| Grade Level | System Requirement | Product Number |
|---|---|---|
| Grades 3-4 | Apple 128K | A292 |
| As assistant zookeepers at Littletown Zoo, children are assigned the job of deciding which three animals to add to an exhibit. A variety of references-data cards, letters from visitors, and zookeeper records-are available to help them make their decisions.Features a high-score listReading topics include mammals, the environment, and endangered species. | ||
INTRODUCTION
The Scenario. Students work at the Littletown Zoo. They decide which animals to put in an exhibit. First, they find out about animals and zoos, exhibits, and ten animals. Then they choose three animals to recommend to thedirector. Studentsearnscoresand,ifsuccessful,theirnamesareplacedon the Honor Exhibits list.
Reading Tasks. Students first select tasks. Tasks include finding the main idea, locating supporting facts, locating word clues, making inferences and drawing conclusions, finding locations, finding definitions, and finding animal information.
Readings. More than forty readings are organized around the zoo theme. There are data cards, letters from zoo visitors, and animal records from zookeepersforeachofthetenanimals. Otherreadingscoverzoos,exhibits, andbackgroundinformation. Studentslookforreadingswheretheythink information is located by going directly to a reading or by browsing through a group of readings. They become strategic readers, gaining knowledge to help them select animals.
Animals and Documents. Students read about the ten animals. Each animal has a data card, a letter from a zoo visitor, and a zookeeper’s record. The information on each animal is generated from hundreds of random data elements. These elements are placed in the data cards, letters, and records. Some elements have point values.
The Program. Students can reread, select, and answer new reading tasks. They encounter new exhibits and select new animals. With the Management Options, teachers can set the number and type of tasks, the exhibit type to be used,andthegroupofanimals. Studentrecordsautomaticallysavethegame and build ”reading portfolios.”
Designed to be integrated into the language-arts curriculum, the Littletown Zoo manual includes classroom suggestions, cooperative-learning lesson plans, introductory and closure activities, student handouts, more than fifty discussion questions, extended writing and reading activities, and 100 composition and research topics.
Program Information
Title: Littletown Zoo
Grade Level: 3-4
Subject Area: Process-oriented reading Language arts Reading comprehension
Program Type: Discovery-learning simulation
Hardware: Apple Ile, Ile, Ilos with 128K RAM (not Apple II or II Plus; Apple IIGS is recommended); printer optional
Classroom Use: Individual students or large group
Management Options:
- • set the number of tasks required before selecting animals
- • set the type of tasks available
- • lock/unlock the random setting of animals and exhibits
- • create, view, and edit student records
- • specify printing options and printer setup
Learning Objectives:
Using Littletown Zoo-which focuses on reading processes, reading comprehension, and problem-solving-students will:
- practice reading comprehension activities by:
- finding the main idea
- locating supporting facts
- locating word clues including sequence words, location words, pronouns, adjectives, and vocabulary words making inferences and drawing conclusions
- finding locations
- finding definitions
- finding animal information
- practice reading for specific information
- determine effective reading strategies
- use higher-order thinking skills to select animals
- understand the relationship of ideas in interrelated readings