Watch a Video
As you watch the video “Myth or Monster?,” discuss: Why do you think Bigfoot, the Yeti, and the Loch Ness monster interest so many people around the world? Do you believe these creatures are real? Why or why not?
Lesson Plan - Monster Mystery
Learning Objective
Students will understand the origins of the story of the Loch Ness monster and evaluate the evidence on whether the legendary Nessie exists.
Content-Area Connections
History
Standards Correlations
CCSS: RI.3.1, RI.3.2, RI.3.3, RI.3.4, RI.3.5, RI.3.6, RI.3.7, RI.3.8, RI.3.10
NCSS: Science, Technology, and Society
Text Structure
Description
1. Preparing to Read
Watch a Video
As you watch the video “Myth or Monster?,” discuss: Why do you think Bigfoot, the Yeti, and the Loch Ness monster interest so many people around the world? Do you believe these creatures are real? Why or why not?
Preview Words to Know
Project the online vocabulary slideshow and introduce the Words to Know.
Set a Purpose for Reading
As students read, have them identify one reason people might believe in the Loch Ness monster.
2. Close-Reading Questions
1. Why might a fuzzy photograph make it easier to speculate about Nessie’s existence? Sample response: A fuzzy photo might make it easy to speculate about Nessie’s existence because it is hard to see clearly what is happening in the photo. People can see a fuzzy shape and wonder if it is a monster.
(RI.3.3 Explaining Ideas)
2. What were the results of this summer’s search for Nessie? This summer’s search for Nessie failed to turn up any proof that the monster exists.
(RI.3.5 Chronology)
3. What does Loch Ness monster expert Adrian Shine mean when he says that “people want to believe”? Adrian Shine probably means that it is fun or exciting for people to keep the legend alive and think that a monster lives in Loch Ness. That’s why they keep looking for Nessie even though there has been no evidence that the creature exists.
(RI.3.1 Inference)
3. Skill Building
FEATURED SKILL: Text Evidence
Use the skill builder “Three Truths and a Lie” to have students identify statements that can and cannot be supported by text evidence.
(RI.3.1 Text Evidence)