Lessons & Units :: Snowflake Bentley 3rd Grade Unit

Read-Aloud Lesson: Snowflake Bentley

Lesson Plan

Snowflake Bentley | AD830L

Snowflake Bentley
Learning Goal
Describe Bentley’s environment and his interactions with it to evaluate the impact a person’s environment can have on his life.
Duration
Part 1: Approximately 40-45 minutes
 
Part 2: Approximately 15-20 minutes
 
Part 3: Approximately 15-20 minutes
Necessary Materials

Provided:
1. Detailed lesson plan
2. Graphic organizer for guided practice
3. Independent student worksheet

Not Provided:
Snowflake Bentley

 
  1. This lesson is a close reading of the entire text. So it’s important to engage students often, to enhance their learning. Here are two tips:

    •   When you ask the more complex questions from the lesson, ask students to “turn-and-talk” or “buddy-talk” before answering.

    •   Once you are deep into the lesson, instead of asking students every question provided, ask them to share with you what questions they should be asking themselves at that point in the text. This is also a great opportunity to use "turn-and-talk."
       
  2. Suggested teacher language is included in the lesson.

  3. We recommend you read the book once to your students, either the day or morning before teaching the lesson.

  4. This research-based, read-aloud lesson may seem long. Why do students need the lesson to be this way?
 

Part 1: Teacher Modeling and Questioning

 

Write the following student-friendly learning goal on the board, then read the learning goal out loud with the class:

We will describe how the environment in which Bentley lives impacts his life.

 
Prepare Students for the Lesson
 

Show students the following photographs of snowflakes, taken by Wilson Bentley.

Image 1

Image 2

(Both photos were taken by Wilson Bentley and made available by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration/Department of Commerce.)

 
Transition Students into the Text
 
Teacher says: We’re going to read a book about the man who took these photographs.
 
Read all of the text on the page, including the boxes on the sides. Read normally from left to right, unless otherwise noted.
 
Read pages 1-3 out loud, then stop. Page 3 ends with, “...apple blossoms.”
1.
Teacher asks: Where was Wilson Bentley born?
 

Students answer (may vary; make sure the first two are given before moving on):

  • He was born on a farm.
  • He was born in Jericho, Vermont.
  • He was born between Lake Champlain and Mount Mansfield.
2.
Teacher asks: What is the weather like in Jericho, Vermont in the winter?
 
Students answer: The weather there is snowy.
Read more
3.
Teacher asks: Does Willie Bentley like or dislike the snow?
 
Students answer: He likes the snow.
4.
Teacher asks: How do you know?
 

Students answer:

  • The book says that he was a boy who loved snow.
  • The book says that his happiest days were snowstorm days.
  • The book says that he thought snow was as beautiful as butterflies or apple blossoms.
 
Read pages 4-5 out loud, then stop. Page 5 ends with, “...read them all.”
5.
Teacher says: The book just told us more about Willie’s environment, or the place where he lived. It told us about one kind of insect and one kind of blossom or flower there.
6.
Teacher asks: What kind of insect was there?
 
Students answer: Butterflies were there.
7.
Teacher asks: What kind of blossoms was there?
 
Students answer: There were apple blossoms.
 
Read page 6 out loud, then stop. Page 6 ends with, “...studied the ice crystals.”
8.
Teacher asks: What did Willie’s mother give him?
 
Students answer: Willie’s mother gave him a microscope.
9.
Teacher says: Willie used the microscope to look at flowers, raindrops, and blades of grass.
10.
Teacher asks: What else did Willie look at with his microscope?
 
Students answer: He looked at snow.
11.
Teacher says (models thinking): As I read, I am noticing a connection between Willie and his environment. Willie is very interested in his natural surroundings, especially plants and weather. Let’s pay attention to that connection as we keep reading.
 
Read pages 7-8, then stop. Page 8 ends with, “...before he could finish.”
12.
Teacher asks: What are some words the book uses to show how Willie felt about the patterns and designs of snowflakes?
 
Students answer: “Masterpieces,” “beautiful,” and “wonderful” are words that show how Willie felt about the designs of snowflakes.
13.
Teacher asks: What did Willie decide he must do?
 
Students answer: Willie decided he must find a way to save snowflakes.
14.
Teacher asks: Why did Willie want to save snowflakes?
 
Students answer: He wanted other people to be able to see their designs.
15.
Teacher asks: How did Willie try to save the designs of snowflakes?
 
Students answer: He tried to draw them.
16.
Teacher asks: What happened when Willie tried to draw the designs of snowflakes?
 
Students answer: The snowflakes melted before he could finish.
 
Read pages 9-14 out loud, and then stop. Read the box last, ending with "and a half."
17.
Teacher says: First Willie tried drawing snowflakes to save their designs. Then he tried saving them in another way.
18.
Teacher asks: What did Willie do to save the designs of snowflakes?
 
Students answer: He photographed them.
 
Read pages 15-17, then stop. Page 17 ends with, “...catch the flakes.”
19.
Teacher asks: What did Willie’s neighbors think about photographing snow?
 

Students answer:

  • They did not care.
  • They thought photographing snow was silly.
20.
Teacher asks: Look at the illustration. How does it show the way the neighbors feel about Willie?
 
Students answer: The neighbors are pointing and laughing at Willie. This shows that they think he is silly.
21.
Teacher asks: Why did Willie’s neighbors not care about photographing snow?
 
Students answer: Snow was so common that they didn’t need pictures of it.
22.
Teacher asks: What did Willie do during snowstorms?
 
Students answer: He stood outside and caught flakes in a tray.
 
Read pages 18-19, then stop. Page 19 ends with, “...King Winter.”
23.
Teacher asks: How long would Willie wait for the right snow crystal?
 
Students answer: He waited for hours.
 
Read page 20, then stop. Page 20 ends with, “...the dew-covered insect.”
24.
Teacher asks: What did Willie do with the sticky coat hangers?
 
Students answer: He used them to pick up spider webs with water drops on them.
25.
Teacher asks: Why did Willie pick up spider webs with water drops on them?
 
Students answer: He picked up spider webs to take pictures of them.
26.
Teacher asks: What did Willie tie to flowers?
 
Students answer: He tied grasshoppers to flowers.
27.
Teacher asks: Why did Willie tie grasshoppers to flowers?
 
Students answer: He did it to take pictures of grasshoppers.
28.
Teacher asks: Why did Willie take pictures in all seasons?
 
Students answer: Willie took pictures in all seasons because he loved the beauty of nature so much.
 
Read pages 22-24 out loud, then stop. Page 24 ends with, “...not ready to quit.”
29.
Teacher asks: What did Willie write about?
 
Students answer: He wrote about snow.
30.
Teacher asks: What did Willie give speeches about?
 
Students answer: He gave speeches about snow.
31.
Teacher asks: What nickname did Willie get?
 
Students answer: His nickname was “the Snowflake Man.”
32.
Teacher asks: Think again about the connection between Willie and his environment. How would you describe that connection at this point in Willie’s life? Explain why.
 

Students answer (may vary): The connection between Willie and his environment is very strong. Willie has become an expert on the snow around him.

33.
Teacher asks: What did Willie do with his best photographs?
 
Students answer: He published them in a book.
34.
Teacher asks: What is the name of that book?
 
Students answer: The name of that book is Snow Crystals.
 
Read pages 25-28, then stop. Page 28 ends with, "...to Snowflake Bentley."
35.
Teacher asks: What is Willie remembered for today?
 
Students answer: May vary but should mention snowflake photography.
 
Read the remainder of the book, pages 29-30.
 
Teacher asks: What are some words and phrases that describe the environment where Willie lived?
 

Students answer (may vary):

  • His environment was snowy in the winter.
  • His environment was cold in the winter.
  • His environment had many plants and animals in it.
36.
Teacher says: Now let’s think about some ways that Willie’s environment affected his life. I can think of one way. Willie grew up in a snowy place, which introduced him to snow and led to his love of it.
37.
Teacher asks: What are some other ways Willie’s environment affected his life?
 

Students answer:

  • Willie lived in a snowy place, so he had many opportunities to study and take pictures of snow.
  • Willie lived in a place with lots of plants and animals, so he had many opportunities to study and take pictures of them.
38.
Teacher asks: If Willie had grown up in a very hot and dry place, where it never snowed, how might his life have been different?
 

Students answer (may vary):

  • Willie might never have become interested in snow.
  • Willie might never have become interested in photography.
39.
Teacher asks: Think about Willie’s life and what he did with it. How can the environment in which someone lives affect that person’s life?
 

Students answer (may vary):

  • Someone’s environment can introduce him or her to certain things that might not be in other environments, like snow.
  • Someone’s environment can make him or her fall in love with certain things about it, like snow.
  • Someone’s environment can give him or her the opportunity to do certain things, like take pictures of snow or go skiing.
 

Part 2: Guided Practice and Discussion

 
For this oral lesson, it is suggested to have the completed graphic organizer on the board with the answers concealed. After students provide a correct answer, reveal the corresponding answer on the graphic organizer.
 
Transition Students into the Guided Practice
 
Teacher says: Now we are going to take another look at Willie Bentley’s environment and the impact it had on him.
1.
Teacher asks: Let’s start with just the environment. Where did Willie live?
 
Students answer: He lived on a farm in Vermont.
2.
Teacher asks: What are some words and phrases that describe the environment where Willie lived?
 

Students answer (may vary but should include the following):

  • His environment was snowy.
  • His environment was cold.
  • His environment had many plants and animals in it.
Read more
 
Continue accepting descriptive words and phrases until students run out of them.
3.
Teacher says: Now let’s look at the effects Willie’s environment had on his life. Read over the words and phrases on the side of the chart we just completed. Think about what impact each of those things had on Willie.
4.
Teacher asks: What are some effects that Willie’s environment had on his life?
 

Students answer (may vary but should include the following):

  • Willie grew up in a snowy place, which led him to develop a love of snow.
  • Willie lived in a snowy place, so he had many opportunities to study and take pictures of snow.
  • Willie lived in a place with lots of plants and animals, so he had many opportunities to study and take pictures of them.
 

After the answers for the graphic organizer have been completed and discussed with the class, ask the following two discussion questions.

 
Teacher asks: Now look at both sides of the graphic organizer. If you changed something on the Environment side, how would the Effects side be different?
 
Students answer (may vary): If Willie had not grown up somewhere with snow (Environment), he might never have become interested in snow or photography (Effects).
 
Teacher asks: Based on the book and the graphic organizer, how much impact can the place where someone lives have on that person’s interests in life? Support your answer with an example.
 

Students answer (may vary):

  • The place where someone lives can have a big impact on that person’s interests in life. Because Willie lived in a place with lots of snow, he developed an interest in snow crystals and spent his life studying them.
  • The place where someone lives doesn’t have to have a big impact on that person’s interests in life. For example, Willie’s neighbors also grew up with lots of snow, but they weren’t interested in it.
 

Part 3: Student Independent Practice

 
Both the student question set and teacher answer sheet are provided in the 'Text & Materials' section.

Texts & Materials

Standards Alignment

(To see all of the ReadWorks lessons aligned to your standards, click here.)

User Comments

Thank you! This addresses sooo many of our standards here in Texas and it has a paired text!

Submitted by tshontel on 2/26/17

Our guided reading lesson involved the Read Aloud and the use of iPads to research his photographs. We studied all of the photos and tied photos into events in the story. Also, we made our own snowflakes following his basic descriptions from glue and glitter. Students truly enjoyed the lesson.

Submitted by sraible_1190565 on 1/25/16

Awesome! just what I was looking for!

Submitted by elin.shields on 3/14/15

This lesson is exactly what I needed for my students. They have autism and require lots of visual support and exposure to the text in a variety of formats and at different levels to gain better comprehension. I am going to use the Why Do We Have Winter, What is a Snowflake, and the Cool Prize lessons to broaden their knowledge. Additionally, I will use the YouTube videos for them to do comparisons as well. And best of all, this is grade level reading for my 7th grade students, so I have all of these resources at a lower level, but that give them full access to the Common Core!

Submitted by ccarolcuthbert on 1/8/15

Thank you !!!! I do a whole science and guided reading lesson on this book. Love this Biography so much . There are many great websites for this book also.
Many Thanks!
Let it snow Let it snow Let It snow!
Jane Lynch
3rd grade teacher
Burlington, MA

Submitted by jlynch on 12/10/14