I chose the online book Mountains by Cathryn Sill which is part of the series About Habitat series in Epic books.
Image taken from Epic books.
Before introducing the book, I wanted to document their prior knowledge by asking for examples of landforms that they knew about or had learned already. After introducing the book, I told them to listen specifically for the features and inhabitants of a mountain. Although this was not mentioned in the book, I also wanted them to think of why we need to protect mountains, with connections to the information in the book.
As you can see, students had much prior knowledge of landforms when asked for examples of landforms. They also demonstrated their understanding and listening of the book by remembering specific animals that lived in the different mountains that were shown. Students could also make connections to the information by expressing the need to preserve natural habitats and a source of water supply.
Upon reflection, if I were to do this lesson again, I might activate their prior knowledge in all four of these areas, not just examples of landforms, and note what they had learned from the book in a different color.
