Rikki-tikki-tavi

Target Audience: Grade 7

Lesson Time: 50 minutes

Placement Within Overall Lesson/Unit: Students are reading Rikki-tikki-tavi in conjunction with Rattlesnake Hunt. This lesson’s activity, a probable passage, can be fit with any story/novel students are reading. The probable passage activity gets students learning about vocabulary, making inferences and making predictions.

Objectives:

  • Students will actively participate with the text by predicting what they think will happen before reading. They will make inferences, learn new vocabulary and draw on their prior experiences. The probable passage activity can be used with any text.

Materials Needed:

  • Copies of the probable passage (1 per student or 1 per table)
  • Instructions of how to use probable passage activity
  • List of words to be used during lesson
  • Overhead projector
  • Dry erase markers
  • Probable Passage printed out on overhead (will bring with me to class)

Preparation:

  • Create the probable passage activity and write out instructions
  • From the text, select vocabulary words to use during the activity

Introduction: ( 2 minutes)

Today we are reading the story Rikki-tikki-tavi by Rudyard Kipling. Before we read the story, we will do an activity where you get to infer what the story is about.

Activity 1: Modeling the Probable Passage (5-8 minutes)

I am going to model today’s activity using the story you read before Spring Break, Rattlesnake Hunt. Can anyone quickly summarize Rattlesnake Hunt for me?

  • On the overhead projector, quickly model how to do the activity.
  • Ask if any questions. If none, have someone repeat back the directions.

Activity 2: Pass out and complete the Probable Passage (5-15 minutes)

  • While working in groups (tables), complete the Probable Passage Activity.
  • Each student will fill out his/her own chart based on the predictions the table has made
  • Each table will share their findings with the class and I will write down the answers on an overhead

Activity 3: Read Rikki-tikki-tavi

This story will be read silently due to its length. This will ensure that the students get the chance to finish the story.(20-25 minutes)

Activity 4: Discuss the “to discover…” (5 minutes)

As a class, discuss the “to discover…” questions and answer them, if possible.

Flex Activity:

As a class, discuss the similarities and differences between Rikki-tikki-tavi and Rattlesnake Hunt.

Assessment:

  • Ensure that students understand the story and how to make predictions based on a few words/phrases.
  • Ensure that students can work well in groups to accomplish a task.
  • To see how well students can remember Rattlesnake Hunt and how they can make connections between the two texts.

Title of Selection ______

Characters

Setting

Problem

Gist Statement…

______

______

Outcomes

Unknown Words

To Discover…

1.

2.

3.

Instructions for Probable Passage Activity:

  • The teacher chooses key words and presents them to the students
  • The meanings of the words are discussed
  • After hearing the meanings, the students put the words in the category boxes provided, according to the probable functions in the story (i.e. characters, setting, problems, etc…)
  • After arranging the words, students write a “gist statement” predicting what the story will be about
  • As a class, figure out what questions “to discover” about the text.
  • Read the story, then discover which of the “to discover” questions can be answered

Activity taken from Chapter 6 pages 87-94:

Beers, Kylene. When Kids Can’t Read, What Teachers Can Do. Portsmouth:

Heinemann, 2003.

WORDS TO USE DURING LESSON:

Rikki-tikki-tavi

  1. Mongoose
  2. Cobras
  3. Bungalow
  4. Bathroom
  5. Garden
  6. Kill
  7. Attack
  8. Family

Rattlesnake Hunt

  1. Rattlesnake
  2. Car
  3. Cooler
  4. Herpetologist
  5. Desolate
  6. Innocuous
  7. Prairies
  8. Steel L