Teacher Edition

Silva the SealWritten by Hannah Reed Photography by Ross Tonkin

alphakids

Text highlights• Full-colour photographs show Silva’s

rehabilitation

• Raises issues related to pollution and animal

welfare

VocabularySilva, Australian, fur, keepers, vets, train, scar,

zoo, ocean, fishing net, dying, wild

How to use this bookBefore reading: TalkthroughTalk through the book with the children. Encouragethem to predict the text from the cover and thepictures, and to think about the information theyprovide. Direct the children’s attention to aspects ofthe text that may challenge them. Support the childrento deal with these challenges by asking theTalkthrough questions on each page.

During reading: Observe and supportObserve the children as they read. Encourage them tomonitor their own reading as they comprehend thetext. As needed, support children by assisting them todiscover and use reading strategies and cues to solveproblems and respond to reading challenges that arisein the text. Interruptions to the child’s reading shouldbe minimal and focused on a specified learning need.

After reading: Comprehension, returning tothe text, responding and writing linksTo further develop children’s understanding of thetext, select from activities found on page 12 and theinside back cover. These whole text, sentence and wordlevel activities reinforce the teaching focus of thisbook. Assessment ideas are provided to assist withplanning for further teaching.

Horwitz EducationA Division of HorwitzPublications Pty Ltd55 Chandos StreetSt Leonards NSW 2065Australia

Horwitz Gardner EducationUnit 53, CressexEnterprise ParkLincoln RoadHigh Wycombe, Bucks, HP12 3RL,United Kingdom

Published edition © Eleanor Curtain Publishing 2003

First published 2003

Apart from any fair dealing forthe purposes of study, research,criticism or review, aspermitted under the CopyrightAct of Australia, no part of thisbook may be reproduced byany process, or transmitted inany form, without permissionof the copyright owner. Wherecopies of part or the whole ofthis book are made under PartVB of the Copyright Act, thelaw requires that records ofsuch copying be kept and thecopyright owner is entitled toclaim payment.

Developed by Eleanor Curtain PublishingText: Jenny FeelyConsultant: Susan HillDesigned by Alexander StittProduction by Publishing Solutions

Printed in Hong Kong

ISBN 0 7253 2835 5Pack ISBN 0 7253 2784 7(6 Student Books + 1 TeacherEdition)

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 903 04 05

?

Setting the contextAsk: Have you ever seenseals at the zoo? How did thezoo get the seals? Will theseals live all of their lives atthe zoo? Why do zoos haveanimals?

Background informationThis is a true story about aseal that lives at MelbourneZoo. Silva’s story has ahappy ending. But manyother seals and sea animalsare injured and killed eachyear after becomingentangled in or swallowingrubbish that has beencarelessly discarded.

Introducing the bookThis is a book about a sealcalled Silva. She lives atMelbourne Zoo. She used tolive in the ocean but wasvery badly hurt. The zoosaved her.

Front coverThis book is called ‘Silva the Seal’. This isa photograph of Silva doing a trick with herkeeper. Who wrote this book? Who took thephotographs? How do you know?

Title pageDiscuss the features of the title page. Pointout the author and photographer.

Silva the SealWritten by Hannah Reed Photography by Ross Tonkin

alphakids

Silva the Seal

Written by Hannah Reed

Photography by Ross Tonkin

alphakids

2

Silva the Seal Pages 2–5

TalkthroughLook at the photographs and read the text on pages 2–3.This is Silva the seal. Where were these photographs of Silvataken? The book tells us that Silva didn’t always live at thezoo. Where else might she have lived?Look at the next spread.Can you see the fishing net in the photograph? A net likethis got stuck around Silva’s neck. She couldn’t get it off.

Observe and supportDoes the child use an understanding of letter/soundrelationships to check words?You read, ‘Silva was born in the ocean.’ How did you knowthat word said ‘ocean’? What did you look at? What did youthink about?

?

3

2

This is Silva.

She is an Australian fur seal.She lives at the zoo.

But she didn’t always live there.

3

Silva was born in the ocean.When she was young she swam into some fishing net that someone had thrown into the sea.

The net got stuck around her neck and Silva couldn’t get it off.

54

4

Silva the Seal Pages 6–9

TalkthroughAs Silva grew the net didn’t. What would that do to Silva’sneck? How would that make Silva feel? Silva got very sick.She almost died. Some people found her and called the zoo.The keepers took Silva to the zoo.

Observe and supportDoes the child monitor their own reading and noticewhen errors occur?What did you notice? Why did you read that again? How doyou know that you are right this time?

?

5

As Silva got bigger the net cut into her neck and made her very sick.

Silva got so sick that she couldn’t look after herself or find food.She lay dying on the rocks.

6 7

8

Some people found her and wanted to save her. They called the zoo.

Keepers from the zoo came and tookSilva back to the zoo with them.

9

6

Silva the Seal Pages 10–11

TalkthroughHow do you think Silva would have felt about being taken tothe zoo? Would she have been frightened? How might shehave acted? What do the photographs tell us about how thekeepers trained her?

Observe and supportDoes the child use contextual information to understandthe meaning of new vocabulary?What does ‘train’ mean? How did you work that out? Whatinformation on the page helped you to work it out?

?

7

At the zoo the vets and the keepers tried to help Silva to get better.

But Silva was a wild seal and she was frightened of the keepers.

They had to train Silva so that they could help her.

10 11

8

Silva the Seal Pages 12–13

TalkthroughEventually Silva got better. But then there was a newproblem. What do you think it was? Why couldn’t Silva lookafter herself anymore?

Observe and supportYou may ask the child to re-read this section. Does thechild modulate their voice to indicate drama in the text?How could you change the way your voice sounds to showthat it took a long time for Silva to get better?

?

9

It took a long time for Silva to get better.By the time she was better she could not go back to the ocean.She could not look after herself anymore.

Silva had to stay at the zoo.

12 13

10

Silva the Seal Pages 14–16

TalkthroughLook at pages 14–15.What is Silva’s keeper doing? Why might he be playing withSilva? What does he feed her?

Observe and supportCan the child interpret the text?What do you think people who visit the zoo might thinkabout Silva? How might seeing Silva change the way thesepeople act when they are near the ocean?

?

11

Every day Silva’s keepers look after her.

They feed her and play with her.

14 15

16

People who visit the zoo can watch Silvaswimming. And they can see the scar from the net that almost killed her.

12

Silva the Seal

Being a meaning makerEncourage the children to supporttheir answers with evidence from thebook as they discuss these questions:Why did Silva get sick?Why did the keepers train Silva?Why couldn’t Silva look after herselfonce she was better?Why shouldn’t people throw rubbishinto the sea?

Being a code breakerChildren may like to explore thefollowing language features:• Words with double letters: zoo, off,bigger, look, called, keepers, better,feed, swimming, killed.• Changes to spelling when words arewritten in the past tense: swim/swam,throw/thrown, stick/stuck,find/found, come/came, call/called,try/tried, kill/killed.

Being a text userWhat kind of book is this? Fiction orinformation? How do you know?What did you learn about zoos fromreading the book?What did you learn about pollution byreading the book?

Being a text criticDo zoos save all injured seals?Should the keepers have saved Silvaand kept her at the zoo?

Responding to textChildren could work incooperative groups to develop

and practise a role-play about savingSilva the seal. Some children couldplay the people that found Silva onthe beach, others could be zookeepersand vets, and others could be visitorsto the zoo. One child might like totell it from Silva’s point of view.

Children could design a posteradvertising Silva’s story. Or they

could make a poster explaining whylitter should not be dropped in theocean.

Children could work incooperative groups to complete

a Plus, Minus and Interesting (PMI)chart about the story of Silva the seal.

What are the advantages anddisadvantages of living at the zoo? Andwhat is interesting?

Writing linksShared writingDiscuss the features of a recount: Arecount usually tells the reader whathappened, who was involved, where ithappened, when it happened and isusually chronological. Recounts oftenconclude with a personal comment.Plan a recount of a class experiencetogether.

Independent writingHave the children write a recount ofsomething that they haveexperienced.

AssessmentCan the child:• Explain why this book is a recount?• Recall the details of the story in sequence?• Identify words with double letters?• Explain how they feel about Silva’s story?

whole text activity sentence activity word activity

Silva the SealWritten by Hannah Reed Photography by Ross Tonkin

alphakids TeacherEdition

Topic: Living thingsCurriculum link: Science; Studies of Society andthe EnvironmentText type: RecountReading level: 15Word count: 230Vocabulary: Silva, Australian, fur, keepers, vets,train, scar, zoo, ocean, fishing net, dying, wild

Possible literacy focusUnderstanding the features of a recount.Recalling details of a story in sequence.Identifying words with double letters.Providing a personal response to Silva’s story.

SummaryThis book tells of how an injured wild seal wassaved and came to live at the zoo.

alphakids

Other books at this level

ISBN 0- 7253- 2835- 5

9 780725 328351

CoastlinesWritten by Marilyn WoolleyPhotography by Jason Edwards

alphakids

Hunting In the DarkWritten by Marilyn Woolley

alphakids

alphakidsTheLast Word

Retold by Jenny Feely

Illustrated by Naomi C. Lewis

Written by Jack Hastings

Photography by Michael Curtain

Making PotsWith Dad

alphakids

Shut Barn

Written by Jenny Feely

Illustrated by Marjory Gardner

In thealphakids