“Real-life Dragons!” Week 29 Fourth Grade

Land of the Dragons (Non-fiction, Level 14, Stage 3) by Rod Morris

This week’s book Land of the Dragons was the perfect follow-up to our fiction book from last week Dragon Slayer. Although Komodo dragons aren’t exactly the same creatures that are featured in fantasy dragon tales, they are really fantastic creatures and could have been the origin of the fantasy dragons a long time ago. Not only was the content of this book informative, but the photographs were outstanding. What a fun way to learn about a creature we’ve only seen in zoos before!

The activity I want to highlight this week is the I Wish I Knew chart. This activity gives the student the opportunity to express on paper a few things he/she would still like to know about Komodo dragons after reading the book by providing the questions Who? What? Where? When? and Why? Through this activity we were able to talk about why some people think Komodo dragons came from a human who was left behind by his family, where else Komodo dragons live, and what other myths some people believe about them. I love hearing the thoughts of my fourth grader and watching him grow!

For more information about the AlphaSkills Read with Sarah curriculum and our family, see the AlphaSkills Blog Introduction.