Gorillas in the Wild, Gorillas in Captivity

Grade Levels: 3 - 5

Overview

Students explore an online resource to learn about gorillas in the wild. They then read about the gorillas at the Gorilla Foundation in preparation for writing a plan for a day-long visit with one of them.

Objective

• Students will practice recognizing the main ideas and supporting details in a nonfiction selection.
• Students will learn to infer the main ideas that are not directly stated.

Materials

• Gorillas in the Wild, Gorillas in Captivity worksheet
• Gorillas in the Wild, Gorillas in Captivity answer key

Procedure

1. Before you begin this activity, visit The Gorilla Foundation website to familiarize yourself with the site's contents and organization, as well as with the foundation's goals.
   
   
2. Ask students to share what they know about gorillas. Record the information in a word web on the board. Then take students online to the Gorilla Pictures page and share the photographs with students. As you talk to them about the Gorilla Foundation's three gorillas – Koko, Michael, and Ndume (pronounced "en-do-may") – ask the students to speculate about how the lives of these gorillas might differ from the lives of gorillas in the wild.
   
   
3. Next, distribute the Gorillas in the Wild, Gorillas in Captivity worksheet. Go to the Basic Gorilla Life page and have students follow the directions on the first page of the worksheet as they read this web page. If necessary, explain that the main idea of a paragraph tells what it is about and that supporting details give more information about the main idea. Point out that sometimes the main idea is not stated and the reader must figure it out from the details. Then remind students that being able to recognize the main idea helps readers to better understand and remember what they read.
   
   
4. Go to the All About Koko page and have students read the information about Koko, Michael, and Ndume. Then ask them to use this information to complete the second page of the worksheet. When students have finished, tell them to share what they have written.