level j/18 your nervous system - amazon s3€¦ · why is our nervous . system important? ... how?...

B e n c h m a r k e d u c a t i o n c o m p a n y

TEACHER’S GUIDE

Theme: Human BodyScience Concept: Some body responses are involuntary. These responses help keep us safe and healthy.

Science

Anchor Comprehension Strategies • Identify Cause and Effect • Draw Conclusions

Content Vocabulary••• Words•related•to•the•nervous•system

Grammar/Word Study••• Suffix•-ous••• Adverbs•with•-ly

The Big Idea••• The•nervous•system•is•one•of•our•body’s•

major•systems.•It•conducts•messages•between•the•brain•and•the•body.•

Skills & Strategies

Your Nervous SystemLevel J/18

2 Your Nervous System

Before Reading

Build Background Knowledge• Draw a KWL chart like the one shown. Ask students what they know

about the nervous system, nerves, the brain, and the senses. Have pairs of students share their ideas before brainstorming with the group. Record students’ responses in the K column of the chart.

Model Asking Questions• Display the book cover. Say: When I read, I ask myself questions about

what I am reading. This helps me understand it better. After looking at the picture and reading the title of this book, I ask myself, “What is the nervous system?”

• Write your question in the W column of the KWL chart.

• Ask students whether they have any questions after looking at the cover. Write their questions in the W column.

Preview the Book• Show students the table of contents and read the headings with them.

Ask: Do these headings make you think of any new questions we can add to the chart?

• Preview the photographs and ask students to describe what they see. Introduce any vocabulary you feel may be difficult for students. For example, on page 4, say: We can send and receive messages by letter, telephone, or e-mail. The brain sends and receives messages using nerves.

• Model asking questions and encourage students to do the same.

• Point out the captions, glossary, and index and discuss how students might use these parts of the book.

Model Reading Strategies• Point out the word connected on page 3. Ask students what strategies

they could use to read the word.

• Suggest the following reading strategies students could apply: You could use what you know about syllables and word endings to divide the word into three parts: con/nect/ed. You could sound out each part, then put the parts together, and read the word to see if it makes sense in the sentence.

Set a Purpose for Reading• Ask students to read the book to find out what the nervous system is

and what it does for us. Encourage them to ask themselves questions about what they read.

Build Background KnowledgeIf students have difficulty thinking of anything to offer about the nervous system, nerves, or brain, then focus on the five senses. Point to your eyes, ears, nose, mouth, and fingers in turn and ask students what each helps us do. Have students name things we can see, hear, smell, taste, and touch. Then explain that our senses are part of our nervous system.

Build Vocabulary and Language PatternsAs students preview the book, discuss the word system. Explain that a system is made up of parts that work together, for example, a telephone system or a transportation system. You may wish to point out that our bodies have other systems besides the nervous system, including the digestive system and the circulatory system.

Discuss the term goose bumps that students will encounter on page 10. Explain that it is a funny way of describing the little bumps that appear on your body when you get cold.

© 2012 Benchmark Education Company, LLC. All rights reserved. Teachers may photocopy the reproducible pages for classroom use. No other part of the guide may be reproduced or transmitted in whole or in part in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including pho-tocopy, recording, or any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

ISBN: 978-1-4108-1562-0

Small-Group Reading Lesson

SUPPORT TIPS for English-Language Learnersell

What

I Know

What I Want to Find Out

What I Learned by

ReadingThere are nerves everywhere in our bodies.We use our brains to think.Our senses help us see, hear, smell, taste, and touch.

What is the nervous system?What does our nervous system help us do?Why is our nervous system important?

3Your Nervous System© 2012 Benchmark Education Company, LLC

During Reading

Monitor Student Reading • Have students put self-stick notes next to words they have trouble with.

• Observe students as they whisper read. Intervene as necessary to guide them to use appropriate strategies to read difficult words.

After Reading

Reflect on Reading Strategies• Ask students whether they thought of any new questions about the

nervous system as they read the book. Remind them that asking questions as they read will help them better understand what they read.

• Ask students to share words they found difficult to read, and ask what strategies students used to read them. Use these words, and any words you noticed students having difficulty with, to model appropriate reading strategies. Reinforce that students should always check whether the words they read make sense.

Discuss Concepts• Ask students to name the three parts of the nervous system and tell

what each part does. Have them refer to the book and read aloud the parts that give this information. Write their answers in the L column of the KWL chart.

• Have pairs of students make a list of the ways the nervous system helps keep us safe and healthy. Ask pairs to choose three of their ideas to share with the group. Record their ideas in the L column.

• Refer to the questions on the KWL chart. Ask students which ones they have already answered. Ask them which ones they can answer now. Record their answers in the L column.

Extend Concepts• Review the five senses (sight, hearing, smell, taste, and touch) and

how they help us.

• Discuss with students how their senses help them enjoy their favorite activities, such as eating ice cream, watching videos, or playing soccer. For example, while riding a bicycle, they might see trees, feel the air, and hear the birds singing.

• Ask students to draw a picture of themselves using one or more of their senses to enjoy a favorite object or activity.

To check a student’s reading strategies, ask him or her to read a section of the text aloud to you while other students are whisper reading. Note whether the student is using visual, structure, and/or meaning cues to self-correct and make sense of the text.

Reflect on Reading StrategiesNote the words English-language learners are having difficulty with. Ask them to define or use words to help you determine whether their problems relate to unfamiliar vocabulary or syntax.

If students have read Oops! Why Did I Do That?, ask:• The book tells us how our nervous

system allows us to enjoy many things through our senses. Does our nervous system ever make us feel bad? How? (Our nervous system makes us feel physical pain. Also, it controls involuntary responses such as blushing, hiccuping, and burping that can lead to embarrassment.)

• Do you think explaining the nervous system to the girl in Oops! Why Did I Do That? would make her feel better? Why or why not? (Yes, it would help her understand that her nervous system is responsible for some of the things her body does that embarrass her, and that everyone’s nervous system does those same things.)

MAKE FICTION-TO-FACT™ CONCEPT CONNECTIONS


ASSESSMENT TIP

4 Your Nervous System © 2012 Benchmark Education Company, LLC

Build Comprehension: IDENTIFY CAUSE AND EFFECTModel • Say: A cause makes something happen. The something that happens is the effect.

When we read a science book, we often read about causes and effects. If we can connect those causes and effects, we will better understand the book.

• Say: Here is an effect: I can smell a flower. What does the book say causes that to happen? Nerves in my nose send messages to my brain. Let’s connect the effect and the cause: I can smell a flower because nerves in my nose send messages to my brain.

Practice• Distribute copies of the Cause and Effect blackline master. Read the

first effect with students. Help them decide what is the cause of this effect based on what the book says. Suggest that they state the effect as a question and then answer the question to find the cause. For example, say: How can I tell snow is cold? Because nerves in my fingers tell my brain that snow is cold.

• Have students write this information on the chart in the first box under Cause.

Apply• Have students complete the chart by writing the cause of each effect.

Remind them that they can look in the book to find the causes.

• Have students share their ideas with the group.

ModelReinforce the concept of cause and effect through concrete examples. For example, push a book until it falls off your desk. Ask: What happened? The book fell onto the floor. That is the effect. Why did that happen? I pushed it off the desk. That is the cause. Restate the example using the word because: Because I pushed it off the desk, the book fell onto the floor. The book fell onto the floor because I pushed it off the desk. Write the cause-and-effect relationship on chart paper to link visual and auditory information.

Cause EffectI pushed the book. The book fell.

Practice and ApplyIf students have difficulty finding the relevant cause for any given effect, give them a specific page number and tell them to reread that page to find the cause.

Observe whether students understand the concept of cause and effect. Note whether they can locate the causes of given effects in the story. If students have difficulty, you might want to provide additional modeling.

Small-Group Reading Lesson


ASSESSMENT TIP

CAUSE EFFECT(S)Nerves in my fingers tell my brain that snow is cold.

My brain sends a signal to the nerves in my legs, making my muscles move.

Nerves send a message from my hand to my brain, and my brain tells me to pull my hand away.

My nervous system tells my brain that it is cold, making me shiver and get goose bumps.

I can tell snow is cold.

I can do an action, such as skating.

I can keep from burning my hand.

I can keep warm in the cold.

Nerves in my eyes, ears, nose, tongue, and skin let me experience the things around me.

I can see, hear, smell, taste, and touch.

5Your Nervous System© 2012 Benchmark Education Company, LLC

Writing Mini-Lesson: Specific examples• Reread page 12 while students follow along. Say: The sentences on this

page tell what our five senses are, what they do, and how they do it. What do the sentences on the next three pages do? Explain that the pages gives specific examples that tell exactly how each sense gets messages and what the sense helps people enjoy.

• Involve students in a discussion about using specific examples by asking the following questions:

How does the text on page 15 help you understand more about the sense of touch? (It explains that nerves in skin help people recognize when they touch something hot, cold, soft, or hard, or when they feel pain.)

How does the picture on page 15 help you understand the text better? (The picture shows a specific example of feeling something soft.)

Do you think specific examples are necessary when you are discussing topics such as the nervous system? Why or why not? (Yes, they are necessary because they give readers something they can picture in their minds, which makes it easier for them to understand and remember the information about the nervous system.)

• Use other nonfiction books to show how other writers use specific examples. Discuss with students how the examples make the books more interesting to read and easier to understand.

• Write specific examples from the books on chart paper to serve as models for students.

• After looking at the specific examples, have students tell which ones they think are especially interesting and useful.

Link to Journal WritingHave students find a piece of nonfiction writing in their journals. Have them note whether they used specific examples to support their main idea. Have them decide whether they can improve their writing by adding specific examples. If students don’t have a piece of nonfiction writing in their journal, ask them to begin a new piece of writing.

Read aloud sections of Your Nervous System to model fluent reading using appropriate phrasing, intonation, and expression.

Have pairs of students take turns reading the pages of the book to each other.

Have students read the take-home version of Your Nervous System to family members. Suggest that they talk about the things that the nervous system enables people to do.

REREAD FOR FLUENCY

As students review their pieces of writing, have them ask themselves:• Do I use specific examples in

my writing?• Do my specific examples help

readers understand my topic better?

• Do my examples help readers picture the facts I am describing?

CONNECT TO HOME

WRITING CHECKLIST


Vocabulary: Words related to the nervous system• Begin a web on the board with the term nervous system in the center

circle. Ask students to think of words that are related to the nervous system. Suggest that they begin with the names of the parts of the nervous system: brain, spinal cord, nerves. Write the words in outer circles on the web.

• Have students look through the book and find more words associated with the nervous system, such as messages, pain, and senses. Record the words on the web. Have students tell how each word on the web is related to the nervous system.

Grammar/Word Study: Suffix -ous • Write the words nerve and nervous on the board. Circle the -ous in

nervous. Explain that -ous is a word part that can be added to the end of a naming word, or noun, to make a describing word, or adjective. Point out that -ous was added to the noun nerve to make the adjective nervous. Note that the final e was dropped before the word part was added.

• Write the words marvel, adventure, fame, and poison on the board and read them with students. Point out that each word is a noun. Ask volunteers to come to the board and add -ous to each noun to make it an adjective. (marvelous, adventurous, famous, and poisonous)

Grammar/Word Study: Adverbs with -ly• Reread page 9 as students follow along. Ask them to find the word that

ends with -ly. Ask: How do the nerves send a message to the brain? Quickly. How does the brain send a message to the hand? Quickly. The word quickly answers the question how about the verb send. That tells us that quickly is an adverb. Another way to tell that quickly is an adverb is its -ly ending. Most words that end in -ly are adverbs.

• Write the words quick and quickly on the board. Circle the -ly in quickly. Say: Quick is an adjective. We use it when we want to describe a noun: the quick rabbit. By adding -ly, we make quick into the adverb quickly. We use it when we want to answer the question how about the verb in a sentence: The rabbit hopped away quickly. How did the rabbit hop away? Quickly.

• Write the following adjectives on the board: slow, quiet, soft, loud, and sudden. Have students come to the board and add -ly to each adjective to make it an adverb. Ask them to use each word in a sentence to show they understand that adding -ly changes a word’s function, but not its meaning.

VocabularyPair English-language learners with native speakers to look through the book for words related to the nervous system. Remind pairs to look at the pictures and the glossary as well as the text in the book.

Grammar/Word Study: Suffix -ousMake a chart to show students how adding -ous makes a noun into an adjective.

Noun Adjectivenerve -ous nervousmarvel -ous marvelousadventure -ous adventurousfame -ous famouspoison -ous poisonous

Grammar/Word Study: Adverbs with -lyTo show students how words with -ly are formed, write the following word equations on the board:

slow + -ly = slowly quiet + -ly = quietly soft + -ly = softly loud + -ly = loudly

Demonstrate how each pair of words would be used in sentences and have students repeat the sentences:

The snail was slow. The snail moved slowly. The snow was quiet. The snow fell quietly.

Skills Bank


Name _______________________________________________________ Date ___________________

Cause and Effect

© 2012 Benchmark Education Company, LLC

CAUSE EFFECT(S)

I can tell snow is cold.

I can do an action, such as skating.

I can keep from burning my hand.

I can keep warm in the cold.

I can see, hear, smell, taste, and touch.


Skills Bank

Build ComprehensionDRAW CONCLUSIONS

• Explain Create an overhead transparency of the graphic organizer “Your Nervous System” or draw it on the board. Say: An author can’t give us every bit of information in a book. We have to figure out some things on our own. We can use the text and photographs as our clues. Using three or more clues to figure out something the author doesn’t say is called drawing a conclusion.

• Model Say: Let’s draw a conclusion about Your Nervous System. On page 3, I read that our nervous system is made up of our brain, spinal cord, and nerves. Then I read that nerves reach out from the brain and spinal cord to all other parts of the body. Finally, I look at the diagram. It shows where the brain, spinal cord, and nerves are located in the body. Record these clues in the first Clues box on the graphic organizer. Say: Now we will use these clues to draw a conclusion. We can conclude that our nervous system is everywhere in our bodies. Write this conclusion in the first Conclusion box.

• Guide Say: Now let’s draw a conclusion about the brain’s role in the nervous system. Look at the text on page 4. What does it tell you about the brain? Now look at the text on page 7. What information about the brain does it add? (Allow time for students to respond, assisting if needed.) Yes, the brain controls the nervous system. The brain tells the body how to act and move. Some nerves carry messages from the brain to the body. Other nerves carry messages from the body to the brain. Record these clues in the second Clues box on the graphic organizer. Ask: What can we figure out from these clues? What conclusion can we draw? (Again allow time for students to respond.) Yes, we can conclude that the brain is the most important part of the nervous system. Record this conclusion in the second Conclusion box on the graphic organizer.

• Apply Ask students to work with a partner to draw other conclusions from the book. Remind them to use text and picture clues to figure out things the author doesn’t say. After each pair shares its clues and conclusions, record the information on the graphic organizer. Finally, ask volunteers to read the completed graphic organizer aloud.

Senses and NervesAsk small groups of students to draw five pictures illustrating the five senses. Then invite groups to take turns sharing their pictures, identifying the senses the pictures illustrate and explaining the role of nerves in making the senses work. For example, a student might say, “This is a chick. When I touch it, it feels soft. The nerves in my skin tell my brain that the chick feels soft.”

Name _______________________________________________________ Date ___________________


Draw ConclusionsYour Nervous System

Clues Conclusion


Name _______________________________________________________ Date ___________________

Adverbs with -ly

Directions: Have students write a word from the word bank to complete the first sentence in each pair. Then have them add -ly to the same word and write it to complete the second sentence in the pair.

1. Ms. Jackson is a ________________________________________ , friendly teacher.

Jacob asked _________________________________________ to borrow my book.

2. The bus took twenty _________________ , excited children to the water park.

Anna shouted ______________________________ as she went down the slide.

3. The _________________________________________ car held up traffic behind it.

A huge truck drove ___________________________ through the neighborhood.

4. The family enjoyed a calm, ___________________________________________ day.

Lee spoke ___________________________________ to her friend in the library.

5. He tried to catch the cat, but it was too ________________________________.

I ran ____________________________________ when I heard my mother call.

6. It is ____________________________________ to cross the street at the corner.

The squirrel got __________________________________________ across the road.

quiet quick nice safe slow loud

level j/18 your nervous system - amazon s3€¦ · why is our nervous . system important? ... how?...

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