Standards Correlations

R.1, R.2, R.3, R.4, R.6, R.7, R.9, W.2, SL.1, L.4, L.6

Learning Objective

Students will synthesize information from two texts about the history of pets.

Key Skills

synthesizing, text features, vocabulary, summarizing, compare and contrast, inference, making connections, narrative writing

Complexity Factors

Purpose: The article explains how hamsters became popular pets in the U.S. The timeline gives examples of popular pets through history.

 

Structure: The article is mainly chronological and has cause-and-effect and compare-and-contrast passages. The timeline offers fast facts. 

 

Language: The articles contain some figures of speech.

 

Knowledge Demands: The texts refer  to medical research, Southwest Asia, ancient Egypt, and the White House.

Levels

Lexile: 600L-700L 

Guided Reading Level: T 

DRA Level: 50

Lesson Plan: The Story of Awwwww/Pets Through Time

Essential Questions

  • What relationships exist between humans and animals today? 
  • How have human-animal relationships changed over time? 
  • What does it take to turn an idea into reality?

Literature Connection

  • Novel: Wish by Barbara O’Connor 
  • Novel: Honey by Sarah Weeks 

1. Preparing to Read 

Activate Prior Knowledge (5 minutes)

Before reading the articles, ask students to think about common pets: cats, dogs, hamsters, birds, fish. Why do these animals make good pets? Together, make a list of qualities that make a good pet. Based on these qualities, what other animals might make good pets that we don’t usually think of as pets today? Discuss.

Preview Text Features (15 minutes)

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

  • Look at the photo of the hamster on page 27. What words would you use to describe the hamster? Sample answers: cute, cuddly, fluffy, soft, playful.
  • Next, look at the animals in the timeline titled “Pets Through Time.” What words would you use to describe these animals? Answers will vary.

Preview Vocabulary (10 minutes)

  • Point out the vocabulary boxes.  Read the words (loathed, attitudes, bred, venture, exotic species) aloud and discuss their 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 by telling students that the articles discuss the histories of different pets.
  • Tell students that after they read, they’ll synthesize information from the two articles to better understand how we came to take certain animals into our homes as pets.

2. Reading and Unpacking the Text

Read the articles. (Higher- and lower-Lexile versions are available on the Story page at Action Digital. Click Presentation View to access an audio read-aloud.) Then discuss the following close-reading and critical-thinking questions.

Close-Reading Questions (20 minutes)

  • Based on the first section of “The Story of Awwwww,” what made Albert Marsh think hamsters would be great pets? What challenges would he face? (summarizing) Marsh thought hamsters would make great pets because they are cute and fascinating. But few Americans knew about them, and they’re related to rats, which many people find disgusting.
  • Reread the section “Pets With a Purpose.” What is the biggest difference between the animals people kept in the past and the animals people keep today? (compare and contrast) In the past, most household animals were kept because they could help with different chores. Today pets are part of the family, and they allow kids to stay connected to nature.
  • Marsh quit his job to focus on his hamster business. What can you infer he thought would happen? (inference) You can infer that Marsh believed he’d be able to make more money selling hamsters than he was earning in his job.

Critical-Thinking Questions (10 minutes)

  • What can you conclude from the article and the timeline about why wealthy or powerful people had pets in the past? (synthesizing) You can conclude that people have used their pets to show their wealth or power. The article says that only the rich had pets just for the joy of it; others used animals for work. The timeline notes that exotic pets were a sign of wealth and power. Wealthy Europeans would pay large amounts of money to be painted with their favorite pets.
  • Which fact from the “Pets Through Time” timeline do you find most surprising or interesting? Why? (making connections) Answers will vary.

3. Skill Building and Writing

  • Have students work in pairs to complete our Synthesizing Skill Builder.  (Click here to view all of your Skill Builders.)
  • Writing Prompt: Imagine that you are Albert Marsh in the year 1946. You have just won a Syrian hamster in a bet. Create a poster that convinces Americans to buy a hamster as a pet. Use details from the article to support your reasoning.

Learn Anywhere Activity

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

Project the task below on your whiteboard or share it with students in your LMS.

Project the task below on your whiteboard or share it with students in your LMS. (The article link goes to the 630L version of the articles. The links for the 520L and 830L versions can be found on the Story page; just click the “Share” button.)

Visit Action Digital to learn more about one of the pets mentioned in the articles: dogs.

  • Read or listen to the paired texts “How the Wolf Became the Dog” and “How America Went DOG Crazy.” (To listen to the audio read-aloud, open “Presentation View” and click “Read Aloud” in the toolbar.) 
  • When you are finished, complete these “Put It Together” sentences that appear at the end of the article:
    • For many years, humans . . . 
    • Today dog owners . . . 

Language-Acquisition Springboard

Build Vocabulary by Learning Synonyms and Antonyms

After reading the article, share the following definitions and examples with students:

  • Synonym: A word that means the same or nearly the same as another word→big/large
  • Antonym: A word that means the opposite or nearly the opposite of another word→big/small 

Then have students study each word group from the paired texts listed below and identify them as synonyms or antonyms: 

  • strange, unusual, curious (synonyms)
  • fascinating, amazing (synonyms)
  • cute, adorable (synonyms)
  • tiny, large (antonyms)
  • wealthy, rich (synonyms)
  • popular, famous (synonyms)
  • loathed, loved (antonyms)

Alternatively, for a more challenging version of the activity, put each word on a card and have students sort the cards into synonym/antonym groups on their own. Invite them to use a dual-language dictionary or thesaurus if needed. They could also add synonyms or antonyms to each word group, in English and/or their home language.

Looking for more ELL support? Download our full lesson plan and scroll to p. 5 to find questions that will help your ELLs respond to the text at the level that’s right for them.

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