Lesson: Very Busy Beavers

Use a video and a diagram to discuss beaver lodges and dams.

• Have students watch the video “Animals Can Build It!” Ask: Why do animals need homes? What benefits does a home provide? (protection from predators, sheltered places for babies to grow, a place to store food, etc.)

• Have students review the “Inside a Beaver Lodge” diagram on page 5. Explain that a beaver home is called a lodge and that beavers also build dams. Compare the functions of the lodge (to be a home for the beavers) and the dam (to slow down water flow and create a pond where beavers build their lodge).

Preview the article and analyze the purpose of different text features.

• Share the “Find Those Text Features” skills sheet with students. Complete an example together, explaining how to find and analyze a text feature. Then have student pairs work together to identify at least 3 text features and explain their purpose. (Sample responses are in the answer key.)

Summarize key information and investigate how beaver dams filter water.

• Ask: How do you think beavers affect their environment? Encourage students to share observations from the text features and their own prior knowledge.

• Read the article aloud, pausing to discuss information about beavers and how they affect their environment.

• After reading, revisit the question: How do beavers impact their environment, including people and other animals? Remind students to use evidence in their responses. (Answers may include that beaver dams help create wetlands that provide habitat for fish, frogs and birds; beavers cut down trees; and beavers can cause flooding on roads.)

• Introduce the hands-on investigation “Filter Test” (page 7) to model how beaver dams filter water pollution. If possible, provide a variety of filters, including some with larger holes.

Analyze a map about beaver habitat.

• To learn more about beaver habitat from a map, have students complete the skills sheet “Beaver Country.” Introduce the skills sheet by describing the map’s features, like the key and compass rose.

Check for understanding with different assessment options.

• Let students choose one of the article’s learning journeys to complete (found at the bottom of the online html article).

• Have students complete the “No-Sweat Bubble Test” in small groups if possible. Encourage them to refer back to the article. When they have finished, use the text as you discuss the answers.

⇨ Learning Journey: Create a comic strip about a beaver that gets relocated, using at least 3 facts from the article.