Great

Lakes Text Based Discussion Haven Bassett Objectives: 1. Student will be able to explain that over thousands of years, a glacier gouged huge holes in the land near Chicago, which after the Earth warmed, filled with freshwater and created the Great Lakes. 2. Student will be able to understand that the Great Lakes region is one of the largest watersheds in North America and a vast ecosystem of plants and animals that feed on each other, food webs. 3. Student will be able to differentiate between a food chain and a food web as well as be able to explain how pollution affects the food web in the Great Lakes. 4. Student will be able to use text features including bold words and section headings to support the process of comprehension. 5. Student will be able to define new vocabulary using content as well as questioning the author discussions. Text Challenges: 1. In A Vast and Varied Ecosystem, the author uses the terms food web and food chain, but differentiating between the two will likely be confusing for most students. 2. The layout of the vocabulary words may be confusing for some students because the list of defined words comes after words are used and defined in context. 3. Some students may need help understanding how the two diagrams, graphic organizer and food web, fit with the text and augment the authors argument. Introduction: Good morning sixth graders; my name is Ms. Bassett. I am a student at the University of Michigan and am learning to be a teacher, along with my classmate, Ms. Wolfe. Today we will be reading and analyzing a text together. As we are reading, remember that a book is simply someones ideas written down and sometimes authors do not say things in the clearest or easiest way, so as we are reading, we will be stopping frequently to try to understand what the author is saying and talk about what we are reading as we are reading it. We will be reading a text about the Great Lakes. Before we start reading, lets go around the circle and each say our name and one thing we know about the Great Lakes. My name is Ms. Bassett and I know that there are five Great Lakes.

Visual Inquiry: Type of Question Question What do you notice in this picture? Turn and talk with a partner and be ready to share one thing. People are standing around a well. There are a lot of people waiting with pots. Turning back to students: Why do you think this is a well? What is a well? Ideal Student Responses Follow-Up Discussion Move Other Student Response Follow-Up Discussion Move

It looks like they are fishing. Turning back to image: What in the image makes you think that?

Level 1

Revoicing: In this image, we are seeing a well and a well is a structure that gives people, usually a village or community, access to groundwater. Some homes in Ann Arbor have well water.

This looks like it could be the desert. It is definitely someplace dry because they are all waiting for water. This picture was probably taken in Arizona. Turning back to student: Why do you think that? The Great Lakes and wells both have water. Turning back to students: Does anyone want to elaborate on thatwhat kind of water do both the Great Lakes and wells supply? Annotating: This photograph was in fact taken in India and India does have desert terrain in the western part of the country. Recapping: In this image, we noticed the well and how some people have to work very hard to get freshwater. Lets hold onto these thoughts as we go back to the beginning of the chapter, turn to page 65.

Level 2

What kind of climate do you think this area has?

Turning back to image: What in the image tells you that this is the desert?

Level 3

Why do you think the author included this picture in a chapter about the Great Lakes?

Both a well and the Great Lakes contain freshwater. Not all regions have as much freshwater as Michigan.

Turning back to students: What else does that make you think about living in Michigan? Why is freshwater important?

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 Reading and Discussion:

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 Vocabulary Activities: Refer to worksheet. 1. Treasure: something greatly valued or highly prized. 2. Vast: great in size or area. 3. Depend: to rely on. 4. Ecosystem: community of all living things. 5. Food chain: series of plants or animals that depend on each other for food. 6. Watershed: area that includes all land and water that drains into a body of water, the Great Lakes. End of Activity: Before we end today, write your name and 2 or 3 key things that you learned from our reading today on a note card. Wrap-Up: Wow, we learned a lot about the Great Lakes today. Questioning the author helped us understand how the Great Lakes formed and learn about the ecosystems that exist today. Thank you for all of your hard work.

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