Title: Hip-Pocket Papa (Markle, S., &
Marks, A. (2010). Hip-pocket papa. Watertown, MA: Charlesbridge)
Author: Sandra Markle
Illustrated by:
Alan Marks
Copyright: 2010 by
Sandra Markle
Published by: Charlesbridge,
Massachusetts
Reading level: Accelerated
Reader level 4.4, Lexile: 1060
Suggested delivery:
Independent, guided reading, or read aloud
Description:
non-fiction
Charming, Inviting,
Evocative, Fascinating, Informative
Electronic websites to support reading:
a. This
is a website provided by the author to engage students in extensions of their
learning after reading the text. The students
can take a virtual trip to Australia’s cool temperate rainforest to discover
and explore independently the habitat of the hip-pocket frog. Understanding the environment of the species
will help students to visualize the frogs life, increasing comprehension of the
text.
a. This
is a website provided by the author to provide students further engagement with
the text by investigating the hip-pocket frog and additional fathers who play a
major role in raising their offspring.
Teaching suggestions:
1.
Vocabulary:
a. Glistening
b. Studded
c. Defends
d. Burrows
e. Prey
f. Plunges
g. Squirm
h. Develop
2.
Teaching strategies:
a. Before
reading: Students can write a few words
down to aid in connecting prior knowledge to this text when given the following
prompt: Take a moment to reflect on an
adult in your life who has played a major role in raising you. Write down the things that you feel are
important about being a good role model or things that you appreciate about
that adult in your life. Imagine your life
without that adult- how does that make you feel? Do you feel it is important for animals to have
a role model like humans to teach
offspring how to grow into mature individuals? Why or why not?
b. During
reading: This book identifies the
importance of the father role in raising its offspring, a tadpole, through a
sequence of text. To increase inferential
comprehension, students can create a timeline to jot down the order of events
as the father helps to nurture and care for its offspring. The timeline will help students identify the
sequence of events and recognize the amount of time it takes to properly care
for healthy offspring. A timeline will
also support learning in other content areas, such as science, by helping
students understand the lifecycle of a frog.
c. After
reading: Students can visit http://frogsaustralia.net.au/frogs/display.cfm?frog_id=3
to see photos, look at a map showing the natural habitat of where these frogs
live, and find out additional fun facts about these unique frogs. After gathering information from this website
students can create a visual diagram of the frogs’ life and the role the father
plays in the frogs’ life. Students can
further their understanding of this concept by comparing the Hip-pocket frogs
lifecycle and relationship with between father and tadpole to other species of
animals that are similar, such as penguins, where the father plays a pertinent
role in the development of the offspring.
3.
Writing activity: Students can write an expository
essay about a favorite animal of theirs and the role the parents play in the development
of offspring. The essay should include:
a. An
introduction of the species they chose and why
b. General
animal facts: natural distribution, lifespan, gestation period, and diet
c.
Role of parent(s) in raising of young, who plays
a more involved role: male or female
d. Conclusion
(including a suggestion for conservation efforts for the habitat relative to
the animal)
