Rhapsody with Raptors: Connecting Science with Common Core ELA Standards

Deborah McMurtrie – DeborahMc@usca.edu

Gary Senn – SennG@usca.edu

Bridget Coleman – BridgetC@usca.edu

http://rpsec.usca.edu/Presentations/SCMSA2014/

• Programs for Teachers

• Programs for Pre-service Teachers

• Programs for Students

Rhapsody with Raptors

1. Raptor lesson: Structured note taking

2. Mystery Metaphor activity

3. Examine talons, wings, and feathers; generate lists of “Bird Words”

4. Find examples of figurative language in poetry and children’s literature

5. Compose a Cinquain poem

What is a Raptor?

A raptor is a bird.A raptor is a carnivore.A raptor is a predator.

A raptor seizes its prey with its talons.

Raptors are also called BIRDS OF PREY.

Example: Owl, hawk, eagle, osprey

Owl

Hawk

Common Core ELA: K-12

Anchor Standards for LanguageVocabulary Acquisition and Use

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.CCRA.L.5 Demonstrate understanding of figurative language, word relationships, and nuances in word meanings.

Common Core ELA: Grade 5

Language StandardsVocabulary Acquisition and UseCCSS.ELA-Literacy.L.5.5 Figurative Language: Similes and Metaphors

Reading Standards: Literature Craft and StructureCCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.5.4 Figurative Language: Similes and Metaphors

Common Core ELA: Grade 6

Language Standards

Vocabulary Acquisition and Use

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.L.6.5- Figurative Language

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.L.6.5a- Personification

Reading Standards: Literature

Craft and Structure

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.6.4- Figurative Language

Common Core ELA: Grade 7

Language Standards

Vocabulary Acquisition and Use

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.L.7.5- Figurative language

Reading Standards: Literature

Craft and Structure

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.7.4- Alliteration

Figurative Language

Figurative language can be used to paint a picture or to compare two things.

• Similes• Metaphors• Personification• Alliteration• Onomatopoeia

SimilesA simile is a figure of speech that compares two unlike things that have a shared quality. Similes use the words “like” and “as.” Examples:• She is as free as a bird.• It is as light as a feather.• He is as wise as an owl.• You eat like a bird.• She watched me like a hawk.

Metaphors

A metaphor is a figure of speech in which there is an indirect or implied comparison between two unlike things. The signal words “as” or “like” are not used. Examples:• He is a night owl.

• She is an early bird.

• Birds of a feather flock together.

• A bird in the hand is worth two in a bush.

• She is a graceful bird in flight.

Personification

Personification gives human characteristics to objects, animals, or ideas. Examples: • The Barred Owl said, “Who cooks for you?”

• The bird’s eyes danced in the moonlight.

• Time stood still when the hawk detected the rat.

• The branch groaned in protest.

• The owl wore matching stripes.

Alliteration

Alliteration is a repetition of the first consonant sounds in several consecutive words. Examples:• Wide-eyed and wondering, we watched the

winged warriors

• One outrageous, over-achieving oviparous owl

• Few flew fast as feathers flapped

• Ravenous raptors rapidly rip rats and regurgitate

Onomatopoeia

Onomatopoeia is the use of words that mimic sounds or sound like their meaning. Examples include:

Raleigh the Barred Owl

Just the Facts

• An owl was hunting a mouse.

• The bird was hit by a car.

• The driver took it to a vet.

• Its wing was broken.

Adding Imagery

• One night a Barred Owl spotted a tiny mouse.

• He readied his talons and leaped from a tree.

• The headlights of a car blinded him.

• He lay on the side of the road.

Adding Sensory Details

• Scanning the forest floor for movement, his keen eyes spotted a tiny grey mouse.

• Ears twitching, the timid creature scurried out from under a rock.

• Just before he pounced on his prize, he was blinded by a blaze of harsh bright lights.

• The majestic bird appeared to be a lifeless heap of battered feathers sprawled in the road.

A sliver of moonlight barely illuminated the November night sky. The nocturnal predator was perched on a branch in the forest. He was hungry. Two weeks of heavy rain had seriously curtailed his hunting, and the nights were getting colder. He needed food.

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Scanning the forest floor for movement, his keen eyes spotted a tiny grey mouse. A greasy fast food bag, tossed carelessly from a car window, had attracted the mouse’s attention. Ears twitching, the timid creature scurried out from under a rock.

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The Barred Owl saw an opportunity. Focused on his prey, he readied his razor-sharp talons and silently leaped from the branch of the old hickory tree.

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The owl was so focused on catching his next meal that he saw nothing else. Just before he pounced on his prize, he was blinded by a blaze of harsh bright lights. Tires squealed as the driver slammed on the brakes.

The girl stopped the car and jumped out, horrified. The majestic bird appeared to be a lifeless heap of battered feathers sprawled in the road. His large eyes were closed but he was breathing. He was clearly in shock. The girl wrapped the trembling owl in a towel. She gently lifted him up, placed him in the car, and drove to her veterinarian’s office.

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The x-rays revealed that the Barred Owl’s left wing was broken. “Owls, like all birds, have bones that are as hollow as straws,” the vet said. “The hollow bones are lightweight, which help them fly, but they are also quite fragile.”

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The owl was gently placed in a pet carrier and transported to the home of a raptor rehabilitator. A raptor rehabilitator is a person who works with injured birds of prey, such as hawks and owls. Their goal is to provide medical treatment until the bird can be released back into the wild.

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Similes and Metaphors

Why is the Great Horned Owl called a “Tiger with Wings?”

ClichéPoor as a church mouse, Strong as an ox, Cute as a button, Smart as a fox. Thin as a toothpick, White as a ghost, Fit as a fiddle, Dumb as a post. Bald as an eagle, Neat as a pin, Proud as a peacock, Ugly as sin.

CleverAs poor as _______. As strong as ______, As cute as ______, As smart as ______. As thin as ______, As white as ______, As fit as ______ As dumb as ______. As bald as ______, As neat as ______, As proud as ______, As ugly as ______.

Unusual Comparisons

• How is a pencil like a railroad?• How is snow like an hourglass?• How is a soaring eagle like a light bulb?• How is a mirror like a book?• How are wildflowers like stars?• How is moonlight like jewelry?• How is a bird like a heart?• How is spring like death?

Mystery Metaphor/Simile Box

Select an object from the box. How could this object represent what a raptor looks like, what a raptor can do, or how the raptor can do it?

A ______________________

is like a _________________

because ________________.

Hands-On Bird Words

• Brainstorm a list of adjectives that describe what the wings, talons, and feathers LOOK like and FEEL like (such as shape, color, texture)

• Brainstorm a list of nouns that share physical characteristics with raptors (such as plane, knife, hook)

• Brainstorm a list of verbs related to raptors (such as stalk, grasp, kill)

• Brainstorm a list of adverbs related to raptors (such as fiercely, stealthily, powerfully)

Finding Figurative Language

Choose from:•Poetry•Children’s Literature•Raleigh’s Story

Look for:•Similes•Metaphors•Personification•Alliteration•Onomatopoeia

Children’s LiteratureOwl Moon

by Jane YolenAdopted by an Owl by Robbyn Smith van Frankenhuyzen

Poetry AnalysisThe EagleBy Alfred, Lord Tennyson (1851)

He clasps the crag with crooked hands; Close to the sun in lonely lands, Ring’d with the azure world, he stands.  The wrinkled sea beneath him crawls; He watches from his mountain walls, And like a thunderbolt he falls.

Figurative Language

• Simile- compares 2 things using like or as

• Metaphor- indirectly compares 2 things

• Alliteration- repeats first consonant sounds

• Personification- gives human characteristics

• Onomatopoeia- sounds mimic meanings

Compose a Cinquain

Line 1- One-word title

Line 2- Two adjectives

Line 3- Three word phrase

Line 4- Four descriptive words

Line 5- One word synonym for title

Cinquain Example

Owl

Enormous eyes

Hunts at night

Majestic wings, silent flight

Raptor