Build Background

• Ask students to tell what they already know about migration. Ask if they have ever heard of or seen a creature migrating and, if so, to tell what they know about it.
• Create a KWL chart on the board and give students the KWL worksheet. Work together to fill in the first column (K) with things students know about migration. As a group, brainstorm some things students would like to know about the topic and have them fill in the second column (W) of their worksheets. Write some shared ideas on the class chart as examples.

Preview the Book

Introduce the Book

• Give students a copy of the book and have them preview the front and back covers and read the title. Have students discuss what they see on the covers and offer ideas as to what kind of book this is and what it might be about.
• Have students turn to the table of contents and review its purpose with them. Read through the chapter titles and ask whether they provide students with a better idea of what the book is about.

Introduce the Strategy: Ask and answer questions

• Model asking questions while looking at the table of contents.
• Think-aloud: When I'd like to know more than I do about a topic, I can use the chapter titles in the table of contents to think of questions I'd like to have answered. For example, the second chapter is titled "The Search for Food and Water." This makes me wonder what kinds of creatures migrate to find food or water. (Write your question in the (W) column of the KWL chart and invite students to add it to their worksheets.)
• Have students share any questions they have based on the table of contents or the covers of the book. Add these to the second column (W).
• Have students preview the rest of the book. Show students the title page, photos, map, and captions. Draw attention to the diagram on page 12. Encourage students to use all of these references as ways to think of questions to add to their KWL chart.
• Show students the glossary. Review or explain that a glossary is an alphabetized list of words from the text with their definitions. Some glossaries, such as this one, also contain page numbers that tell where in the book the reader can find each word. Tell students that they can use the glossary to find the answers to some of their questions. For example, they can look at the glossary to find where in the book they can go learn more about wildebeests. Ask students to tell which page mentions wildebeests (page 8).
• Tell students to look at the index at the back of the book and review its use. Point out that the words are listed in alphabetical order and have page numbers after them to tell readers where to go to find more information on each topic. Ask students where to turn to learn more about finding a path (pages 6, 11, 12). Ask a volunteer to tell the difference between a glossary and an index (a glossary gives a definition for the word).
• As students read, they should use other reading strategies in addition to the targeted strategy presented in this section. For tips on additional reading strategies, click here.

Introduce the Vocabulary

• Model how to apply word-attack strategies. Have students find the word navigate on page 12. Tell students that they can look at the letter the word begins with and then use what they know about syllables and vowels (one vowel sound per syllable) to sound out the rest of the word.
• Remind students to look for context clues in the sentence that contains the unfamiliar word, as well as sentences before and after.
• Remind students of the other strategies they can use to work out words they don't know. For example, they can use what they know about letter and sound correspondence to figure out the word. They can look for base words, prefixes, suffixes, or other word endings. They can use the context to work out the meaning of an unfamiliar word.
• Remind students that they should always check whether an unfamiliar word makes sense by rereading the sentence.
• For additional tips on teaching word-attack strategies, click here.

Set the Purpose

• Have students read the book to find answers to their questions about migration.

Student Reading

• Guide the reading: Have students read to the end of page 9. Tell them to look for important facts about migration that will answer their questions on the KWL chart. If they finish before everyone else, they should go back and reread.
• When they have finished reading, have students tell what each chapter is about and name the interesting facts they have found so far. Circle any questions on the KWL chart that were answered and add any new questions students developed. Model answering a question on the KWL chart on the board.
• Think-aloud: I wanted to know what kinds of creatures migrate to find food and water. On page 8, I read that wildebeests, zebras, and gazelles migrate across the plains of Africa because of drought. On page 9, I read that many birds, such as warblers, flycatchers, storks, pelicans, and terns, also migrate in search of food. (Write what you learned in the last column (L) of the KWL chart and have students fill in their own charts.)
• Have students share questions they found the answers to while reading. Record their responses on the KWL chart on the board.

    Have students read the remainder of the story. Remind them to look for answers to the other questions written on the KWL chart or to think of other questions to add to it. Ask them to write down any questions they have in the (W) column of their KWL worksheets and to underline in their books any information that answers a question on the KWL chart.

    Tell students to make a small question mark in their books beside any word they do not understand or cannot pronounce. These can be addressed in the discussion that follows.

Reflect on the Reading Strategies

• Ask students what words they marked in their books. Use this opportunity to model how they can read these words using decoding strategies and context clues.
• Have students share any other questions they had while they were reading. Discuss how asking questions and looking for the answers as they read keeps them actively involved in the reading process and helps them understand and remember what they read.

Teach the Comprehension Skill: Cause and effect

• Discussion: Discuss cause-and-effect relationships. Explain that a cause is an event that makes something happen, and the effect is what happens because of, or as a result of, the event. For example, if the temperature drops below 32 degrees, a puddle will freeze. The freezing temperature is the cause, and the frozen puddle is the effect (or the result) of the freezing temperature.
• Introduce and model the skill: To illustrate a cause-and-effect relationship from the text, have students turn to page 6. Ask what causes the locusts to migrate (their numbers get so big that they need to find new sources of food). Ask what the effect of the locust migration is (they live in a different field).

    Check for understanding: Have students review the text to find and circle the causes of migration being a dangerous activity (hungry predators, strong winds, ocean currents, hunters, fishermen, etc). Allow time for students to share their findings. Ask what the effect of the danger is (many migrating creatures die).

• Independent practice: Have students practice identifying cause-and-effect relationships by completing the cause and effect worksheet. When they have finished, have students discuss their work and explain their answers with references to the text. 
• Extend the discussion: Ask students what they think about human disruption of migration patterns. Ask how building more streets and malls affects migration. Discuss the special birds and fish that return to their birthplace to lay their eggs. Discuss the effect of humans destroying that birthplace.

Grammar and Mechanics: Bold print

• Review or explain that bold print in text is lettering that is darker and thicker than the other lettering.
• Have students turn to page 5. Ask them to identify the bolded words on the page (What Is Migration?). Ask why they think the author chose to use bold print for those words (to make them stand out because they make up the chapter title). Direct students to the other chapter titles on pages 8, 10, 11, and 13. Discuss the author's purpose in choosing bold print to write each title. Point out that the chapters are not numbered or underlined, so bolding the words is a strategy used to make sure the reader knows that those words are special and need to stand apart from the rest of the text.
• Have students turn to page 8. Ask them to identify the bolded words on the page besides the title (wildebeests, drought). Ask students why they think the author chose to use bold print for those words (to make them stand out, because they are vocabulary words that are defined in the glossary.)
• Check for understanding: Ask students to identify other bolded words besides chapter titles and glossary words (section headings, such as "Table of Contents," "Glossary," and "Index").

    Independent practice: Have students go through the story and underline all of the bolded words. Check individual work.

Word Work: Suffix -ion

• Review or explain that a suffix is a word part added to the end of a base word to change the meaning of the word or to change the part of speech. Tell students that one such suffix is -ion.
• Write the word quest on the board. Ask a volunteer to tell the meaning of the word or look it up in the dictionary (a journey for adventure). Write the word question on the board. Explain that the suffix -ion has been added to make a new word. Ask a volunteer to tell the meaning of the new word (something asked).
• Write the word migrate. Have a volunteer tell or look in the dictionary to find what part of speech the word migrate is (verb). Write the word migration on the board. Ask a student to tell the part of speech of the new word (noun).
• Tell students that when the --ion suffix is added, sometimes the spelling of the base word may have to be changed. Ask a volunteer to tell how the spelling of the base word migrate was changed when each suffix was added (the e was dropped before adding the suffix -ion).
• Check for understanding: Write the words elevate and adopt on the board. Have students tell whether or not a spelling change is needed when the suffix is added. Write the new words on the board: elevation and adoption. Discuss how the meaning or part of speech was altered when the suffix was added.
• Independent practice: Give students the suffix worksheet. When students have finished, discuss their responses.

Independent Reading

• Allow students to read their books independently or with a partner. Partners can take turns reading parts of the book.

Home Connection

• Give students their books to take home to read with parents, caregivers, siblings, or friends.

Writing and Art Connection

• Have students create acrostic poems about migration. Acrostic poems spell the topic word vertically, then use each letter of the word to start a new line of poetry. For example, here is an acrostic poem about the migration of monarch butterflies.       

Monarch butterflies migrating,
Insect bodies frail and exposed  
Going to the warmth of Mexico in winter,
Returning north in the spring.
All the adults die, but
Thousands of new monarchs hatch,
Each completing the journey back home.

Students may choose to write about any aspect of migration mentioned in the book, but the topic spelled vertically must be MIGRATE. Have students also draw a picture to illustrate their poem. Display their work in the classroom or hallway.

Science Connection

• Provide print and Internet resources for students to find out more about migration. Have each student choose a different migrating animal, fish, or bird to research. Have them record their information and later display it neatly on a poster, complete with pictures and/or illustrations. Display the posters in the classroom or hallway.

Monitor students to determine if they can:

• consistently ask relevant questions about the topic prior to and during reading; locate answers to the questions in the text
• accurately recognize and explain cause-and-effect relationships
• identify and understand the use of bold print in the text
• understand the use of the suffix -ion