WEB of Possibilities

Madison Denniston

Kristina Benavides

Jessica Cerverizzo

ELA continued

3) Students will write an opinion piece about whether or not they agree with a certain decision Karana made on the island. May include whether or not Karana should have left the island by canoe or stayed, became friends with Rontu or not, gone back after her brother Ramo, decided to make weapons for herself, or became friends with Tutok.

• CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.4.1 Write opinion pieces on topics or texts, supporting a point of view with reasons and information.

ELA

4) After reading Island of the Blue Dolphins, students (in groups) will take a major moral development of Karana and act it out. Students may act out the exact scene or create a scene in which Karana makes the opposite decision. Students must show the end result for the decision they choose to act out.

- Students may also act out skits of moral development with situations they make up themselves.

• CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.4.4 Report on a topic or text, tell a story, or recount an experience in an organized manner, using appropriate facts and relevant, descriptive details to support main ideas or themes; speak clearly at an understandable pace.

1) "Island of the Blue Dolphins" movie, may be used to compare and contrast events and details occurring in the movie and book.

• CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.4.7 Make connections between the text of a story or drama and a visual or oral presentation of the text, identifying where each version reflects specific descriptions and directions in the text.

2) Aesop’s Fables by Aesop - Moral/lesson every day- for each day of this theme read one of these fables to the class, asking them to identify the moral and pick out what was right and wrong in the story. Ask them to think about what the right choice in the story would have been, and what they would have done if they were in that situation.

- Aesop's Fables by Aesop

- Similar lessons may be completed with The Fables of La Fontaine

• CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.4.2 Determine a theme of a story, drama, or poem from details in the text; summarize the text.

Science

Science continued

Moral Development

1) The class will create an ecosystem within the classroom. A terrarium with fish, frog or lizard, and plants. Students will be able to identify producers, consumers, and decomposers.

• S4L1. Students will describe the roles of organisms and the flow of energy within an ecosystem.

3) After reading chapter 3 in Island of the BLue Dolphins, hold a grand discussion in which students talk about what might have happened if the Aleuts did kill all of the otters. What would have happened to the ecosystem? Has this effect been seen anywhere else in the book (dog population increasing after the natives left the island)? After grand discussion students may free write in their journal about the questions mentioned above

• S4L1. Students will describe the roles of organisms and the flow of energy within an ecosystem.

2) Students will create a food web, showing the flow of energy within Karana’s community. Students will include where energy comes from, producers on the island, consumers, and will include Karana as a secondary consumer.

- What Are Food Chains and Webs? by Bobbie Kalman- Read Aloud

• S4L1. Students will describe the roles of organisms and the flow of energy within an ecosystem.

4) Students will reenact a scene from the book in which Karana’s adaptations allowed her to survive on the island.

-Mimicry and Camouflage by Mary Hoff - Read aloud

• S4L2. Students will identify factors that affect the survival or extinction of organisms such as adaptation, variation of behaviors (hibernation), and external features (camouflage and protection).

Island of the Blue Dolphins

Social Studies

4th grade

1) As a class or in small groups, After holding a large group read-aloud with the book Thomas Jefferson for Kids: His Life and Times, have the students come up with positive traits of Thomas Jefferson and if they see similar traits in Karana. If so, how? An ActivInspire slide could be made or personal graphic organizers.

- Thomas Jefferson for Kids: His Life and Times by Brandon Marie Miller

• SS4CG5. The students will name positive character traits of key historical figures and government leaders (honesty, patriotism, courage, trustworthiness)

2) After reading the book, Island of the Blue Dolphins, have the students write a "Respect" piece on how they feel the Aleuts did or did not respect others, using details from the text to support their opinion. They can also use information from other activities done in class to help them.

• SS4CG4a: Explain the necessity of respecting the rights of others and promoting the common good.

Math

1) Create word problems for students using situations from the book.

- Example: Karana has 1 pound of food, made up of both abalones and fish. If 2/7 pounds is abalones, how many pounds of fish does Karana have?

• 4.NF3a. Understand addition and subtraction of fractions as joining and separating parts referring to the same whole.

2) Show pictures of the Island of the Blue Dolphins from different angles. Some will show symmetry, some will not. Have the students identify the line of symmetry if there is one, perhaps more than one. Can be whole class, over ActivBoard, or individual through worksheets.

• 4.G3. Recognize a line of symmetry for a two-dimensional figure as a line across the figure such that the figure can be folded along the line into matching parts. Identify line-symmetric figures and draw lines of symmetry.