Title – Anticipation Guide – African Savannah

By – Blanca

Primary Subject – Social Studies

Grade Level – 3rd

Materials:

• Chart paper
  
• Markers
  
• Book “Living in the African Savannah” by Nicola Barber; pgs. 6-9 (10 copies)
  
• Handouts: Anticipation Guide

Focus:

• 
  The African Savannah
  
  : The current unit of study in 3rd grade social studies is Africa.

Grouping Options:

• Whole-class instruction.
  
• Group work in two’s and two groups of four.

Objectives:

1. SWBAT understand the way of life of people in the savannah
   
2. SWBAT indentify geological and geographical aspects of the African continent
   
3. SWBAT know terminology and facts of the African savannah.

Motivation:

• To activate their schema and create motivation, start by summarizing what the students have already learned about the continent of Africa by showing them a map, pointing out borders and main locations.
• Then introduce five true/false statements in which students have to access prior knowledge from previous country studies to make their determination. The statements will ignite their curiosity and make them eager to know more.

Mini-Lesson:

• On chart paper, write five statements about life in the African savannah along with three columns labeled
  
  Before Reading | Proof | After Reading
  
  (see below).

Start the discussion by asking what they think about the first statements. Students will then take turns and talk about it. We’ll talk about what the answer might be and take a vote by show of hands if the statement is true or false.

Body of Lesson (Procedure):

• Students are called to the meeting area
  
• Start by recalling previous lesson on the continent of Africa.
  
• Show map and point to the main locations and names.
  
• Tell students “Now, based on what we know about Africa and what we have learned about geography and geology terms, let’s try to fill out the following chart.”
  
• Show all components of chart for student and teacher understanding.
  
• Give a copy of the chart to students.
  
• Show proper behavior: sitting like a pretzel with papers in from of them, hands on laps, facing front.
  
• Read the first statement.
  
• Tell the students to talk to their partner for a couple of minutes and decide if the statement is true of false.
  
• Ask them why they think the statement is true of false.
  
• Fill out the first column – Before Reading – with “T” for true or “F” for false.
  
• Continue asking the students to talk to their partner about the following statements.
  
• Clarify statements, or ask questions depending on the needs and struggles students show.
  
• Once the first column is filled, tell students that they will be working in groups of two and four.
  
• They will read pages 6 to 9 from the book
  
  Living in the African Savannah
  
  in their groups.

• Explain to students the task:
  1. First, read the pages marked (6-9) and find proof that supports the statement.
     
  2. Their task is to fill out column two – find facts about the statements.
  3. Does the information support your answer?
     
  4. Is the statement correct? If it’s not, what is the real fact?
     
  5. Write down the page number to discuss later.

• Students will move to their desks and read the pages in the book.
  
• Students will discuss the statements in their groups.
  
• Group work would take about ten minutes.

Culmination:

• After students work in groups, call them back to the meeting area.
• Mention the good work they did while working with their partners and praise their effort.
• As a whole class, go over the chart, while providing support and taking notice of the information learned by students.

Assessment:

• Observations will be a big part of assessing students’ work.
• By listening to their reading and conversations, the teacher will be able to know if the students understood the task and also the reading.
• The finished handout will also serve as concrete samples of their comprehension as well as whole group discussion.

E-Mail

Blanca

!