A Creature in the Dark

Cultural knowledge; Geography: U.S. map

The big question of this issue of Storyworks 2 is: What surprising things happen in the dark?

• Reading and discussing “A Creature in the Dark,” along with the other nighttime-themed texts in the magazine (the Paired Texts, “The Secrets of Sleep/Six Sleepy Animals”; the Words & Pictures, “The Stars Above Us”; the Fiction, “The Stars Below Me”; and the Poem, “Crash! Bang! Boom!”), should give kids insight into what makes nighttime so special and surprising.
• Through the above stories, students will discuss: What interesting things happen after dark? Why does the dark sometimes feel scary? What happens after dark that you don’t expect?

Show "The Big Question" Video (10 minutes)

• Watch “The Big Question: What Surprising Things Happen in the Dark?”
  (This video also goes with other stories in this month’s Storyworks 2.)
• Before your students watch, ask them to think about the question: “What surprising things happen in the dark?”
• Watch the video.
• After watching, ask the question again. Write students’ ideas on chart paper.

Preview Vocabulary (3-15 minutes)

• Play the online vocabulary slideshow. This article’s featured words are creature, vanished, mysterious, appeared, shrieks, proof, blurry, and evidence.

Preview the First Pages and Set a Purpose for Reading (5-10 minutes)

• Now tell students they are going to read a nonfiction article. Tell them it connects to the video they watched about surprising things that happen after dark.
• Open your magazines to “A Creature in the Dark.” Preview the text features on the opening pages.
• Ask, “Have you ever heard of Bigfoot?” (varies)
• Next, read the Think and Read prompt on page 7: “As you read, ask yourself: Is Bigfoot real?” Encourage children to think about this prompt as they read.

Read Together (15-30 minutes)

• You can read this article together as a class or in small groups.
  
• Check comprehension as you read the issue together with the Pause and Think questions.
  
• Build reading stamina: Play our Video Read-Aloud feature. Kids can hear the issue read aloud and see the imagery come to life. This is especially helpful for giving lower-level readers the same access to the story as their classmates.

• Pass out the quiz to assess comprehension of the article.
• We also offer a lower-level quiz.

ELA Focus: Vocabulary (20 minutes)

• Use the Word Work printable to deepen students’ understanding of the article’s vocabulary words.

ELA Focus: Nonfiction Text Features (20 minutes)

• This Big Read is packed with nonfiction text features such as headlines, subheads, maps, captions, and bold words. Kids can do our Nonfiction Text Feature Hunt skills page either digitally online or on a printed copy.

ELA: Opinion Writing (20 minutes)

• Have each of your students use the “Is Bigfoot Real?” printable as though they’re writing a letter to a friend explaining the reasons they believe Bigfoot is or isn’t real.

ELA: Compare and Contrast (15 minutes)

• Did you know that we wrote an article about a similarly mythic creature once before? Check the Storyworks 2 archive for “The Mystery of the Lake Monster,” our article about the Loch Ness Monster. Using the “Two Creepy Creatures” printable, have your students compare and contrast Bigfoot and the Loch Ness Monster.

Enrich the Learning: Paired Text Opportunities (time amount varies)

Making text-to-text connections builds knowledge and comprehension. We layer Storyworks 2 with many ways for your students to make connections. 

Pairable Texts The Paired Texts, “The Secrets of Sleep/Six Sleepy Animals” (pages 18-21); the Fiction, “The Stars Below Me” (pages 24-29); and the Poem, “Crash! Bang! Boom!” (page 32)

These texts also ask questions similar to those posed in the Big Read. What surprising things happen when the lights go out? What cool and interesting things happen at night? 

Kids can compare nighttime and bedtime happenings in the texts using our “Lights Out Chart” printable. How are the texts alike, and how are they different?