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Grades
Grades 2-up
News Content
Many lessons can be learned from a scientist who lived in an underwater habitat for 13 days.
Anticipation Guide
Before reading, ask students to agree or disagree with each of the statements below. This will set a purpose for reading; as they read, students will confirm their assumptions or learn something new.
News Words
Next, introduce these words that appear in the News Word Box on the students printable page: deliver, oxygen, wildest, produce, carbon dioxide, and algae. 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
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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
Revisit the Anticipation Guide at the top of this lesson; ask students to respond again to the statements in it.
You might follow-up that activity by asking some of these questions:
Recalling Detail
Think About the News
Discuss the Think About the News question that appears on the students news page. You might use the think-pair-share strategy with students to discuss this question. If you use this strategy
History and critical thinking
Refer to explorers with whom your students are familiar -- pioneers who were the first to go where others had not traveled -- such as Christopher Columbus, the Pilgrims of Plymouth, Lewis and Clark, or Neil Armstrong. Ask: Some people say Lloyd Godson is a modern-day pioneer. Would you agree or disagree with that statement?
Follow-Up Activities
Letter writing. Lloyd Godson paid for the BioSUB project with $42,000 he won in the "Live Your Dream" contest sponsored by an Australian nature magazine. Ask: What is something you would really like to do if you had the money and the courage to do it? Write a letter explaining your dream and why you want to do it.
Math -- the metric system. The metric system of measurement is used in many countries. The metric system measures things in meters, grams, and liters instead of yards, ounces, and quarts. Share this online metric converter with your students. Have them practice converting English (imperial) measurement units to metric units.
Hands-on science. Help students understand how the BioSUB did not fill with water when it was submerged and the manhole on its underside was opened. Fill a clear bowl with water. Turn a glass upside down and force it into the water. Does the glass fill up with water? Why not? (The glass is full of air, so there is no room in the glass for water. Air in the glass pushes down on the water.) You might ask students what happens when a canoe flips over. Some will know that you can stay under the canoe and still breathe because the flipped canoe creates a pocket of air underneath it.
Language arts. People who live in different places have different expressions. Give students time to identify expressions in their vocabulary that they know to be regional in nature. Then select some of these Australian expressions to share with students. See if they can identify what the expressions might mean. (Note: Be sure to handpick expressions that are appropriate for the age of your students.) You might write ten of the expressions on a sheet of chart paper and have students choose five of them to use in written sentences.
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 questions on the news story page or in the Comprehension Check section.
Lesson Plan Source
Education WorldNational Standards
National StandardsLANGUAGE ARTS: English
GRADES K - 12
NL-ENG.K-12.2 Reading for Understanding
NL-ENG.K-12.12 Applying Language Skills
MATHEMATICS: Measurement
GRADES Pre-K - 2
NM-MEA.PK-2.1 Understand Measurable Attributes of Objects and the Units, Systems, and Processes of Measurement
GRADES 3 - 5
NM-MEA.3-5.1 Understand Measurable Attributes of Objects and the Units, Systems, and Processes of Measurement
GRADES 6 - 8
NM-MEA.6-8.1 Understand Measurable Attributes of Objects and the Units, Systems, and Processes of Measurement
GRADES 9 - 12
NM-MEA.9-12.1 Understand Measurable Attributes of Objects and the Units, Systems, and Processes of Measurement
SCIENCE
GRADES K - 4
NS.K-4.3 Life Science
NS.K-4.4 Earth and Space Science
NS.K-4.5 Science and Technology
NS.K-4.6 Science in Personal and Social Perspectives
GRADES 5 - 8
NS.5-8.3 Life Science
NS.5-8.4 Earth and Space Science
NS.5-8.5 Science and Technology
NS.5-8.6 Science in Personal and Social Perspectives
GRADES 9 - 12
NS.9-12.3 Life Science
NS.9-12.4 Earth and Space Science
NS.9-12.5 Science and Technology
NS.9-12.6 Science in Personal and Social Perspectives
TECHNOLOGY
GRADES K - 12
NT.K-12.1 Basic Operations and Concepts
NT.K-12.2 Social, Ethical, and Human Issues
NT.K-12.4 Technology Communications Tools
NT.K-12.6 Technology Problem-Solving and Decision-Making Tools
See recent news stories in Education Worlds News Story of the Week Archive.
Article by Ellen Delisio and Gary Hopkins
Education World®
Copyright © 2007 Education World
04/25/2007