Animal Intelligence (Grades 2-3)

Explore the fascinating concept of animal intelligence! Students work across two texts to develop ideas about animal intelligence and to utilize evidence from the unit texts to support their ideas in speaking and writing.

• Two informational texts
• 2-3 weeks instruction
• Explanation writing

What is this unit about?

In this unit, students will read two texts: “Brainy Birds” by Cynthia Berger and “Smart Suckers” by Jeanna Bryner. Both texts introduce students to the concept of animal intelligence. The first text, “Brainy Birds,” is about ravens, which are, according to most scientists, the world’s smartest birds. The second text, “Smart Suckers,” introduces students to octopuses and other cephalopods, the “brainiacs of the aquatic world.”

Through the study of these two texts, students are supported to engage in readings, writings, and discussions in which they learn about ravens, octopuses, and other cephalopods. Students practice drawing on textual evidence to determine what makes scientists think these animals are intelligent. Students are supported to compare these animals’ actions and behaviors in order to come up with larger categories of intelligence.

This short unit can easily be nestled into a larger unit of study on topics such as animal behavior, birds,aquatic animals, and discovering other intelligent animals.

What content and concepts will students learn?

Students will learn about:

• ravens, octopuses, and other cephalopods.
• animal intelligence, including the actions and behaviors that scientists consider evidence of intelligence.
• categories of intelligence that ravens, octopuses, and other cephalopods share including problem solving and communication.

What practices will students use?

Students are supported to develop practices and habits such as how to:

• comprehend and analyze texts with assistance.
• work from moments in one text and across two texts to develop ideas and compare animals and their categories of intelligence.
• read and talk about texts several times as a means to enhance their comprehension.
• participate in routines such as sharing their ideas in pairs and trios and participating in whole group discussions.
• use specific examples from the text to support their ideas.

How long will it take to engage students in the unit?

This unit spans approximately 8-10 instructional days, assuming 25- to 30-minute classes. The tasks in the unit are designed to be implemented sequentially in order to support students to achieve the instructional goals. As such, the pacing of the lessons will depend on the time students need to achieve these goals.