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TEACHER'S GUIDEAlIGnS wITH Common CoRE STATE STAnDARDS TUNDRA BOOKS

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Dear EducatorWho Needs a Desert? A Desert Ecosystem introduces students to the fascinating desert ecosystem. Award-winning author andillustrator Karen Patkau uses striking illustrations and informative text that can be used in a number of ways, including:

• Toexploreconceptualandthematicconnectionssuchasecosystems,habitat,foodchains,conservation, responsibility,connection,dependence

• Toenrichascienceandecologyunit

• Asawholeclassreadaloudorforindependentreadingand/orresearch

Theactivityguideincludesavarietyofdiscussionquestions,wholeclass,smallgroupandindependentactivitiesandpromptstoelicitameaningfulunderstandingofthetextforchildrenranginginagefromseventotenyears.Thesuggestedactivitiescanbeadaptedtosuittheneedsofyourstudents.Whereapplicable,activitieshavebeenalignedwithCommonCoreStateStandards.

About The BookAlthoughdesertsareharsh,dryplaces,theyteemwithfascinatingplantsandwildlife.AuthorandillustratorKarenPatkautakesusonamagicaljourneythroughoneoftheearth’smostimportantecosystems.InWho Needs a Desert? A Desert Ecosystem, wediscover,inbreathtakingartandlyricaltext,theplantsandanimalsthathaveadaptedtoitssevereconditions—fromgrasses,cacti,shrubsandtreestoGilamonsters,roadrunners,scorpionsandkangaroorats.

AspartofTundra’sexcitingEcosystemSeries,alongwithWho Needs an Iceberg?, Who Needs a Jungle?, Who Needs a Prai-rie?, Who Needs a Reef? and Who Needs a Swamp?, Who Needs a Desert?brimswithcaptivatingcreatures,fact-fillednotes,ausefulglossary,ecologicalfeaturesandacomprehensivemap.Eachbookisnotonlyinformativeandbeautiful,butalsoacallto action for all of us who care about the world in which we live!

About the AuthorKaren Patkau is the award-winning author and illustrator of many books for children,including Creatures Great and Small and Creatures Yesterday and Today.HerfirstthreebooksintheEcosystemserieswerepublishedtomuchcriticalacclaim.Who Needs an Iceberg? was a Green Book Festival Honor Book; Who Needs a Jungle?waschosenbytheCanadianChildren’sBookCentreasaBestBookforKids&Teens;andWho Needs a Swamp?receivedaSilverBirchExpressnominationaswellasbeingaGreenBookFestivalHonorBook.KarenPatkaulivesinToronto. © Photo by Jane Molnar

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Pre-Reading Discussion / Activities1. Introduce/reviewtheconceptofan“ecosystem.”2. ShowthecoverofWho Needs a Desert? to students without revealing the title. What ecosystem does this book explore?

How do you know?3. Inpairs,smallgroups,individuallyorasaclass,investigatestudents’priorknowledgeofdeserts.Askstudentstocomplete

aWho/What/Where/When/Why/Howchartwithwhattheyknow.Youngerstudentscandrawapictureofwhattheythinka desertlookslike.Remindstudentstotryandincludebothplantandanimallife.Asaclass,brainstormandrecordalistof words that come to mind when students think of deserts.

4. Record any questions students have about deserts.

Learning Activities1. What Do You See?

• Thevividillustrationsinthebookenhanceourunderstandingofthecomplexnatureofthedesert.Re-readthebookandlocate what is being described in the text within the illustration. Re-read the section at the end of the book about the desert’sinhabitants and challenge students to locate the living things in the illustrations.

• Assignchunksoftexttoindividualsorpairsofstudentsandaskthemtoillustratethetext.Encouragetheuseofbright,vividcolorsandtofurtherresearchanyofthecreaturesorplantlifethattheyarenotsureabout.

(RI.3.7)

2. Creatures of the Desert

• Therearemanyuniqueandfascinatinglivingthingsthatliveinadesert.Selectoneofthemandwriteafictitiousstorywith thelivingthingasthemaincharacter.Usethedesertitselfasyoursettingandtrytoincorporateasmuchscientificknowl- edgeaboutthedesertintoyourstoryaspossible.

(W.3.3, W.4.3, W.5.3)

3. Nocturnal vs. Diurnal

• Thedesertisabusyplaceforitsinhabitantsbothduringthedayandatnight.Dividealargepieceofpaperintotwosections.Labeloneside“day,”andtheotherside“night.”Draworpaintadesertsceneoneachsidethatclearlyshowshowdifferentanimalsandplantsareactiveduringthedayoratnight.

• Ifyouweretovisitthedesertduringtheday,whatwouldyouneedtowearandbringwithyou?Whatwouldyouneedatnight?Drawandlabelapictureofyourselfshowingwhatyouneedatdifferenttimesofday.

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Learning Activities (Continued)4. Food, Shelter, Water

• Considerthebasicsyouneedtosurvive(food,shelter,water).Whatcharacteristicsofthedesertmightmakeitdifficultforitsinhabitantstofindthesebasicnecessities?Whatexplanationscanyoufindinthebookthatexplainhowsomeoftheanimalsadapttotheharshdesertconditions?

(W.4.3, W.5.3, W.6.3)

5. Where in the World?

• Examinethemapofwheredesertscanbefoundintheworld.Makealistofthepartsoftheworldthathavedeserts.

• Whichcontinenthasthemostdeserts?Whichcontinentdoesnothaveanydeserts?Researchthenameofthedesertsshownonthemapinthebook.Writealistinorderfromlargesttosmallest.

(RI.3.1)

7. Existing in a Story

Providethefollowinglistofquestionsforstudentstoanswer.Studentscananswerthequestionsinwriting,picturesororally

dependingontheirlevel.

• Howaredesertsformed?

• Wherecandesertsbefoundaroundtheworld?

• Howdoplantsandanimalsadapttotheseveredesertenvironment?

• Whatwildlifethrivesinthedesert?

• Whichplantsbloomundertheblazingsunofthedesert?

• Howdodesertplantsandanimalsgetenergyandfood?

• Whyisdesertlandsobarren?

• Whydoweneeddeserts?

(RI.3.1, W.3.2, W.4.2, W.5.2)

6. Glossary

• Selectfiveofthetermsincludedintheglossaryto examinemoreclosely.Carefullyreadandthink aboutthedefinitionsprovidedandrewritethe definitionsinyourownwords.Usethetermsin sentences that demonstrate your understanding.

• Add any other words within the book that you areunsure of to a glossary of your own making.

(RI.3.4, RI.4.4)

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Learning Activities (Continued)8. True or False

• Indicatewhetherthefollowingstatementsaboutdesertsaretrueorfalse.Foranyofthefalsestatements,rewritethe statement to make it true.

Bacteria and fungi are examples of decomposers.

True/False

Meat eaters are called herbivores.

True/False

Nocturnal creatures are active at night.

True/False

Most deserts are found on the equator.

True/False

The desert air gets cooler at dusk.

True/False

Plants make their own food using carbon dioxide and air.

True/False

The roadrunner is the largest member of the cuckoo family.

True/False

The largest desert in the world is found in South America.

True/False

(RI.3.1)

9. Fill in the blanks using the words provided below.

a) ____________passesfromonelivingthingtoanotherinafoodchain.

b) The____________isanimaginarycirclearoundthemiddleoftheearth.

c) ____________ live on and break down leftover dead matter.

d) Anexampleofadesertherbivoreis____________.

e) Anexampleofadesertcarnivoreis____________.

f) Themaingrowingseasonfortreesandshrubsis____________.

g) An animal that is hunted by another animal for food is called their ____________.

ENERGY MULE DEER PREY EQUATOR HAWKS DECOMPOSERS SUMMER

(RI.3.1)

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PRAISE FOR the Ecosystem Series:“PatkauintroducesreaderstotheNorthAmericanArcticecosystemefficientlyandmethodically,discussinghabitat,thefoodchainandseasonalchanges,alongwiththeever-importantformationoftheiceberg...Herdigitallycomposedillustrationsattimesofferinformativescenicviews,andattimes,presentreaderswithmoredirectscientificinformation.This,aswellasitscompanionvolumesWho Needs a Swamp? and Who Needs a Jungle?, offers a clear, readable introduction for budding natu-ralistsandgeographers.”– The Toronto Star

“...Patkauoffersaseriesofvibrantscenes...strikingillustrations.Thetextbothinterpretsthevisualcontent...andoffersparagraphsofdiversefacts.”– Booklist

Linkshttp://www.patkauillustration.com/

Wrap-Up Discussion Questions1. Assign one of the living things listed at the end of the book that can be found in a desert to each student. Ask them to further researchthecreatureorplantandpresentbackwhattheyhavelearnedinsmallgroupsortotheclass.Considercreatinga class mural with each student contributing a drawing of their living thing.

2. Revisitwhatstudentsrecordedofwhattheyknewaboutdesertsbeforereadingthebookandtheirquestionsfromthepre- readingdiscussion.Whatarethreefactsthatthestudentslearnedaboutdeserts?Werealloftheirquestionsanswered?What furtherquestionsdotheyhavetoexplore?

3. ReadtheotherbooksintheEcosystemseries.Compareandcontrastthedifferentecosystems.

(W.3.7, W.4.7)

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Appendix: Common Core State StandardCCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.3.1 Askandanswerquestionstodemonstrateunderstandingofatext,referringexplicitlytothetext as the basis for the answers.

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.3.4 Determinethemeaningofgeneralacademicanddomain-specificwordsandphrasesinatext relevanttoagrade3topicorsubjectarea.

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.3.7 Useinformationgainedfromillustrations(e.g.,maps,photographs)andthewordsinatextto demonstrateunderstandingofthetext(e.g.,where,when,why,andhowkeyeventsoccur).

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.4.4 Determinethemeaningofgeneralacademicanddomain-specificwordsorphrasesinatext relevanttoagrade4topicorsubjectarea.

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.3.2 Writeinformative/explanatorytextstoexamineatopicandconveyideasandinformationclearly.

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.3.3 Writenarrativestodeveloprealorimaginedexperiencesoreventsusingeffectivetechnique, descriptivedetails,andcleareventsequences.

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.3.7 Conductshortresearchprojectsthatbuildknowledgeaboutatopic.

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.4.2 Writeinformative/explanatorytextstoexamineatopicandconveyideasandinformationclearly.

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.4.3 Writenarrativestodeveloprealorimaginedexperiencesoreventsusingeffectivetechnique, descriptivedetails,andcleareventsequences.

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.4.7 Conductshortresearchprojectsthatbuildknowledgethroughinvestigationofdifferentaspects ofatopic.

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.5.2 Writeinformative/explanatorytextstoexamineatopicandconveyideasandinformationclearly.

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.5.3 Writenarrativestodeveloprealorimaginedexperiencesoreventsusingeffectivetechnique, descriptivedetails,andcleareventsequences.