Article
© Harry Read Photography
Play,

Puffin Protectors

A boy learns about puffins, and so much more, on a trip he’ll never forget. 

By Spencer Kayden
From the March/April 2023 Issue

Learning Objective: Students will study text features to gain a richer understanding of a play about a puffin rescue effort.

Complexity Factors
  • Levels of Meaning
    On one level, this play is about a puffin effort in Newfoundland. On another level, it tells the story of a boy who struggles to find his role as one of the puffin rescuers.
  • Structure
    The play has five chronological scenes. It includes informational photos and captions and a map.
  • Language
    The language is mainly familiar.
  • Knowledge Demands
    The play takes place in Newfoundland, Canada. The events take place in a town called Witless Bay.
Guided Reading Level: O
DRA Level: 34-38
Featured Skill: Text Features,
Other Key Skills: vocabulary, main idea, cause and effect, key detail, interpreting text, inference, plot, theme, character, connecting to the text, narrative writing
Standards
  • Common Core
    RF.4, RL.1, RL.2, RL.3, RL.4, RL.5, RL.6, RI.5, RI.7, W.3, SL.1, L.1, L.6
  • TEKS Grade 3
    1a, 1c, 3a, 3b, 4, 6a, 6c, 6e, 6f, 6g, 7b, 7c, 7d, 7f, 7g, 8a, 8b, 8c, 9c, 9d.ii, 10c, 12a

Presentation View
See Student View

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Characters

Choose the character you will play.

Narrators 1, 2, 3 (N1, N2, N3)

Tour Guide

Zane, a 9-year-old boy

Dad, Zane’s dad

Barbara, a puffin expert

Carla, a 9-year-old girl 

Erik, a 9-year-old boy


Text Features

As you read, look at the different text features and think about what you learn from them.

Scene 1

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Late August, Newfoundland 

(noo-fin-LAND), Canada

N1: Zane and his dad are on a boat near the town of Witless Bay.

Tour Guide: Who’s ready to see some puffins?

Zane: I am! 

Tour Guide: Puffins spend most of their lives at sea, but thousands of them come here every spring to lay eggs. They hatch baby birds called . . . 

Zane: Pufflings!

Tour Guide: That’s right!

Dad (smiling at the tour guide): Zane is obsessed with puffins. 

Tour Guide: So you must know about the Puffin Patrol?

N2: The Puffin Patrol is a group in Canada that rescues baby puffins.

Dad: Yep. We flew here from the U.S. to volunteer with them. 

Zane: I can’t wait to save some pufflings!


Jim McMahon/Mapman ® (Map)

Scene 2

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That night, the Puffin Patrol headquarters

N3: Zane and his dad join the other volunteers. 

N1: Barbara, a puffin expert, stands at the front.

Barbara: Welcome to the Puffin Patrol! Carla, Erik, help me explain what we do.

N2: Two kids Zane’s age step forward.

Carla: Pufflings hatch in this area every summer. About six weeks later, they leave their nests and travel to the ocean to live.

Barbara: Pufflings make this trip at night. They use light from the moon and stars to find their way.

Erik: But if it’s cloudy or foggy, some of them get confused.

Carla: Instead of flying out to sea, they fly toward the town.

Erik: And then the little birds can get hit by cars or eaten by hungry cats. 

Barbara: That’s when the Puffin Patrol steps in. Every night, we rescue lost pufflings. 

Carla: Later, we return them to the sea.

Zane: The Puffin Patrol is so cool!

Erik: Want to help us hand out supplies?

Zane: Sure!

N3: Zane helps pass out glow-in-the-dark vests and butterfly nets.

Barbara: Remember the rules: Stay with an adult, and don’t go onto private property. 

FLPA/Alamy Stock Photo

Pufflings look different from adult puffins. Their beaks are dark and their faces are grayer.

Scene 3

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Later that night, the streets of Witless Bay

N1: Zane and his dad walk with Carla and Erik in the fog.

N2: They shine their flashlights into tall grass, under bushes, and next to buildings.

Zane: Have you two caught many puffins?

Carla: Yep. We’ve been with the Puffin Patrol since first grade.

Zane: Wow! I hope I catch one tonight!

N3: Erik sees something moving in the grass.

Erik: What’s that?

N1: A puffling comes out of the shadows and runs toward the road.

N2: Erik gently catches the bird in his net.

Erik: Zane, can you help me?

Zane: Sure!

N3: Zane puts on his gloves and places the bird in a plastic carrier.

Zane (disappointed): When am I going to find one?

N1: Zane walks slowly, peering everywhere.

N2: Then he hears Carla shout.

Carla: I got one!

N3: Zane watches with envy.

Dad: What happens to the birds now?

Carla: We bring them back to headquarters.

Erik: Then they get a health check before we take them to the water.

Sanders Meurs

Scientists weigh pufflings to make sure they’re healthy before they are released.

Scene 4

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The following night, the streets of Witless Bay

N1: Zane and his Dad are with Carla and Erik again.

N2: Carla shines her light under a parked car. 

Erik: There’s one!

Zane (to himself): It’s not fair! I want to catch a puffling.

N3: Suddenly, Zane sees something that looks like a puff ball. 

N1: He rushes toward it. The baby bird runs away.

N2: Erik and Carla hurry over to help.

Zane (yelling): No! This one’s mine!

N3: Zane chases the bird up a driveway.

Carla: You can’t go up there! It’s private property.

N1: Zane ignores them and keeps going. His dad runs after him.

Dad: Zane! Stop!

N2: He catches up.

Dad: What’s going on?

N3: Zane looks down.

Zane: Everyone found a puffling except me. This whole trip was a waste! 

Dad: Do you think a puffling cares who rescues it?

Zane: I guess not. I just really, really wanted it to be me. 

N1: Dad gives him a hug.

Dad: The important thing is that the lost birds are found and brought to the sea.  

N2: He leads Zane back down the driveway where Carla and Erik are waiting.

Carla: Are you OK?

Zane: We’re leaving tomorrow, so this was my last chance to save a puffling. 

Erik: I think it’s great that you came all the way here to help.

Zane: But I didn’t find a single puffling. I didn’t get to do the exciting part!

Carla: My soccer coach always says, “It doesn’t matter who scores the goal. The whole team gets the point.”

Erik: You can still help tomorrow too. Meet us at the dock before you leave!

Courtesy of Stephen Browne

The Puffin Patrol is a real group that rescues puffins in Newfoundland, Canada. Since 2010, the group has saved more than 4,000 birds!

Scene 5

Eric Chretien/Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images

Volunteers send puffins back to the sea. 

The next morning, at the dock

N3: Zane and his dad arrive at the dock.

N1: Carla and Erik are helping Barbara carry containers onto a boat. 

Carla: Hey, Zane! Want to give us a hand?

Erik: Carrying containers might not be as exciting as finding a puffling . . .

Carla: But the rescued pufflings are in these  containers.

Zane: OK, sure.

N2: The three kids carefully help carry the containers onto the boat. 

N3: Out on the open sea, Barbara opens the containers.

Barbara: Time for these pufflings to go home!

N1: One by one, the volunteers each take a puffling and release it over the water.

Barbara: Who wants to release the last puffling?

Erik: How about the newest member of the Puffin Patrol?

N2: Zane looks up.

Zane: I didn’t find any of the pufflings, though.

Carla: But you helped us hand out supplies . . .

Erik: And search for pufflings . . .

Carla: And place them in containers . . .

Erik: And put the containers on the boat!

Zane (smiling): I guess I have helped a bit.

N3: He takes the puffling and tosses it into the air. Then he watches it soar over the sea.

Erik: I hope we’ll see you next year, Zane!

Zane: I wouldn’t miss it!

Jennifer Bain

The Puffin Patrol prepares to release pufflings.

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Think and Write

Imagine you are Zane. Write a journal entry about your time with the Puffin Patrol. Include details from the text features.

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Activities (9)
Skills Activities
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Can't Miss Teaching Extras

Puffin Protectors and this issue’s fiction story, “Susie the Soccer Star,” share a similar message. Ask students to read both stories, and have a class discussion about what it means to be part of a team.

Meet the real-life puffin protectors of Iceland in the December 2019/January 2020 Mini Read “They’re Saving the Birds.”

Our play Sea Turtle Spring makes a great pairing with Puffin Protectors. The two plays share a similar structure and focus: They’re both fictional stories about real-life efforts to protect wildlife. 

Your students will enjoy reading “3 Little Puffins,” a delightful nonsense poem about puffins.

Step-by-Step Lesson Plan
Download the Lesson Plan

Table of Contents

1. Preparing to Read

2. Close Reading

3. Skill Building and Writing

4. Differentiate and Customize

Striving Readers, Multilingual Learners, Advanced Readers

1. Preparing to Read

Set a Purpose for Reading/Preview Text Features 

 
  • Instruct students to study the title, subtitle, and illustration on page 24. Ask them to describe the illustration and predict what the play will be about. 
  • Call on volunteers to read aloud the Think and Read box on page 25 and the Think and Write box on page 29. 

Introduce Vocabulary

  • The play does not include definitions of vocabulary words with the text, but a Vocabulary Skill Builder online previews five challenging words (volunteer, carrier, peering, envy, and release). You may also play our Vocabulary Slideshow. 

2. Close Reading

  • Storyworks 3 plays provide a perfect opportunity for students to build fluency.
  • Remind students that the stage directions tell a reader or actor how to say a line or perform an action in the play. Point out the words smiling at the tour guide on page 25. Read the dialogue aloud with appropriate expressions or actions. Ask students to repeat after you.
  • Project or assign the Close-Reading and Critical-Thinking Questions. (Alternatively, assign all or part of the Learning Journey Slide Deck.)

Close-Reading Questions 

  • Read Scene 1. Why did Zane and his dad fly from the United States to Canada? Zane and his dad flew to Canada so they could volunteer with the Puffin Patrol, a group that rescues baby puffins. (main idea)
  • Read Scene 2. Why do pufflings often fly toward the town instead of flying out to sea? Pufflings fly toward the town because they become confused on cloudy or foggy nights when they can’t use lights from the moon and stars to find their way to sea. (cause and effect)
  • Why does the Puffin Patrol rescue lost pufflings in the town every night? In the town, the small birds can be hit by cars or eaten by hungry cats. (key detail)
  • Read Scene 3. Why does Zane watch Carla with envy when he hears her shout, “I got one!”? Zane watches Carla with envy because Carla has found a puffling. It’s very important to him to find one of the birds, and so far he hasn’t. (interpreting text, inference)
  • Read Scene 4. What does Zane do when a puffling runs away from him? Zane chases the bird up a driveway. When Carla reminds him that he can’t go onto private property, he keeps going. (plot)
  • Why does Carla tell Zane “It doesn’t matter who scores the goal. The whole team gets the point.”? She knows Zane is upset because he missed his last chance to find a puffling. Carla wants him to understand that it doesn’t matter which Puffin Patrol member saves the puffling. When a baby bird is rescued, everyone on the patrol has succeeded. (theme, interpreting text)
  • Read Scene 5. How does Zane probably feel when he releases the last puffling into the air? Zane probably feels happy to know that the rescued bird has been returned to the ocean and proud because he’s the newest member of the Puffin Patrol. (character)

Critical-Thinking Question 

  • Choose one of the photographs from the play and read its caption. How does the picture help you understand what happened in the story? Answers will vary. Sample answer: The photograph on page 29 shows members of the real Puffin Patrol as they prepare to release pufflings over the water. The caption explains what they are doing. It helps me understand the end of Scene 5, when Barbara, Erik, Carla, Zane, and Zane’s dad are on a boat preparing to release pufflings. (text features)
  • Think about Zane’s experiences with the Puffin Patrol. Would you like to volunteer with a group that helps your community in some way? Explain your answer. Answers will vary. (connecting to the text)

Class Discussion: Helping the Team

  • In the play, Zane learns an important lesson about teamwork and how small contributions can still be important to an overall goal. It’s the same lesson that Susie learns in this issue’s fiction story, “Susie the Soccer Star.” After reading both the play and the story, ask students to compare Zane’s and Susie’s experiences. What do they have in common? What lesson did they both learn? Then ask students to tell about a time they felt like these characters or learned a similar lesson.

3. Skill Building and Writing

Featured Skill: Text Features

  • Distribute or digitally assign the Text Features Skill Builder.
  • Ask students to write a response to the Think and Write prompt on page 29.

Differentiate and Customize
For Striving Readers

To help students understand the animal this play is about, look up pictures or videos of puffins. Then have students create a short fact sheet about Atlantic puffins. Have them start with a drawing of a puffin. Then read the play out loud or listen to the read-aloud version. Pause whenever you encounter a new fact about puffins to add to the fact sheet.

For Multilingual Learners

This play includes numerous stage directions in parentheses that instruct readers how a line should be said, such as disappointed, to himself, yelling, and smiling. Help students understand the meanings of these words by modeling the lines aloud. Discuss what the stage directions tell you about how the character is feeling. Then invite students to read the lines aloud themselves.

For Advanced Readers

Have students work in small groups to create a poster asking for more volunteers for the Puffin Patrol. Include details about what the Puffin Patrol does, why its work is important, and images based on the text features in the play.

Text-to-Speech