Text Type: Nonfiction/Informational
Page Count: 16
Word Count: 1,118

Book Summary
The Legend of Nessie is an informational book about the mystery of the Loch Ness Monster. It tells of the legend of an ancient sea serpent from the dark waters of Loch Ness in Scotland. Many people believe that the legend is true, and scientists have invested time and money to investigate the claims. Although many photographs have proved to be fakes, scientists have uncovered some facts that continue to make the legend plausible. Photographs and a map support the text.

About the Lesson

Targeted Reading Strategy

• Visualize

Objectives

• Use the reading strategy of visualizing to understand text
• Identify the main idea and supporting details within a paragraph
• Understand introductory phrases
• Recognize proper nouns

Materials

• Book -- The Legend of Nessie (copy for each student)
• Chalkboard or dry erase board
• Index cards
• Dictionaries
• Visualize, main idea and details, introductory phrases, proper nouns worksheets
• Discussion cards

      Indicates an opportunity for students to mark in the book. (All activities may be      completed with paper and pencil if books are reused.)

Vocabulary

• Content words: bales, hoaxes, legend, peat, sonar, species, status

Build Background

• Write the words Loch Ness Monster on the board. Ask students if they have ever heard of the creature. Invite them to share what they have heard or seen.
• Supply books and articles about the Loch Ness Monster and show students pictures of her. Invite students to share their opinions of the legend. Ask whether or not they believe the legend is real and to share why they believe the way they do.

Preview the Book

Introduce the Book

• Give students their copy of the book. Guide them to the front and back covers and read the title. Have students discuss what they see on the covers. Encourage them to offer ideas as to what kind of book it is and what it might be about.
• Ask students if they think this book is fiction or nonfiction and to explain their reasoning.
• Show students the title page. Talk about the information on the page (title, author's name).
• Preview the table of contents on page 3. Ask students what information they can tell about the book from looking at the chapter titles. (Accept all answers that students can justify.)

Introduce the Reading Strategy: Visualize

• Explain to students that good readers often visualize, or create pictures in their mind, while reading. Visualizing is based on the words used in the text and what a person already knows about a topic.
• Read page 4 aloud to students. Model how to visualize.
  Think-aloud: Whenever I read a book, I always pause after a few pages to create a picture in my mind of the information I've read. This helps me organize the important information and understand the ideas in the book. For example, on page 4, the author tells how people have described the Loch Ness Monster. I pictured a gigantic monster with a dark body and very long neck emerging from the murky waters of the Scottish lake. I pictured an ancient sea serpent with a sheep-like head and humps on its back.
• Reread page 4 aloud to students and ask them to use the words in the book to visualize. Introduce and explain the visualize worksheet. Have students draw on their worksheet what they visualized from the text on page 4. Invite students to share their drawings.
• As students read, encourage them to use other reading strategies in addition to the targeted strategy presented in this section. For tips on additional reading strategies, click here.

Introduce the Comprehension Skill: Main idea and details within a paragraph

• Explain to students that every paragraph has a big idea that is the most important of all the facts, regardless of how long the paragraph is. Review or explain that the main idea is stated in the topic sentence, which is typically one of the first sentences in the paragraph.
• Explain that each paragraph also includes supporting details that tell the reader more about the main topic.
• Model identifying the main idea and supporting details in the first paragraph of the book.
  Think-aloud: After reading the first paragraph of the book, I paused to think about the main idea. The topic sentence asks whether the Loch Ness Monster is a myth or a legend. I know that the paragraph's main idea is the Loch Ness Monster. As I continued reading, I paused to review in my mind the important details: emerging from the dark waters; ancient dragons or sea serpents; dark body, long neck, sheep-like head, humps on its back. I know that the paragraph contains other information, but that not everything is an important detail to the main idea. I know that these details are important to know and consider when deciding whether the monster is real or mythical.

Introduce the Vocabulary

• Write the following words from the content vocabulary on the board: hoaxes, peat, status, bales, sonar, and species.
• Give each student three index cards. Have them choose three words that they are unfamiliar with from the board. Instruct them to write each of their chosen words in large, clear handwriting on one side of the card. Tell them that they will create flash cards to help them memorize the meaning of each word. Model how to write the word legend in large, clear handwriting on an index card.
• Review or explain that the glossary and dictionary contain a list of words and their definitions, along with their pronunciations.
• Model how to use both the glossary and a dictionary to find a word's meaning. Invite a volunteer to read the definition for legend in the dictionary, and another volunteer to read the definition from the glossary. Help students create a clear, concise definition, and write it on the reverse side of the example card for legend. Then have students follow along on page 4 as you read the sentence in which the word legend is found to confirm the meaning of the word. Tell students to repeat the exercise with the vocabulary words they have written on their index cards.
• Give students time to work on memorizing the definitions on their flash cards. When ready, have them check their memory by working with a partner. Once they have committed each of their vocabulary words to memory, encourage them to trade cards with another student to learn three more new words.
• After reading the book, quiz students using each of the six flashcards to check for student understanding and retention of the vocabulary.
• For tips on teaching word-attack strategies, click here.

Set the Purpose

• Have students read to find out more about the Loch Ness Monster. Remind them to stop after every few pages to visualize the most important information and to draw on their worksheet what they visualized about it.

Student Reading

• Guide the reading: Have students read from page 5 to the end of page 8. Encourage those who finish early to go back and reread. Have students draw what they visualized during one or more events of the book on their visualize worksheet.
• Model visualizing.
  Think-aloud: On page 6, I read about how Loch Ness was formed. I pictured a huge earthquake splitting the green land of Scotland in two. I pictured an enormous white glacier covering the trench that was formed--24 miles long and 1 mile wide! I envisioned the ice finally melting under the bright sunlight, filling the trench with water to form a lake.
• Invite students to share their drawings of what they visualized while reading. Have them explain their drawings aloud.

      Have students turn to page 7 and reread the paragraph, underlining the topic sentence (Loch Ness's water is very cold.). Ask students to identify the main idea (Loch Ness is very cold), and then circle the supporting details in the paragraph. Review the important supporting details (peat is thick, sunlight can't warm the water, 54 to 42 degrees Fahrenheit, life stays close to the surface).

• Check for understanding: Have students read to the end of page 10. Have them visualize the information in the text as they read. Ask students to draw what they visualized about the Urquhart Castle ruins on their visualize worksheet. Invite them to share what they visualized as they read. Have students examine the photographs on pages 9 and 10. Encourage them to add details from the photographs to their own drawings.
• Have students turn to page 9 and reread the first paragraph. Ask them to identify the main idea (cameras became popular) and the supporting details of the paragraph (people kept Nessie sightings quiet until the 1930s, people hunted Nessie to catch her in a picture).
• Have students read the remainder of the book. Encourage them to continue to visualize as they read the rest of the book. Remind them to continue thinking about the important events of the book as they read.

      Have students make a question mark in their book beside any word they do not understand or cannot pronounce. Encourage them to use the strategies they have learned to read each word and figure out its meaning.

• Ask students what words, if any, they marked in their book. Use this opportunity to model how they can read these words using decoding strategies and context clues.

Reflect on the Reading Strategy

• Think-aloud: On page 13, I read about scientists mapping the loch. I pictured 24 boats, each equipped with large sonar equipment. I pictured scientists lowering their sonar machines deep into the dark, cold water. I pictured groups of scientists measuring sound waves on their computers.
• Ask students to explain how the strategy of visualizing helped them understand and enjoy the book. Ask volunteers to share examples of things they visualized.
• Independent practice: Have students complete the visualize worksheet. If time allows, have them share their drawings with a partner.

Reflect on the Comprehension Skill

• Discuss how stopping to review the important details in a paragraph helped students remember the facts and better understand the information. Ask them how the important details they identified helped them to confirm or refine the paragraph's main idea.
• Have students reread the paragraph on page 14 and look for supporting details about the main idea. Have a volunteer identify the main idea (the Loch Ness Project found a red-bellied Arctic char). Write the important supporting details on the board (1981; living at 700 feet; over 12,000 years; experts thought waters were too cold; the discovery surprised them). Ask students how this information supports the main idea (the facts are all important to understanding the importance of finding the red-bellied Arctic char).
• Independent practice: Introduce, explain, and have students complete the main idea and details worksheet. When everyone has finished working independently, review answers aloud.
• Enduring understanding: In this book, you learned about the legend of the Loch Ness Monster. While some people believe it to be a myth, science has uncovered contributing evidence that critics can't explain. Now that you know this information, why is it important to know all of the facts before forming an opinion? Why are differing theories important to consider when it comes to gathering new evidence?

Grammar and Mechanics: Introductory phrases

• Write the following sentence from page 13 on the board: In 1987, scientists launched "Operation Deep Scan." Have students identify the subject, or what the sentence is about (scientists) and the predicate, or the action of the sentence (launched "Operation Deep Scan"). Point out the introductory phrase of the sentence (In 1987).
• Tell students that sentences sometimes need more information than just the subject and the predicate alone provide. An introductory phrase tells the reader something about the sentence, such as who, what, when, where, why, or how. Ask students what the introductory phrase above tells readers about the sentence (when--in 1987).
• Explain that introductory phrases come at the beginning of a sentence and are separated from the rest of the sentence by a comma.
• Have students turn to page 7, and read the fourth sentence: As a result, sunlight can't warm the water, making it too cold for people to swim in. Have students identify the introductory phrase (As a result). Ask students what the introductory phrase tells readers about the sentence (why sunlight can't warm the water--as a result of the peat). Have them locate the subject (sunlight) and the predicate (can't warm the water, making it too cold for people to swim in).

      Check for understanding: Have students locate and circle all of the introductory phrases in section 2, The Loch Called Ness (page 6: In fact, At this time; page 7: As a result, Because of this). Check individual student answers.

• Independent practice: Have students complete the introductory phrases worksheet. When they have finished, discuss their answers aloud.     

Word Work: Proper nouns

• Review or explain that a noun is a person, place, or thing. Ask students to turn to page 6 and give examples of nouns from the text (water, miles, glaciers, and so on).
• Review or explain that a proper noun is the name of a specific person, place, or thing. A proper noun always begins with a capital letter. Write examples of proper nouns from page 6 on the board, writing the common noun first and then changing it to a proper noun (common noun: land, proper noun: Scotland; common noun: loch, proper noun: Loch Ness, and so on.)

      Check for understanding: Have students turn to page 8 and highlight or underline examples of proper nouns. Remind them not to confuse a proper noun with the capital letter used at the beginning of a sentence. As students identify the proper nouns, write them on the board: (Nessie, NASA, Saint Columba).

• Independent practice: Have students complete the proper nouns worksheet. When they have finished, discuss their answers aloud.

Independent Reading

• Allow students to read their book independently or with a partner. Additionally, partners can take turns reading parts of the book to each other.

Home Connection

• Give students their book to take home to read with parents, caregivers, siblings, or friends. Have students practice visualizing the events with someone at home and then compare the pictures they created in their mind.

Informational Writing and Art Connection
Provide print and Internet sources for students to find out more about Loch Ness. Citing information from their research and the book, have them write a report about the loch. Instruct students to include at least three sections, including an introduction and conclusion. Have them create a table of contents and a glossary, and encourage them to add illustrations or photographs to their report. Require an error-free final copy and make a front and back cover. Either bind each report separately or bind all of the reports together to make a class book with its own front and back cover.

Visit Writing A–Z for a lesson and leveled materials on informational report writing.

Social Studies Connection
Provide print and Internet resources for students to find out about all forms of life found in Loch Ness. Have students work in groups to find out when and where each creature was found, recording any other interesting facts they find about life in the loch. Supply each group with a poster and markers to draw and write the information they learn. Post their work in the classroom.

Skill Review
Discussion cards covering comprehension skills and strategies not explicitly taught with the book are provided as an extension activity. The following is a list of some ways these cards can be used with students:

• Use as discussion starters for literature circles.
• Have students choose one or more card and write a response, either as an essay or a journal entry.
• Distribute before reading the book and have students use one of the questions as a purpose for reading.
• Cut apart and use the cards as game cards with a board game.
• Conduct a class discussion as a review before the book quiz.