Standards Correlations

R.1, R.2, R.3, R.4, R.7, W.2, SL.1, L.4, L.6

Learning Objective

Students will read and summarize a text about animals on the brink of extinction, with a special focus on the northern white rhino.

Key Skills

summarizing, text features, vocabulary, inference, compare and contrast, problem and solution, cause and effect, critical thinking, informational writing

Complexity Factors

Purpose: The text explains some of the reasons animals are endangered  and how their absence might affect Earth.

Structure: The text mostly follows a problem-and-solution structure. 

Language: The language is mainly conversational.

Knowledge Demands: Understanding how  an ecosystem works will be helpful.

Levels

Lexile: 700L-800L 

Guided Reading Level: U 

DRA Level: 50

Lesson Plan: The Last Northern White Rhinos on Earth

Essential Questions

  • How do the actions of humans affect nature?
  • What responsibility do humans have to protect wildlife?  

Literature Connection

  • Nonfiction: DK Eyewitness Books: Endangered Animals by Ben Hoare
  • Novel: Hoot by Carl Hiaasen

1. Preparing to Read 

Preview Text Features (15 minutes)

Guide students to locate the article. Then preview the text features by asking the following questions:

  • Read the article’s title and subtitle. How do you think the rhinos in the main image came to be the last northern white rhinos on Earth? Make a prediction. Sample answer: All the other northern white rhinos must have died. They might have starved to death, been killed by hunters, or died in other ways. 
  • Find the images of the baiji, the mountain gorilla, and the bald eagle, and read their captions. What do these animals have in common? How are their situations different? Human activities have affected all three species, but the status of each is different. The baiji is extinct because of hunters and polluted water. Mountain gorillas are in danger; they have lost their homes because of farming, logging, and mining. Bald eagles almost disappeared because of chemicals used to kill insects, but they were saved from extinction when the chemicals were banned.

Preview Vocabulary (10 minutes)

  • Point out the vocabulary box. Read the words (intruders, species, extinction, habitats, climate change) aloud and discuss the definitions.
  • Play the Vocabulary Slideshow.

Make a Plan for Reading 

Before students start to read, walk them through a reading plan:

  • Set a purpose for reading: Tell students that the article will tell them how human activity has caused some types of animals to die out and also what some humans have done to help protect wildlife.    
  • Point out the Pause and Think boxes. Tell students they can check their understanding of what they’ve read by answering these questions.
  • Point out the activity at the end of the article, and tell students they will complete it after reading. Guide them to briefly scan the questions in the activity. Tell students to keep these questions in mind as they read.

2. Reading and Unpacking the Text

Guide students to read the article. Once they understand it well, discuss the following close-reading and critical-thinking questions

Close-Reading Questions (15 minutes)

  • The article says that Fatu and Najin may be the most closely watched animals on Earth. Why do rangers watch the rhinos so closely? (inference) You can infer that rangers watch the rhinos closely because they’re the last two northern white rhinos on Earth. They’re rare and special. The rangers want to keep them safe, healthy, and alive for as long as possible.
  • Think about the reason people kill tigers and the reason people kill bluefin tuna. How are the reasons similar? How are they different? (compare and contrast) People kill both animals to make use of them (as opposed to killing them because they’re bothersome or harmful). But people kill tigers for their beautiful skin, and people kill bluefin tuna to eat them. 
  • What did the Indian government do that caused the number of Indian rhinos to rise? (problem and solution) The Indian government moved rhinos to protected areas where illegal hunters can’t get to them.

Critical-Thinking Questions (10 minutes)

  • How might the disappearance of one animal species affect other species? (cause and effect) When one species of animals becomes extinct, it can affect other species in a number of ways. Rhinos, for instance, clear paths and are a source of food for other animals. Without them, a number of animals might struggle to travel or to find food. 
  • Based on the article, do you think humans have a responsibility to try to keep animals from going extinct? Why or why not? (critical thinking) Answers will vary. Some students might say that humans don’t need to worry much about species going extinct, because many species exist and it’s natural for some to die out. Others might say that humans have a responsibility to protect all species of animals because it’s often our actions that cause them to become endangered. 

Learn Anywhere Activity

An enrichment activity to extend the learning journey at home or in the classroom

Learn About Another Endangered Animal

Below you’ll find links to four past Action articles about animals that have faced extinction. Choose one and read it. Then, in a well-organized paragraph, answer these questions:

  1. What dangers did/does the animal face?
  2. What has been done to keep the animal from becoming extinct?
  3. If the animal were to become extinct, what effect might its absence have on other animals or the environment?

Articles:

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