Before Reading
KWL (Know-Want to Know- Learned): Brainstorm a list of Alaskan birds and mammals. How are baby birds different from baby mammals? What sorts of qualities do you think birds and mammals need to survive in Alaska?
Personal Applications: Discuss, write, or draw about these questions: Have you seen or touched a baby bird or mammal? How did it look or feel? How will it be different when it grows up? Do birds and mammals grow up faster or slower than people?
While Reading
Predictions: Which animals do you think will grow up the fastest?
Language: Make a list of new words you learn as you read.
Setting: Using a map of Alaska, mark one place where you think each animal might live.
After Reading
Revisit the Pre-reading Activities: Check your predictions on which animals you thought would grow up fastest. What have you learned about why some animals grow up faster than others?
Language: Write a story or draw a picture using at least three of the new words you learned.
Predictions: Tell or write a story about the adventures one of the animal babies might have as it grows up.
Primary Research: If there’s a zoo where you live, visit and mark on the zoo map where you find each of the animals in the book. If you live where some of these animals live, make a map or draw a picture showing where they might be found.
Interdisciplinary Connections
Social Studies: Make a diorama featuring one of these common geographies in Alaska: tundra, coastal, or forest. Include animals from the book that would live in that setting.
Art: Make a mobile featuring your favorite animals from the book.
Science: Research one of the animals in the book. What does it eat? What does it do in the winter? Where else does it live besides Alaska?
