Lesson Plan - Rats to the Rescue!

Watch a Video: Rats to the Rescue

Discuss: How have African giant pouched rats kept people safe from land mines?

Preview Words to Know

Project the online vocabulary slideshow and introduce the Words to Know.

• rubble 
• curious

Set a Purpose for Reading

As students read, have them look for details explaining how a rat could help rescue disaster survivors.

1. What is the main idea of the section “Rats Have Talent”?
The main idea of the section is that an organization called APOPO is training African giant pouched rats to search for survivors of disasters.
^{(RI.3.2 MAIN IDEA)}

2. How is training a rat for search and rescue like training a dog?
The article explains that in both types of training, the key is to give a reward when the animal finishes its task. When a rat completes a task, it gets rat food mixed with banana and avocado.
^{(RI.3.8 COMPARISON)}

3. What clues in the article help you know what a GPS tracker is?
The article says that a rat pulling a bell on its backpack “will send a location signal” that rescuers can use to track the survivor’s location. This shows that a GPS tracker is a device that sends details about a thing’s location.
^{(RI.3.4 DETERMINE MEANING)}

FEATURED SKILL: Read a Diagram

Use the Skill Builder “Rats on the Job” to have students read a diagram explaining why African giant pouched rats are suited to rescue work.

^{(RI.3.7 USING VISUALS)}