Alaskan Wilderness

Use your reader’s notebook to answer the following questions.

1. What do you know about Alaska? Write “1. Prior Knowledge” and then jot down a few random things you can remember.

1. Prior Knowledge about Alaska:•____________•____________•____________

example

Ms. Jordan

Map of North America

The approximate distance in miles from Seattle, Washington to Anchorage, Alaska is 1436 miles or

2310.52 Kilometers.

Seattle

Anchorage

Ms. Jordan

Alaska is two times the size of Texas and is located only 55 miles east of Russia.

Russia

Alaska

Ms. Jordan

Determining Importance of InformationGood readers know how to distinguish important from less important information.

In your notebook, answer the following question:

2. What is one piece ofinformation on thismap that is NOT importantto someone who wants totravel from Fairbanks, AK to Russia?

Ms. Jordan

The Bering Sea is located to the west of the Alaskan mainland.

The Arctic Ocean is to the north.

The North Pacific Ocean is to the south.

Ms. Jordan

Copper River, the 10th largest river in the U.S.

Grizzly bear fishing for salmon at

Brooks Falls, Alaska.

Dramatic gatherings of grizzly bears can be seen at prime Alaskan fishing spots when the salmon run upstream for summer spawning. In this season, dozens of bears may gather to feast on the fish, craving fats that will sustain them through the long winter ahead.

Ms. Jordan

“sound” – a narrow passage of water between the mainland and an island.

Vocabmoment!

Prince William Sound

Ms. Jordan

•Prince William Sound is best known for the various disasters that have occurred there. In 1964, the Good Friday earthquake and tsunami hit several towns in the area. •In 1989, the Exxon Valdez oil spill occurred . Oil-slicked wildlife appeared on television screens around the nation. Much has recovered today.

Determining Importance of Information•Prince William Sound is best known for the various disasters that have occurred there. In 1964, the Good Friday earthquake and tsunami hit several towns in the area. •In 1989, the Exxon Valdez oil spill occurred. Oil-slicked wildlife appeared on television screens around the nation. Much has recovered now, 17 years later.

To understand what you read, you need to determinewhich information is most important. Let’s say that you are researching natural disasters, what is one piece of Information above that would be the most important to know?

3. Important information:____________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Ms. Jordan

Amagat Island

Brown bears at Brooks Falls

Iceberg stranded in Kelp

Beware of Wildlife:Each year, moose cause more injuries than bears in Alaska. In summer, cows defend their calves by maintaining a territory around them. They will protect their calf by charging, stomping and kicking with very sharp hooves. If you are charged by a moose, RUN!

Ms. Jordan

Alaskan Wilderness Tips

Think Before You Drink: Those sparkling mountain streams and late summer snow banks may be contaminated by Giardia, an intestinal parasite that loves to make you miserable. Bring your drinking water with you, or purify it in the field. Giardia can be killed by boiling the water for two full minutes.

Ms. Jordan

Don't Be A Polluter:Your fecal matter carries infectious agents. Bury it in a shallow hole (because of the cold temperatures, only the top 5-6 inches of soil has recycling activity) along with any ashes from your burned toilet paper, at least 100 feet from any water source.

Fjord off Glacier Bay

“fjord”: a long, narrow arm of the sea bordered by steep cliffs (originally a Norwegian word).

Fix-up Strategies: One way to figure out what a word means is to look at the context – the other information provided . In your notebook under #4, write some things that the word “fjord” could mean based upon the context of this slide.

Let’s see how close were you to the answer.

St. Lazaria Island

Eagle River

Land of the Midnight SunThis nickname refers to Alaska's northern locations where, for a period of time in the summer, the sun never completely dips below the horizon. The sun is visible at midnight. Parts of Alaska are bathed in 24 hours of daylight.

Fact: In Barrow, AK, the sun doesn't set for 84 days.

5. My prediction:

Barrow, AK is located __________________________________.I think this because ________________________________________________________________________.

Good readers make predictions based upon information they read. Predict in what part of Alaska the town of Barrow is located; then ask yourself upon what evidence is your prediction based.

Reader’s notebook entry

Ms. Jordan

Were you close?

The reason: The farther north one travels, the longer the period of daylight extends.

The Aurora Borealis, or Northern Lights, shines above Bear Lake. Early Eskimos believed different legends about the Northern Lights, such as they were the souls of animals dancing in the sky or the souls of fallen enemies trying to rise again.

Using Sensory Imagery Close your eyes and imagine you’re in the Alaskan wilderness. What

do you see, hear, feel? What are you doing? Describe your surroundings, what you’re experiencing through your five senses. Respond to this prompt in your reader’s notebook. You may write or draw your answer. If you draw, add a couple of notes describing what you hear, smell, etc.

In your notebook,label this entry…6. Imagery:

Alaska

you

Ms. Jordan

Like black bears, a spirit bear’s average life span is about 25 years.

In your notebook, write a question

that occurs to you about this

information.7. Question:

The Kermode bear, also called "spirit bear” is a subspecies of the American Black Bear living in the north central coast of Canada. About 1/10 of their population has white or cream-colored coats. They are not albinos and not related to polar bears. National Geographic estimates the spirit bear population at 400-1000, saying that "the spirit bear may owe its survival to the protective traditions of the First Nations, who never hunted them or spoke of them to fur trappers."

Spirit bears, like most black bears, are omnivores. They eat berries, nuts, fruits, roots, grasses and other plants, insects, deer and moose fawns, carrion and, during the salmon season from late summer through fall, spawning salmon.

They are usually solitary, except females with offspring.

The Spirit Bear, like most black bears, weighs about half a pound when born and generally between 150-300 pounds when fully grown.

The bear’s body length averages between four and six feet.

Bear Mountain

Ms. Jordan

8. Put together (synthesize) your background knowledge of Alaska with what you’ve read today. In your notebook …• List the one thing you’ll most likely remember about Alaska.• If you travelled there and could take three items that you could carry, what three items would you take?

Alaskan Wilderness

…The End

Ms. Jordan