Animal Lovers will love this episode of Ramping Up your English. From the Mobile Bay Delta in Alabama to Beaver ponds in Southern Oregon, animals lovers can be found everywhere.
Viewing Episode 76
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Viewing by Segment
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Click here to see Segment one.
Books Reviewed in Episode 76
We reviewed two great books about beavers in this episode.
The book Busy Beavers is part of the Books for Young Explorers series from National Geographic Society. The author is M. Barbara Brownell. The copyright year is 1988. The ISBN is 0-87044-740-8 for the regular edition. The library edition ISBN is 0-87044-745-9.
The other book we reviewed is simply entitled Beavers. It’s written by Helen H. Moore and beautifully illustrated by Terri Talas. It’s published by MONDO Publishing in New York. The ISBN is 1-57255-111-9.
A Note about Models
I used the skull of an animal to demonstrate the teeth of a beaver. This was an actual skull with real teeth, but it had belonged to nutria, not a beaver. I didn’t possess a beaver skull, but I had this one from another large rodent – the hapless nutria. I found the skull in Louisiana. I had seen a nutria cornered by dogs, and it clicked those orange teeth as a warning. In both animals, these rodent teeth continue to grow as they get worn down.
I also used a stuffed animal model in this episode. This was indeed a beaver stuffed animal. As my students had done in my ESL, my crew at the TV station all seemed to want to pet, hold, and squeeze this soft model, which was pretty accurate except for the teeth.
Language Objectives
Listening Comprehension: Retell three points of discussion from the Skype interview with Susan Rouillier about Mobile Bay. Describe the cause/effect relationship between the physical adaptations of beavers and effects (how it gives them an advantage in their habitat) of those adaptations.
Academic Content Objectives
Science: Explain how the adaptations of beavers give them advantages in the habitat in which they live.
List birds that live in Mobile Bay, and why they are drawn to that wetlands habitat. Trace the correlation between elements in an animal folktale and some scientific knowledge about such animals.
Next Episode
It’s true that we’re near the end of our unit on Animals, but there’s still more to come. Click here to visit the Episode 77 Page.