Scruffy
Technology Project –Kristina Magyar
Scruffy
A Wolf Finds His Place in the Pack
Written and Illustrated by:
Jim Brandenburg
Grade level 4th
This week we will be reading a nonfiction story Scruffy. The story is written and illustrated by the same person , Jim Brandenburg. Brandenburg is famous for his best selling stories and his photography. The story Scruffy is about an artic wolf that has to find his place in a pack of artic wolves. Scruffy is a weak wolf that does not have much rank in the pack family. He is low on the ranking list he is to the point of being treated as a pup. However, Scruffy, finds his place of independence when he teaches the pups how to defend themselves. Scruffy may not be worth much to the dominant males and females of the pack, but he’s a hero to the newly born pups.
Objectives:
The learner will build background knowledge of the artic wolf, photography, and Jim Brandenburg. The learner will gather information about the above topics by visiting web sites. This information will allow the learner to get a better understanding of gathering research from the internet, gain a better background about the story Scruffy.
Materials Needed:
-Computer
-paper and pencil
URL Addresses:
Class will begin in the computer lab with the teacher browsing around the room, while the students are logging in, and taking Polaroid snapshots of the students at work. The teacher will take the pictures and then share them with the class and ask them why the think taking pictures is important. The teacher will accept various answers. Then she will share with the class that the story they will be reading involves a photographer in the artic taking pictures of the artic wolf.
The teacher will then ask if the students know anything about the arctic or the Arctic Wolf. The teacher will accept several answers. Then the teacher will begin to give instructions on the activities they will engage in during the class period.
Activity:
Enter the following web site into the address section on the internet. Type in the address on the board. (). When you get to masters of photography, wait and watch some of the photographs of the famous photographers on the site. Take a look at the different styles. Note the time frames, some are of the old days, some are more modern day, and some seem to be more futuristic. Pick a photograph that you find somewhat interesting and describe on paper, why it strikes your interest. You may share your interest notes with a partner when you finish. Make sure you include why you like it, and the mood in which it makes you feel.
The teacher will take comments and elaborate on them. This is all about letting the students understand that photography is wide in range and topics. Also that a photographer doesn’t just stay in one place but that they travel to remote spots to capture the best pictures.
Next let us type in the second address on the board (). Go to biography and let us read about Jim Brandenburg, the author and illustrator of the story we will be reading Scruffy. As you read, you will see that not only is Brandenburg a photographer, but he has photographs of his work in famous museums and magazines such as National Geographic. He also has several best selling books that include his photos of wildlife in exotic places. The biography also mentions Scruffy and the way he lives in the story we will be reading soon.
The Jim Brandenburg site will cause a discussion about his more popular works and where to find them and it will help the students to know that Jim Brandenburg can be seen in other places besides our reading book. They are interested in seeing his name in future magazines etc.
Our next site is . When you get to yahoo, go to the search engine and type in artic wolves. Once the search is complete, browse down to where you see the second artic wolf site and click. On this site you will see a chart that tells of the physical characteristics and lifestyles of the artic wolf. The site shows several photos of the wolf itself. The site also tells of the related species the Timber Wolf. It includes the characteristics of the Timber Wolves. At this time, take a few minutes to compare and contrast the similarities and differences of the two types of wolves. Once you have come up with several differences and similarities take a few minutes to map them out on a venn diagram that I will provide you for discussion.
The students will complete a venn diagram showing the comparison and contrast of the two wolves to help them better understand the artic wolf which is Scruffy in the story. The students will be more familiar with the life style of an artic wolf.
For the next activity, the students will view the life of animals in the artic.
The last site we will visit today is the animals of the artic. Go back to yahoo and search for animals in the artic. Then scroll down to, Animals of the arctic ring of life. On this site we will see various types of animals along with the artic wolf that live in the same place, the artic. Lets go over a few of these animals. Students will name off several animals that they see and are familiar with. Now class, you are going to be assigned a group and that group will then be assigned an animal of the artic. You will then read the information about this artic animal and gather facts on the life of this animal. You will gather enough information on this animal topic to teach it to another group. This method of peer teaching is called the zigzag method. You have twenty minutes to gather your information and thoughts and any questions you may want to follow up on your lesson. Then I will call time and tell you which group you will be teaching to. Good Luck.
At this point, the teacher walks around and monitors and answers any questions the students may have and offer any suggestions the teacher thinks may be necessary for the students lesson to be more meaningful.
Now is the time to share your research with another group, I will assign you a group in which you will teach your lesson, and I will assign you a group in which you will listen to their lesson. There will be an assessment on this class activity, so you must pay close attention to what you hear.
After the students have shared their findings and taught their lessons, we will recap some information that we have gathered today. I will give them another web site to visit on their own after they have finished their buddy reading today. (reading)
To sum up, we have explored the internet and found a site that houses tons of famous photographers. We have visited a site that tells about the life and characteristics of artic wolves and we have learned about the author and illustrator of our story Scruffy.
When we get back to the room, we will begin our story by browsing the photographs of the artic wolves. We will then partner read the story and to prepare for the assessment later in the week.
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