Turtle Bay
by Saviour Pirotta, Illus. by Nilesh Mistry, Farrar, 1997
Activities ©1998 Nancy Polette
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ABOUT THE BOOK
People think the old man is strange. He sits on the beach for hours, listening to the wind, sweeping the sand with a broom and waiting, always waiting. But young Taro is fascinated with the old man whom he considers wise and full of wonderful secrets. And when the old man reveals that some special friends--Japanese sea turtles, ready to lay their eggs-- are about to visit the beach, Taro joins the old man to help with the preparations.
BEFORE READING
Why would a person sweep a large, sandy beach with broom?
VOCABULARY:
Use as many of these words as you can in one sentence to describe the cover of the book. (5) Use other words as needed in your sentence
OR make as many sentences as you can with the words to tell what you think this story will be about. Add other words as needed.
secrets listening seagulls broom
rubbish swept cleaner pointing
dolphins waves boat whale
tomorrow sand turtle eggs
digging flippers beach patient
friends message sea weird
seaweed sweeping beach crabs
THE SEA TURTLES DATA BANK

Use the information from the data bank in one of the patterns below:

SEA TURTLES
Eats Lives Does
sea grass warm climate born on dry land
crabs in the sea breathe air
shrimp Pacific Ocean lay eggs on sandy beaches
    glide with ease through the water
    live fifty years
  Has
  bone armor
  hard shell
  flippers
A.
Hey kids, help me save a sea turtle. They are wonderful creatures because they can __________and _________ but the greatest thing about them is_________________________________________.

B. The "If I Were" Pattern
Name a sea creature: If I were a _____________
Tell where found _________________________
Name two things it could do for someone I'd____________________________________
And I'd _______________________________
If I were a __________________________.
CREATIVE WRITING
From The Whale's Song by Dyan Sheldon. Scholastic, 1990. "Once upon a time the ocean was filled with whales. They were as big as the hills. They were as peaceful as the moon. They were the most wonderful creatures you could ever imagine."
Choose another animal______________________
Where is it found?______________________
Name two characteristics
Like what?_____________________________ _______________________________________
_____________________________
Write a description of your animal following the pattern
in The Whale's Song.
WRITE A SEA TURTLE STORY
Some sea turtles have their own _______________
Where they________________________________
Sometimes they go around____________________
Or sometimes they just_______________________
But to this very day, some sea turtles have their own ________________________________.
K-1 PATTERNS
A.
LONDON BRIDGE
Big sea turtles eat ___________ and ____________
________________ and ______________________
_______________ and ____________________
Big sea turtles eat __________ and ____________
And (name something they do)________________

B.
I saw a __________ and the ______ saw me
It was _________ along (in/by) the deep blue sea.
___________ goes ______,_________,_______

Additional Reading: Share: The Stolen Egg by Tim and Sue Vyner. Viking, 1992