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 decay scrawny suspicions carcasses parasite starvation 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 116 5.6.2 MAIN IDEA AND DETAILS TEXT STRUCTURE 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 What is the main idea on this page? (Buffalo were important to Native Americans’ survival.) PAGE 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.) Saving An American Symbol 16911_LRD_TG_116-117 116 12/16/05 9:30:38 AM REVISIT THE BOOK READER RESPONSE 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 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 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 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 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 Skill Work 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 Saving An American Symbol 16911_LRD_TG_116-117 117 117 12/16/05 9:30:40 AM Saving An American Symbol 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 Main Idea © Pearson Education Supporting Details 118 16911_LRD_TG_118-119 12/16/05 9:31:16 AM Saving An American Symbol Name Vocabulary Directions Write the vocabulary word that matches each definition Check the Words You Know bleached decay scrawny suspicions carcasses parasite starvation tundra rot doubts arctic plain skinny dead animal bodies made lighter in color hunger small organism © Pearson Education Directions Write the vocabulary word that is the opposite of each word or phrase large 10 a full stomach 119 16911_LRD_TG_118-119 12/16/05 9:31:17 AM ... graphic organizer to list the causes and effects of buffalo hunting Saving An American Symbol 169 11_LRD _TG_ 1 16- 117 117 117 12/ 16/ 05 9:30:40 AM Saving An American Symbol Name Main Idea and Details... and supporting details of Saving An American Symbol Main Idea © Pearson Education Supporting Details 118 169 11_LRD _TG_ 118-119 12/ 16/ 05 9:31: 16 AM Saving An American Symbol Name Vocabulary Directions... 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