Pistes d'exploration

Discuss your prior knowledge of raccoons. List your ideas on sticky notes. What else would you like to know about raccoons? As you read, begin to organize and add to a KWL chart or a web of raccoon facts.

Draw or use computer software to create a diagram of a raccoon, using facts from the book.

Write a narrative non-fiction story about a raccoon, using information in the text as reference.

Discuss your prior knowledge of raccoons. List your ideas on sticky notes. What else would you like to know about raccoons? As you read, begin to organize and add to a KWL chart or a web of raccoon facts.

Using the information from the book, compare raccoons to humans. Use a graphic organizer to report your findings.

Compare this information about raccoons to what you find on a teacher-selected website about Canadian animals. Compare content, organization, text, graphics and pictures. Share your results in a media presentation.

Compare a fictional raccoon (from a book, cartoon or movie) to the non-fiction one. Share your results on a poster.

Secret Pizza Party, City Critters: Wildlife in the Urban Jungle

Mots-clés

Non-fiction , animal behaviour , Canadian animals , city life , illustrations (photographs) , raccoons

Commentaire descriptif

Raccoons have become indigenous to city and suburban areas, making them a common sight in backyards and intersections at night. This short handbook introduces readers to the amazing skills of these former woodland creatures – “one of the world’s most accomplished omnivores” – and highlights the adaptive characteristics that make them such successful survivalists. Several short sections cover the many facets of raccoon life, including “Anatomy Lesson,” “Natural Talents,” “Staying Alive,” “Wild on the Street” and more. Each two- to three-page section features full, rich text with substantial detail: “Both front and back paws have five flexible fingerlike digits, each with a sharp nonretractable claw.” The book is filled with photographs of raccoons in action, accompanied by captions and colourful text bubbles with simple language. One large close-up photo shows the familiar masked face, though “Not quite so cute is its talent for opening doors, latches and garbage bins.” In another, “a raccoon mother gathers her young, which cry when hungry or lonely.” The book ends with a comprehensive index and a reminder to humans to “raccoon-proof” their living spaces and food supplies in light of the intelligence and dexterity of this determined animal.