Subjects
Arts & Humanities
--Language Arts
--Literature
Educational Technology
Science
--History
--Life Sciences
----Animals
--Physical Science
----Earth Science
--Natural History
Social Studies
--Current Events
--Geography
--History
----World History
Grades
Grades 2-up
News Content
How could the giant frog of Madagascar be so closely related to frogs half a world away?
Anticipation Guide
Before reading, point out (or have students point out) on a world map the locations of Madagascar and South America. You might ask: For how long, do you think, have these two pieces of land stood in their current positions? Accept reasoned responses. Students will come to understand why you asked that odd question after they read this weeks news story.
News Words
Next, introduce these words that appear in the News Word Box on the students printable page: evidence, resemble, fierce, continents, rethinking, and drifted. Discuss the meanings of any of those words that might be unfamiliar. Then ask students to use one of those words to complete each of these sentences:
Read the News
Click for a printable version of this weeks news story Scientists Discover Giant Frog Fossil.
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More Facts to Share
You might share these additional facts with students after they have read this weeks news story.
Comprehension Check
Recalling Detail
Think About the News
Discuss the Think About the News question that appears on the students news page. Accept reasoned responses. Then you might share the following information, which will expand on students understanding:
The Pangaea theory is supported by evidence. For example, marsupials are found both in Australia and South America, which might indicate the lands were connected at one time. Some flowering plants common to Australia, South and Central Africa, South and Central America, India, and Eastern and South-eastern Asia are further evidence. And common pollens that date back 90 million years have been found in fossils on these once-connected land masses.
Follow-Up Activities
Science. You might share with students this animation that brings to life the theory known as Pangaea. Have students keep their eyes on the movement of the chunks of land that today are called Australia, Antarctica, South Africa, Madagascar, India, and South America; you might rerun the animation a handful of times so they can keep their eyes on one land area at a time. In addition, you can help students follow the movement of land masses by slowing down the animation, which you can do by clicking repeatedly on the forward and back buttons on the right-hand side.
Geography. Provide students with a world outline map. Have them cut apart the continents and paste them together on a sheet of blue construction paper to illustrate approximately how -- according to the Pangaea theory -- those land areas might have been positioned 250 million years ago.
Language arts. Share with students in grades 3-up this folktale of Madagascar: Why Death Is Like the Banana Tree. After reading aloud the tale, ask If you were given the same choice that God gave the first man and woman, which choice would you have made? Alternate idea: instead of discussing that question, you might have students respond to it in their writing journals.
Assessment
Use the Comprehension Check (above) as an assessment. Or have students work on their own (in their journals) or in their small groups to respond to the Think About the News question on the news story page or in the Comprehension Check section.
Lesson Plan Source
Education WorldNational Standards
LANGUAGE ARTS: English
GRADES K - 12
NL-ENG.K-12.2 Reading for Understanding
NL-ENG.K-12.12 Applying Language Skills
SCIENCE
GRADES K - 4
NS.K-4.3 Life Science
NS.K-4.4 Earth and Space Science
NS.K-4.7 History and Nature of Science
GRADES 5 - 8
NS.5-8.3 Life Science
NS.5-8.4 Earth and Space Science
NS.5-8.7 History and Nature of Science
GRADES 9 - 12
NS.9-12.3 Life Science
NS.9-12.4 Earth and Space Science
NS.9-12.7 History and Nature of Science
SOCIAL SCIENCES: Geography
GRADES K - 12
NSS-G.K-12.1 The World in Spatial Terms
SOCIAL SCIENCES: World History
GRADES 5 - 12
NSS-WH.5-12.1 The Beginnings of History
See recent news stories in Education Worlds News Story of the Week Archive.
Article by Ellen Delisio and Gary Hopkins
Education World®
Copyright © 2008 Education World
04/02/2008