This lesson was field tested by third-grade teacher Melody Hodges and teacher-librarian Debra LaPlante. They serve at a K-3 primary school in Phoenix, Arizona. They used an interactive whiteboard to record information on the graphic organizers for this lesson.

In February 2007, Debra and Melody conducted the entire lesson using a team teaching approach. This allowed one educator to read or solicit students' responses while the other recorded information. This helped speed up portions of the lesson during which students are less active and was an effective use of two adults. This photograph shows them completing the character map for the mother emperor penguin.

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In this lesson, educators conduct think-alouds to fill in sections of these graphic organizers. Depending on the sophistication of the readers, students can complete the graphic organizers on their own, with a partner, or in small groups. For students who need more support, these graphic organizers can be completed as a whole class. In many case, these graphic organizers serve as prewriting preparation for students in composing summary paragraphs.

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Second- and third-grade students illustrated the Emperor Penguin pathfinder.