Don’t close this browser tab!

This Mystery is being downloaded to your device so you can play it at home without an Internet connection.

Keep this tab open once it's downloaded in order to play the Mystery.

If you experience problems, please talk to your teacher.

0% Cancel
Either/Or Explorers

Either/Or Explorers
Scroll for prep
Video trouble?
DISCUSS:
Would you rather be an otter or a chameleon? Why?
Video trouble?
Video trouble?
DISCUSS:
What kinds of things did Ash say about otters?
Video trouble?
Video trouble?
DISCUSS:
What are some cool things chameleons can do?
Video trouble?
Video trouble?
Step
01/17
Get your supplies.
Video trouble?
Step
02/17
In today’s lesson, you’ll need someone to share ideas with. This could
be a partner or someone you sit near. When everyone knows who
their talk partner is, move on to the next step.
Video trouble?
Step
03/17
Take turns sharing with your partner: What do you already know
about parrots and octopuses?
Video trouble?
Step
04/17
Get your Either/Or Notes. Draw a quick sketch of a parrot.
You can always finish your drawing later on.
Video trouble?
Step
05/17
Watch these videos. Discuss with your partner: What amazing things
can parrots do?
Video trouble?
Step
06/17
On the lines, write some notes about cool things parrots can do.
Write each idea on a new line using a jot dot.
Video trouble?
Step
07/17
Get your Informative Articles worksheet. Follow along as I read the
section “Social Parrots.” If you’d like to hear the article again,
replay this step. Otherwise, move on to the next step.
Video trouble?
Step
08/17
Add what you learned to your parrot notes on the lines. Be sure not
to copy any sentences from the article. Use your own words to jot
some notes.
Video trouble?
Step
09/17
Take turns reading your notes with your partner. If your partner
wrote a fact that you don’t have, you can add it to your notes.
Video trouble?
Step
10/17
Draw a quick sketch of an octopus. You can always finish your
drawing later on.
Video trouble?
Step
11/17
Watch these videos. Take notes on cool things octopuses can do on
the lines.
Video trouble?
Step
12/17
Get your Information Articles worksheet. Follow along as I read the
section titled “Clever Octopus.” If you’d like to hear the article again,
replay this step. Otherwise, move on to the next step.
Video trouble?
Step
13/17
Add what you learned to your octopus notes.
Video trouble?
Step
14/17
Take turns reading your notes with your partner. If your partner
wrote a fact that you don’t have, you can add it to your notes.
Video trouble?
Step
15/17
Discuss with your partner: Would you rather be a parrot or an
octopus?
Video trouble?
Step
16/17
At the bottom of your worksheet, write “a parrot” or “an octopus”
to complete the sentence with your opinion!
Video trouble?
Step
17/17
The papers shown on the screen are VIPs: Very Important Papers!
Your teacher will tell you where to put them so you will have them
for the next lesson.
Video trouble?
Video trouble?

Featured Reviews

“Love the engaging videos! Graphic organizers are perfect! Even my struggling writers are writing thanks to the word banks! Love the 2 sources- video and text! The kids don't moan and groan when it's writing time!”
· Susan · Teacher
“My students are I are really loving Mystery Writing! Very entertaining, engaging, and fun lessons to promote writing.”
· Jodi · Teacher
“The students loved all the facts given and were amazed by all that these animals can do! Fun Lesson!!”
· Nancy · Teacher

Students will...

Print Prep
  • use 2 sources (video and text) to gather information and take notes.

  • establish an opinion and write a thesis statement.

Before this lesson...

Parrot & Octopus Articles worksheet 1 per student
Podcast Notes worksheet 1 per student
Word Bank (Parrot & Octopus) worksheet 1 per student
Prep Instructions
  • At the end of this unit, students will have a written podcast. In lesson 5, students may (1) present it out loud as a performance or (2) record it using a digital program.

  • Each worksheet in this unit will be used across multiple lessons. These worksheets are labeled as VIPs (Very Important Papers).

  • We suggest teachers make sure each student has a designated location (such as a folder) to store papers between lessons.

  • Word Banks can be printed in another color to help students keep track of all their pages.

Introduction

10 mins

Writing Activity

30 mins

Extend this lesson

Reading

Reading

Read more about why parrots talk and octopus escape artists with additional reading here

Partner Activity

Partner Activity

You can play “would you rather” on your own! Use your imagination to come up with “would you rather” questions to ask your classmates. With a partner, you can practice answering each other’s questions. When you answer, be sure to explain why you picked the choice that you did.

Explore

Explore

You can listen to Ash’s entire episode of the Either/Or Explorers here
Credits
 
Would You Rather Lesson 1: Either/Or Explorers

How did the lesson go?
Terrible OK Good Great Terrific!

How can we improve it?

If you'd like our team to reply to you, please Contact Support instead.

Thanks for your feedback! If you have a question or need help, please contact us.

Sorry the lesson didn’t go well. We read every single review in an effort to improve our lessons.

Thanks for letting us know. We’ll wait to ask you for feedback until after you've actually taught it.

Thanks for the feedback! We read every single review in an effort to improve our lessons.

Is the video not playing properly?

Please follow these steps:

  1. Very rarely a video will fail to completely load in your browser. Try to reload this page to see if that fixes the problem.
  2. If reloading does not help, try our other video player .
  3. If the video still fails to play, open this video in a new tab

Close

How can we help you?

This episode is locked

This lesson is not included in your limited access.

View pricing

This episode is locked

Your membership is expired. The archive of past Mini Lessons is not included in your limited access.

View pricing