Page 2 - Kind News Teacher Guide, November/December 2020

COMMON CORE, NEXT GENERATION SCIENCE STANDARDS (NGSS), AND CASEL ALIGNED ACTIVITIES
Third grade: CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.3.5. Use text features and search tools (e.g., key words, sidebars,

hyperlinks) to locate information relevant to a given topic e ciently. CASEL Core Competencies:
Social Awareness/Responsible Decision-Making
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“All Creatures Great and Small: Around the World with Nzinzi!”: Ask whether anyone has ever
“All Creatures Great and Small: Around the World with Nzinzi!”: Ask whether anyone has ever
done a project that helps animals or heard of any ways that they can help. Ask students to
read the two articles and highlight at least six ways that people helped animals. (If reading

the issue online, encourage them to use search functions to help them find the information

e ciently.) Then ask students to brainstorm ways to help their local shelter or rescue

safely, such as strategies to raise community awareness on fostering and adoption or doing
a pet food drive. To extend the activity, contact your local shelter to see what their major
needs are and work together as a class to do a service-learning project focused on one need.
needs are and work together as a class to do a service-learning project focused on one need.
Fourth grade: CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.4.3. Write narratives to develop real or
F o u r t h g ra d e: C C S S . E L A - L I T E R A C Y . W . 4 . 3 .
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imagined experiences or events using e ective technique, descriptive details,
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and clear event sequences/CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.4.3.B. Use dialogue and
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description to develop experiences and events or show the responses of
characters to situations.
To go with Amazing World, “How Does a Snake Sense the World?”: After students have
T o g o w i t h A m a z i n g W o r l d , “ H o w D o e s a S n a k e S e n s e t h e W o r l d ? ” : A f t e r s t u d e n t s h a v e
read the article once through, ask them to reread it and pay attention to what they are
read the article once through, ask them to reread it and pay attention to what they are
visualizing as they read. How does the second-person narrator help them imagine the snake
visualizing as they read. How does the second-person narrator help them imagine the snake
smelling the mouse or sensing the people with vibrations? Then ask students to choose an animal,
smelling the mouse or sensing the people with vibrations? Then ask students to choose an animal,
take this animal’s perspective, and write a story in second person (using “you” instead of “I” or “he/she”). What can the
take this animal’s perspective, and write a story in second person (using “you” instead of “I” or “he/she”). What can the
animal taste? Hear? See? Ask them to include descriptive details that help the reader adopt the perspective of their chosen
animal. To extend the activity, have students read aloud their stories to a writing partner and have the partner use a
blindfold or close their eyes and imagine they are the animal in the story.
Fifth grade: CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.5.7. Conduct short research projects that use several sources to build

knowledge through investigation of di erent aspects of a topic.
To go with Critter Clues: After reading the clues and guessing the critter, ask students to think of an animal they’d like to learn
more about, but have them keep their chosen animal to themselves. Then ask them to make a “KWL” chart with the column

headings “Know,” “Want to Know,” and “Learned.” Give them time to fill out the “Know” and “Want to Know” columns and opposite page, from top: redrover; rdodson/bigstock; raja image: bryan huff. this page, from top: ruslankphoto/bigstock; redrover.

come up with at least five things they want to know about the animal. Then allow them to research the animal based on
those questions and create their own Critter Clues for their classmates to solve. Alternatively, partner with a classroom in
the lower grades to have the younger “buddy” readers guess the animals for the clues that the older students create.
Sixth grade: NGSS MS-LS2-4. Construct an argument supported by empirical evidence

that changes to physical or biological components of an ecosystem a ect populations.
CASEL Core Competency: Responsible Decision-Making
To go with “People Step Up to Help Shelter Animals During the Pandemic”: After reading the article,
ask students why they think that animal shelters already had to disinfect, wear protective gear and take
other safety precautions even before the COVID-19 pandemic. Ask students to do research about the
precautions shelters take to keep pets and people safe and healthy and report on their

findings. What are the risks involved with not taking these precautions? How do the
precautions prevent disease from spreading? Encourage students to think of creative ways

to share their findings, such as creating diagrams or graphic representations. To extend the

activity, ask students to write thank-you letters to shelter sta describing how their roles
have positively impacted the animals and people in their community, or organize a service-
learning project focused on helping shelters maintain their safe environments, such as
collecting donations for personal protective equipment, or whatever items local shelters
need most. Where’s Raja?
RAJA IS HIDING ON PAGE 4!