Text Type: Nonfiction/Informational
Page Count: 24
Word Count: 1,638 

Book Summary
Imagine hiking high in the mountains and suddenly stumbling upon a frozen human body in the ice. This is what happened to two German hikers in 1991 when they discovered Otzi, a 5,300-year-old mummy, in the Tyrolean Alps. Otzi: The Iceman explains the scientific theories of how the Iceman might have lived, survived, and died. As readers learn about Otzi, they can develop their own theories about his life and death. Photographs, maps, and illustrations support the text.

About the Lesson

Targeted Reading Strategy

• Summarize

Objectives

• Identify the main idea and supporting details
• Use the reading strategy of summarizing to understand the text
• Identify and understand the use of adverbs
• Identify the meanings of the prefixes dis- and ­re-

Materials

• Book -- Otzi: The Iceman (copy for each student)
• Chalkboard or dry erase board
• Main idea and details/summary, adverbs, prefixes worksheets

   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: acupuncture, arthritis, carbon dating, corpse, evidence, glacier, preserved, shaman, tattoos, theory

Build Background

• Write the word theory on the board. Discuss with students the definition of the word (a possible explanation of how or why something is the way it is).
• Show students the photo on the front cover of the book and read the title of the book with them. Have students discuss what the man in the picture appears to be doing and the visual clues that support their response. Ask them to tell what type of environment the man lives in and how they know.

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 type of book it is and what it might be about.
• Show students the title page. Discuss the information on the page (title of book, author's name, illustrator's name).

Introduce the Comprehension Skill: Main idea and details

• Explain to students that sometimes the amount of information about a topic is so large that it is grouped into sections, each one with its own main idea.
• Read pages 4 through 8 aloud to students. Model identifying the main idea and details for the first section of the book.
  Think-aloud: As I read the first section of the book, most of the sentences develop the story and seem to foreshadow upcoming events. The section tells us that a man prepared for a hunt and an upcoming winter over 5,000 years ago. Soon after leaving home, he killed an animal. He was wounded when men shot arrows at him and then stole the animal he killed. He died and his body became frozen in ice. The section also tells readers that this is one theory about how Otzi died. Based on what I've read, I think the main idea of this first section of the book is: Otzi may have died because a group of men killed him.
• Write the main idea on the board. Ask students to identify the details from the book that support this main idea (Otzi was prepared for a hunt; men needed to kill enough animals to feed their family during the winter; an arrow pierced Otzi's shoulder; the wound was from the back; Otzi had killed an animal; this is one theory about the cause of Otzi's death; and so on). Write these details on the board.

Introduce the Reading Strategy: Summarize

• Explain to students that one way to understand and remember information in a book is to write a summary, or a brief overview of the most important information in the text. Point out that a summary includes the main idea and one or two supporting details. It often answers the questions who, what, when, where, and why.
• Model summarizing.
  Think-aloud: To summarize, I decide which information is most important to the meaning of each section. To do this, I can identify the main idea and important details, and then organize that information into a few sentences. When I look at the main idea and details on the board, a summary of this section might be: Otzi may have died because a group of men killed him. Men needed to kill enough animals to feed their family during the winter. Otzi was prepared for a hunt. However, an arrow wounded him in the back of his shoulder.
• Write the summary on the board. Have students identify the main idea and details within the summary. Discuss how you used your own words to create the summary.
• 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 Vocabulary

• Write the following content vocabulary words on the board: corpse, evidence, preserved. Read the words aloud with students. Ask them to share what they know about the meaning of each word.
• Write each of the content vocabulary words on a piece of poster board. Place students in small groups and assign each group to a poster. Have them discuss what they know about the meaning of their word and write a definition on the poster. Rotate the groups until each group has visited all three posters.
• Review each word and the information about the word that students wrote on the poster. Create a definition based on students' knowledge and write it on the board.
• Have a volunteer read the definition for each word from the glossary. Compare students' definitions with the glossary definitions. Use the comparison to modify the definition for each word on the board.
• For additional tips on teaching word-attack strategies, click here.

Set the Purpose

• Have students read the book to find out more about Otzi and what might have happened to him over 5,000 years ago.

Student Reading

• Guide the reading: Have students read from page 9 to the end of page 13. Encourage those who finish before others to reread the text. Have students underline important information in the section. When students are ready, discuss the important information they identified.
• Model identifying the main idea and details.
  Think-aloud: As I read the section titled "Finding the Iceman," most of the sentences mentioned something about the body that the two German hikers discovered. They found Otzi in the Tyrolean Alps at more than 10,000 feet, near the border of Austria and Italy. I read how they originally thought the frozen body was a modern climber, but a scientist determined that it was about 5,000 years old. I will underline this information in the book. Based on what I've read and underlined, I think the main idea of this section is: Hikers discovered a frozen corpse that was about 5,000 years old.
• Write the main idea on the board. Ask students to identify details that support this main idea (two German hikers found a hairless, frozen body; it was found in the Tyrolean Alps at more than 10,000 feet; Austrian scientist Rainer Henn determined that the corpse was 5,000 years old; and so on). Write these details on the board.
• Review how to create a summary from the main idea and details. Refer back to the summary created during the introduction to the skill. Discuss and create the summary as a class and write it on the board. (Hikers discovered a frozen corpse that was about 5,000 years old. The body was found in the Tyrolean Alps at more than 10,000 feet. An Austrian scientist named Rainer Henn determined that the body was about 5,000 years old.)

    Check for understanding: Invite students to share the important details they underlined in the third section, "The Man Himself."

• Divide students into groups. Have each group identify the main idea from the details of the section and write it on a separate piece of paper.
• Have students in each group use the main idea and details to write a summary. Discuss their responses. (Main idea: Scientists used carbon dating, microscopic analysis, and X-rays to learn more about the appearance and physical condition of the Iceman; Summary: Through scientific research, scientists discovered that Otzi was short, weighed 110 pounds, and had brown hair and a beard. They believe he was 46 years old and had several medical conditions. Based on this evidence, different theories have been established about how Otzi died.)

    Ask students to read the remainder of the book. Remind them to underline important details in 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.

Reflect on the Comprehension Skill

• Ask students what words, if any, they marked in their book. Use this opportunity to model how they can read these words using decoding skills and context clues.
• Discussion: Invite students to share what they think the author's purpose was for writing this book. Discuss with them whether stopping to review the important details helped them learn and remember more about Otzi.
• Independent practice: Introduce and explain the main idea and details/ summary worksheet. Have students write a main idea and supporting details for one of the remaining sections of the book. If time allows, discuss their responses.

Reflect on the Reading Strategy

• Review with students how the main idea and details from each section can be used to develop a summary. Discuss with them the benefits of summarizing information they read (to understand the main point of a larger piece of writing). Invite students to share instances of when summarizing might be helpful.
• Independent practice: Have students write a summary using the information they wrote on their main idea and details/summary worksheet. If time allows, discuss their responses.
• Have students use the information in the book to formulate their own theory about what happened to Otzi. Invite them to share their theory and the evidence that supports it.
• Enduring understanding: People have interpreted the facts about Otzi's death in different ways to come up with several different theories. Now that you know this information, why is it important to consider a number of possible interpretations rather than just one?

Grammar and Mechanics: Adverbs

• Review or explain that adverbs are words that describe or modify verbs, adjectives, or other adverbs. They usually tell how, when, or where something happens. Point out that many adverbs end in -ly, such as completely, nicely, quickly, and sincerely.
• Write the following sentence on the board: While Otzi was hunting, he was accidentally shot by other hunters and then buried. Point to the word shot. Ask a volunteer to tell which word describes the word shot (accidentally). Have students explain whether the adverb tells how, when, or where (how).
•     Check for understanding: Tell students to turn to page 7 in their book. Point out the following sentence: Then several more flew through the air, and one landed sharply in the back of the man's right shoulder. Have students underline the adverb and circle the verb it modifies (sharply, landed). Discuss their responses.
• Ask students to turn to page 6. Have them identify the adverb in the first paragraph and tell whether it describes how, when, or where something happens (slowly, how).
• Independent practice: Introduce, explain, and have students complete the adverbs worksheet. If time allows, discuss their answers.

Word Work: Prefixes dis- and re-

• Write the following sentence on the board: Sam's favorite shoes were discontinued. Point out the word discontinued. Ask students to explain the meaning of the word (no longer available).
• Erase the prefix dis- from the beginning of the word discontinued. Reread the sentence using the new word. Ask students to explain how the meaning of the sentence changed.
• Write the prefix dis- on the board and discuss its meaning (not). Have students locate the word with the dis- prefix on page 17 (disagree). Ask students to explain the meaning of the word (do not agree).
• Write the following sentence on the board: They decided to repaint the living room. Point out the word repaint. Ask students to explain the meaning of the word (paint again).
• Write the prefix re- on the board and discuss its meaning (again). Have students locate the word with the re- prefix on page 22 (reinterpret). Ask students to explain the meaning of the word (explain again).
• Check for understanding: Write the following words on the board: obey, write. Have students identify the meaning of each base word. Then have students add the prefix dis- to the word obey, and add the prefix re- to the word write (disobey, rewrite). Have students identify how the meaning of each word changed.
• Independent practice: Introduce, explain, and have students complete the prefixes worksheet. If time allows, discuss their answers.

Independent Reading

• Allow students to read their book independently. Additionally, allow partners to 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 discuss their theory about what happened to Otzi with someone at home.

Informational Writing Connection
Have students use print and Internet resources to research Austria or Italy. Have them locate information such as: clothing, food, cultural pastimes, language, and national symbols. Have students present their findings in the presentation format of their choice.

Elements of Nonfiction Connection
Discuss with students the map on page 9 and the photo captions throughout the text. Discuss the purpose of incorporating maps and captions (to provide clarification and elaboration of information on nearby pages; to draw conclusions about information presented in the main body of the text). Ask students to explain why it might be beneficial to examine and understand maps and captions as they read.