The Magic School Bus on the Ocean Floor- Guided Reading Plan

By: Jess Elliott

Standard(s):
NJSLSA.R10. Read and comprehend complex literary and informational texts independently and
proficiently with scaffolding as needed.
L.3.6. Acquire and use accurately grade-appropriate conversational, general academic, and
domain-specific words and phrases, including those that signal spatial and temporal relationships
(e.g., After dinner that night we went looking for them).

Objective: Students will read and discuss narrative text and engage in discussion of key
concepts and vocabulary through the development of picture dictionaries and journal entries to
demonstrate comprehension at a level of (3) proficiency based on a 4 point rubric scale.

I. Preparation for Reading

A. Activate/Build Prior Knowledge

Develop discussion relating to the ocean and ocean animals that the students might know about
or that they have seen before. Create a mini lesson, showing pictures of animals that live in the
ocean (ex. Whale, Shark, Fish, Crab, Jelly Fish, Dolphin, etc.) Also discuss the idea of a field
trip, perhaps if the class took a field trip to the zoo or to the fire station, the teacher could use
that as an example. Students can discuss the main ideas behind a field trip, going to a new place,
learning new things, and being exhausted at the end of the day. Have students share their favorite
ocean animals, animals that they think are interesting or animals that they want to learn more
about. This section is for students to activate their prior knowledge about the ocean animals that
they know already and about field trips and what a field trip might entail so that they will be able
to relate to Ms. Frizzle and her class in the story, “The Magic School Bus on the Ocean Floor”.

B. Preview Text and Make Predictions

Now, preview the story with the students by looking at the illustrations on each page. Have the
students focus on looking at the different animals and plants that live and grow in the ocean. Ms.
Frizzle takes the students on a fun exploration of the ocean, ask the students to look at each scene
and think about what Ms. Frizzle is going to do next with her class. Show the class a few pages
of the animals and adventure in the ocean so that they get an idea of the text. Do not show all of
the animals or end of the story. Have students make predictions about what animals Ms. Frizzle
and her class might find in the ocean along with what might happen on the field trip to the ocean.

C. Develop Vocabulary Knowledge

As students are discussing their favorite animals and are making predictions while they are also
looking at the pictures in the book, be sure to point out important vocabulary words that they
 will encounter in their reading. For example, names of animals so that the students can match
the animal to the name and common words that they will encounter multiple times throughout
the story. Some of these animals may be, “eels” or “sea urchins” that the students might have
never heard of before. There are also multiple water crafts that Ms. Frizzle uses to take her class
on a tour of the ocean, it would be useful to have definitions of each water craft so that the
students can understand what they are used for. Some water crafts in the story were, a
“submarine”, a “glass bottom boat”, and a “giant surfboard”. Besides content area Tier 3 words,
this story has some great Tier 2 “juicy” words as well. Some Tier 2 words include, “panicked”,
“bitter”, “terrific”, “mysterious”, and “strange”. Create two separate word walls, one-word wall
for the Tier 2 words that students can use to juice up their writing and one for the Tier 3 words
as an Ocean Word Wall for the students to refer to.

D. Set a Purpose for Reading

Encourage students to begin reading the story about Mr. Frizzle, her class, and their field trip to
the ocean. Remind the students that there will be many different animals throughout the book
along with multiple explorations of the ocean with Ms. Frizzle’s class. Ask them to read to
discover what the intertidal zone is.

II. Read Silently

Have students read silently until they discover the purpose set for reading. As students are
reading, observe their progress and their ability to rely on strategies that help that with their
reading. While students are reading, if any student is struggling with reading or understanding
the story, provide them with assistance. As students get to the part of the story where they
discover what the intertidal zone is (the part of the shore that is covered with water at high tide
and uncovered at low tide), give the students a picture dictionary where they can draw pictures of
each animal in the story and write its name. This will allow extra time for the students that need
to finish reading and will be a good activity for students to learn their ocean animals.

III. Respond to Reading to Develop Comprehension

A. Revisit Purpose Setting

Develop discussion about what students have discovered about the purpose set forth for reading.
Students should have discovered what the intertidal zone is. It is important to point this out
because throughout the book, Ms. Frizzle teaches her students the different parts of the Ocean.
Have students discuss what they think Ms. Frizzle’s class will see and learn about on their tour
of the Ocean. As the students read about each new animal found in the Ocean and new part of
the Ocean, have them add to their picture dictionary. Pictures that the students should be drawing
and labeling should be for example, “the intertidal zone”, “the continental shelf”, “a school of
fish”, “lobsters”, “starfish”, etc.

B. Clarify Additional Concepts/Vocabulary

 Continue developing discussion with the students about the different animals found in the Ocean
and the different parts of the Ocean. Encourage students to consider how littering and not
recycling can damage our Ocean and endanger the animals in the Ocean. This is a good
opportunity to teach the importance of recycling and highlight the different recycling bins found
in the classroom and around school. Another focus for discussion might include focusing on the
field trip and how its benefits students to go on field trips and see in person the things they are
learning about in class. Some field trip examples could be, to the zoo, to the fire station, or like
this story, to the Ocean. Have students make connections to field trips they have been on and
encourage them to think of field trips that they might want to go on in the future.

C. Supporting Comprehension of Structure

Use this opportunity to support students understanding of the structure of the story. Have the
students share the pictures that they have added to their picture dictionaries with each other.
Guide students in completing a Magic School Bus summary worksheet. This worksheet will have
lines that start with, “First ___”, “Then”, “Next”, and “Finally”. The students will fill out this
worksheet with events that happen throughout the story. These events could include the animals
that the class sees, the parts of the Ocean that they visit, etc. This activity will help students learn
sequencing and the signal words, first, then, next, and finally.

D. Seeking Additional Sources for Information

Share with the student’s additional sources that they can use that connects to the story “Magic
School Bus on the Ocean Floor”. Additional sources might include other “Magic School Bus”
books if the students enjoyed this one. Also, other related literature could include nonfiction
books about the Ocean and/or Ocean animals or a fiction narrative story about an Ocean animal.
Encourage students to explore these different sources so that they can discover more about the
Ocean and the different animals/plants living in the Ocean.

E. Additional Purpose Setting Questions:

Encourage students to continue reading the story and remind them that Ms. Frizzle and her class
explores all the parts of the Ocean and that they see a lot of different animals along the way. Ask
them to read to discover what whale sharks like to eat (plankton) and pause for discussion after
they discover it. Next, have them read to discover what place makes a good home for many
Ocean plants and animals (a coral reef). Pause for discussion once the students reach this point
as well. Finally, have students read to the end of the story to discover what the class does once
they get back to the classroom from their fieldtrip. Have a final discussion about the story as a
whole and what the students learned in the story.

IV. Review/Reread and Explore Strategies

Similar to page 41 in the back of the book, create a map of the Ocean with the students. Go over
the sequencing of events that took place in the book while visiting the different parts of the
Ocean. “First, Ms. Frizzle took her class to the shore, the part of the beach that is connected to
the Ocean”, etc. This will again teach the students the skill of sequencing. Have the students
reread the story with a buddy using the “Listen to Me” technique. One student will practice their
reading and the other student will practice their active listening. Have the active listener
complete a “Listen to Me form” to score and give feedback on the reader’s oral reading. Students
will switch so that they will both be able to participate in both roles. Students can practice this
technique at home with parents and can use this technique throughout the year using other books.

V. Applying the Literature/Extending Reading Across the Curriculum

Engage students in learning about the Ocean, the animals living in the Ocean and the importance
of keeping our Ocean clean. Have students first get into groups and create a KWL chart of what
they know and want to know already about the Ocean, its animals, and the dangers of destroying
our Ocean. Have students go online and find information on how littering and not recycling
plastic damages our Ocean and endangers the animals in the Ocean as well. Require students to
write a summary paragraph about their findings. Express to the students that it is not only
important to protect the Ocean from trash but, to protect the animals in the Ocean as well. Have
them draw pictures of their favorite animals in the ocean and hang them around the classroom to
display their work. As in, “The Magic School Bus on the Ocean Floor”, Ms. Frizzle teaches her
class about some of the animals found in the Ocean along with the different areas of the Ocean.
At the end of the story after the field trip, the class returns to their classroom and creates a map
of the Ocean on the wall and they write letters to Congress. Two of the letters were, “To our
Congress- men and women: Please make Laws to save our Oceans”, and “Ocean mammals are
beautiful and intelligent animals. They need our protection”. At the end of the lesson, have
students go back into their groups to discuss and finish their charts about what they have learned
about the Ocean. After the groups finish, have a final discussion of the overall importance of the
lesson and have each group share what they learned.