Reading Level:
P

Word Count:
1,166

Pages:
22

Text Summary
Manatees are large, gentle sea mammals that are shaped like chubby dolphins and have pudgy, wrinkled faces. This book describes the various species of manatees, where they can be found, and their behaviors. It concludes with a discussion of the threats to manatee survival and steps being taken to protect these endangered animals.

Lesson Objectives

Reading Strategies
Children should use a variety of strategies to determine word meaning and comprehend text. The targeted strategy for this lesson is: Summarizing
Summarizing after each chapter will allow children to focus on small chunks of text. This will help them fully understand each section before they move on. As children put the ideas in their own words, their comprehension and retention will increase.

Word and Print Skills
Identify and discuss compound words such as shipwrecked, eyelid, underwater, and bodysurf.

Phonics
The long e sound can be produced by a double e, as in manatee or sweet or teeth, or by ea as in sea or eat, or by ei as in protein, or by ey as in money or monkey.

Word Work
Mechanics: Capitalization
Word Structure: Multiple syllable words

Comprehension
You will likely address a number of comprehension skills as children work to understand the text. The targeted comprehension strategy for this lesson is: Classification
Through the book, the children learn there are three species classified as manatees. When children learn that manatees are a type of sea mammal and that sea mammals are mammals, they learn about a hierarchical classification system. Keeping track of the characteristics of each level will help them comprehend what they are reading.

Visual Learning
On page 9, there is a map that shows where manatees and the related dugongs live today. On page 11, there is a drawing that compares the sizes and shapes of the three species of manatees.

Targeted Vocabulary Words

Content words
Children may be surprised to learn that an animal that lives in the sea and never comes ashore can be a mammal. In determining what makes something a mammal, it may be useful to consider what they know about a number of mammals. The following are the specific mammals mentioned in the book:

cow, dog, dolphin, dugong, horse, manatee, walrus, whale

These are words that children will encounter in the reading. You may want to review and discuss what the children know about these animals before they read the book.

Before Reading

Introducing the Book
Hand out the books and have children read the title and the Table of Contents page. Have them scan the book to find the section headings (found on pages 4, 6, 12, and 18). Have them compare the section headings they found in the book to the contents of the Table of Contents. Ask: Where would you start reading to find information about the manatee's habitat and habits? Where would you start reading to find information about threats to the survival of the manatee? How can you use the Table of Contents page to know what the book is about before you start reading the book?

Building Background
Explain that animals are classified, or grouped, into certain types, such as birds, reptiles, fish, amphibians, insects, and mammals. Ask: Who can give me some examples of mammals? (Answers include dogs, cats, horses, sheep, lions, monkeys, etc.) Then have the children think about some of the differences between mammals and other kinds of animals in order to discover what makes something a mammal.

Ask: What are some of the differences between mammals and birds? (Answers include that birds are covered in feathers, while mammals have hair or fur. Birds lay eggs, while mammals give birth to live young. Birds have beaks [but no teeth], while mammals have teeth. Birds feed their babies food, whereas mammals feed their babies milk. Flight is NOT a distinguishing feature between birds and mammals, since some birds do not fly [such as ostriches and penguins] and some mammals [bats] do fly.) 

Ask: What are some of the differences between mammals and fish? (Answers include that fish are covered in scales, while mammals have hair or fur. Fish breathe by passing water over their gills, whereas mammals breathe air into their lungs. Most fish lay eggs whereas mammals give birth to live young. Fish do not feed their young, but mammals feed their young milk.)

Ask: What are some of the differences between insects and mammals? (Answers include that insects have a hard shell [exoskeleton] while mammals have bones. Insects lay eggs while mammals give birth to live young.)

Ask: What makes something a mammal? What are the characteristics that all mammals have? Compile a list. The list should include:

• Mammals have bones.
• Mammals have skin covered in fur or hair.
• Mammals give birth to live young.
• Mammals feed their young milk.
• Mammals have teeth.
• Mammals breathe air.

Book Walk
Tell the children to read pages 4 and 5.
Ask: If you saw a new sea creature, one that you thought might be half human and half fish, would you classify it as a fish or as a mammal? What you would have to learn about the creature before you could decide?
Tell children to read the first sentence on page 6.
Ask: Why does the author think that manatees are mammals? As you read the rest of the book, look for evidence that manatees are mammals. Whenever you find evidence that the manatees have one of the characteristics of a mammal, make a note of it in your worksheet.
Distribute the worksheet.

Reading Strategies
Remind children to use any or all of the following strategies to help them in their reading:

• Break down words you come across that are difficult for you.
• Listen to what you are reading and ask yourself if what you have just read made sense.
• Reread any page that you had difficulty with to make sure you understood it.
• Ask yourself how what you read connects to what you already know.

During Reading

Student Reading
Instruct children to think about the question of why manatees are classified as mammals. Whenever they come across a fact in the book that relates to whether manatees have the characteristics of mammals, they should record the information in their worksheet. 

You may want to divide up the reading into smaller chunks. The comprehension questions in the After Reading section are organized according to the sections within the book. You may wish to have the children read one section at a time and review the comprehension questions for that section to ensure that the children adequately comprehend the book.

Using the Worksheet
The worksheet provides a list of characteristics common to all mammals. A careful reading of the text will reveal clues that suggest manatees meet all of these characteristics. Children will need to read carefully because the clues are scattered throughout the text and in other contexts. Whenever they find one of the clues, they should fill in the appropriate check box in the worksheet and also indicate what page they found the information on. Tracking the page number of where they found the information will make it easier for them to refer back to it during later discussions.

After Reading

Comprehending the Text
After the children have read a section of the book, talk to them about what they read. Ask questions, such as the ones listed here, to ensure the children comprehend what they have read. The questions follow the section headings of the book.

Introduction:

• What are mermaids? What do they look like? Do they exist?
• The sailors claimed that mermaids would sing to them. What reason did the sailors give for why mermaids would sing to them? Can you think of any reasons why a mermaid would want to lure sailors onto dangerous rocks?

Description:

• What do manatees look like? In what ways do manatees look like mermaids? In what way do they look different from mermaids? Why did Columbus think that the manatees were mermaids?
• Why are manatees sometimes called sea cows?
• Animals that hunt and eat meat, such as lions, are called carnivores. Animals that eat nothing but plants, such as cows and horses, are called herbivores (or vegetarians). Animals that eat both plants and animals are called omnivores. Are manatees carnivores, herbivores, or omnivores?
• Manatees have a thick layer of blubber. Blubber floats very well and acts like a life preserver. How do manatees keep from floating too high in the water?
• Name two differences between manatees and dugongs.

Habitat and Habits

• Why do manatees migrate?
• Why do manatees stay in shallow water close to shore?
• Why do manatees spend so much time eating?

Threats to Survival

• List at least three ways that humans accidentally kill manatees.
• List at least three ways that humans are doing to protect manatees.

When the children have finished reading the entire book, discuss the question of why manatees are considered mammals. Have the children refer to their worksheets. What evidence did they find to suggest that manatees are or are not mammals? If appropriate, have the children refer back to particular passages of the text to support their arguments.

Visual Learning
Ask: What does the map on page 9 tell you about where manatees and the related dugongs live? Do any of them live in the middle of continents or in the middle of the ocean? (No, all manatees and dugongs live in coastal areas.) Do all of the manatees or dugongs live near the equator? What does this tell you about their ability to live in cold water? (All current species of manatees and dugongs live in warm water near the equator. They cannot live in cold water.)

Ask: Look at the drawing on page 11. Which species of manatee is the shortest? Which one is the lightest? (The Amazon manatee is both the shortest and the lightest.)

Building Skills

Phonics
Have children think up as many words as they can that have a long e sound. Then have the children practice their classification skills and spelling skills by classifying each word according to how the long e sound is produced. One list of words would include only vowel diagraphs (such as three, sea, and manatee), while another list would include only words with a silent e (such as scene and complete) and a third list would include words that end in a y (such as candy and hurry).  

Word Work
Grammar: Adjectives
Explain to the children that adjectives are descriptive words. They are words used to describe something or somebody. Ask the children to describe manatees and then write down on the board all of the adjectives they generate. For example, they may say that manatees are gentle, ugly, heavy, slow, and kind. For more practice with adjectives, have each child pick an animal and write down five adjectives that describe it.

Word Structure: Multiple syllable words
Have the children reread three or four pages of the book and have them keep track of all of the multi-syllable words that they find. Challenge them to find two or more words that share a syllable. For example, in the first three pages of the book, they can find several words with the syllable be, such as believe, belong, belief, and because. In the same three pages, they can find several words with the syllable ny, such as any, many, and funny.

Expand the Reading

Writing Connection
Suppose you lived in an area with manatees. Write a leaflet urging people to protect the manatee. Include arguments about why the manatees should be protected, what threats they are facing, and what specific steps people could take to protect the manatees. Illustrate your leaflet.

Science Connection
This book introduces children to one of the lesser-known marine mammals, the manatee. Encourage them to learn more about other marine mammals, such as whales, seals, dolphins, sea lions, otters, and porpoises. Many children find these other marine mammals to be delightful and fascinating.

Reading Independently
Have children read the book independently or with a partner. You can also encourage them to read other books of their choice at the appropriate level.

Home Connection
Send the book home with children to read with a family member. Encourage them to tell family members about manatees.

Assessment

• Monitor children's responses in the Comprehending the Text section to assess how well they understand the text or story.
• Monitor reading to see if children are using the effective reading strategies.
• Assess children's knowledge of the characteristics of mammals and whether manatees meet those characteristics.