the fluency
rubric provided in the Assessment Guide to assess students ability to read
the book and poem fluently and accurately.

Name: _____________________________________

Know Your Words

Name: __________
__________

_________________

Directions: Think about the book Animal Mothers and Babies.

Complete each sentence below by writing mother or baby on
the line.

rs
Animal Mothe

1. A mother finds water for her

s
es he r ba bie
A mo the r lov
rm .
m snu g an d wa
An d kee ps the
ter
m foo d an d wa
Sh e b rin gs the
ha rm .
m saf e fro m
An d kee ps the
tim e
m up at b ath
Sh e cle an s the
m in at nig ht.
An d tuc ks the
s.
es he r ba bie
A mo the r lov
r mi gh t.
m wit h all he
Sh e lov es the

2. A

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eachers Guide
#14580EmergentT

Materials

Teacher Created Materials

brings food.
carry
1.

3. A

takes care of her baby.

4. A

lion picks up her cub.

5. A

hen teaches her chicks how to peck.

6. A

needs its mother.

2.

Teacher Created Materials

Teacher Created

Things Mothe
rs Do

Directions: Look
at the pictu res
below. Write the
from the word
bank that goes
word
with each pictu
animal mother
re of an
helping an anim
al baby.

#14580EmergentTeachers Guide

Word Bank
bathe

teach

feed

4.

5.

159
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eachers Guide

Teacher Created

Materials

#14580EmergentTeachers Guide

157

Animal Mothers
A mother loves her b abies
And keeps them snug and wa rm.
She b rings them food and water
And keeps them safe from h a rm.
She cleans them up at b ath time
And tucks them in at night.
A mother loves her b abies.
She loves them with all her might.

158

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Teacher Created Materials

Name:______________________________________

Know Your Words

Directions: Think about the book Animal Mothers and Babies.
Complete each sentence below by writing mother or baby on
the line.

1. A mother finds water for her

2. A

brings food.

3. A

takes care of her baby.

4. A

lion picks up her cub.

5. A

hen teaches her chicks how to peck.

6. A

needs its mother.

Teacher Created Materials

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159

Name:______________________________________

Things Mothers Do
Directions: Look at the pictures below. Write the word
from the word bank that goes with each picture of an
animal mother helping an animal baby.
Word Bank
carry

160

bathe

teach

1.

4.

2.

5.

#14580EmergentTeachers Guide

feed

Teacher Created Materials

Lesson 15: Animal Mothers and Babies

Oral Reading Record

Animal Mothers
and Babies
Read this book
to
learn the many
ways
animal mothers
take care for
their babies.

Animal
Mothers
and Babies

Name ________________________________ Date ___________

Level 1.4
Word Count: 75
Reading Level Correla
tions:
Early Intervention
Level 7
Guided Reading Level
E
DRA Level 7

Assessor ______________________________________________

TCM 14579

Word Count
75
Page
3
4
5
6

Codes
E = errors

SC = self-corrections

Text

M = meaning

S = structure

Cues Used
E
SC

SC

Animal mothers take care of their babies.

A mother cat feeds her kittens.
A mother hen teaches her chicks to peck.
A mother lion picks up her cub by the fur

V = visual

on its neck.
7
8
9
10

A mother elephant finds water for her baby.

A mother bird brings food to her babies.
A mother whale swims with her baby.
A mother gorilla keeps her baby close for a
long time.

11

Animal mothers take care of their babies.

TOTALS

Error
Rate:
Teacher Created Materials

Self-Correction
Rate:

Accuracy
Percentage:

Time:

# 14581Emergent Assessment Guide

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Lesson 15: Animal Mothers and Babies

Multiple-Choice Test
Name _____________________________________ Date____________
Directions: Read each question. Choose the best answer.
Fill in the bubble for the answer you have chosen.

1 A baby cat is called 3 Which animal mother

a _____.

A chick
B gorilla
C kitten
D cub

swims with her

baby?

A cat
B gorilla
C lion
D whale

2 A mother _____ picks 4 Which baby rides on

up her baby by the
fur on its neck.

44

A lion
B gorilla
C whale
D bird

# 14581Emergent Assessment Guide

its mothers back?

A a kitten
B a gorilla
C an elephant
D a chick
Teacher Created Materials