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Text Set Assignment The topic that I chose to complete my text set was on weather. I decided to use this topic because it directly correlates with the SOL’s that I am required to teach (SOL 2.6). Weather, and more specifically, storms, can be a difficult concept for some children to master. It is difficult to find appropriate reading material for second grade students that provide enough information on the subject. The material is often way too difficult for my students to read independently. There is also a lot of confusion between some of the storms, such as hurricanes and tornadoes, so it is important to use a variety of resources to help students with their understanding. I am a second grade teacher with the collaboration class, so my students are quite diverse when it comes to their individual needs and reading abilities. I have students in my class that are currently reading on readiness/preprimer level and some that are reading on a fourth grade level. With such a wide range of abilities, it is important to provide them with every opportunity to learn, be successful, and to show mastery of the concept. Resource #1. Weather Words and What They Mean by: Gail Gibbons Gibbons, G. (1990). Weather Words and What They Mean (1st ed.) New York, New York: Holiday House. Readability Level: 3rd-4th grade using the Flesch-Kincaid Readability Formula p. 4 Moisture in the air comes from water that evaporates, mostly from the oceans. Wind is air in motion. The temperature goes up and down. When the sun rises in the morning, the air becomes warmer and the temperature goes up. When the sun sets, the air becomes cooler and the temperature goes down. The temperature also changes with the seasons. In the summer, the sun is high in the sky. The days are warm and longer. In the winter, the sun is low in the sky. The days are cold and shorter. High pressure is when air particles are close together. The air is usually cool and dry. High pressure often brings fair weather. Flesch-Kincaid Level: 4.0 p. 10 The amount of moisture in the air is called humidity. Warm air has more moisture in it than cold air. At night when the air cools down, it can’t hold as much moisture. The moisture that forms on the ground is called dew. If the temperature goes below freezing, the dew freezes. Then it is called frost. Moisture makes clouds, too. When water evaporates from rivers, lakes and oceans, it is called vapor. It moves up with the warm air and forms little drops of water or ice crystals. A cloud is formed. Clouds come in all shapes and sizes. There are three main kinds of clouds. Flesch-Kincaid Level: 2.5 p. 16 A cloud close to the earth’s surface is called fog. Rain forms inside rain clouds. The water vapor that evaporates from below forms tiny water drops. The tiny drops join together and become bigger drops. When they are heavy enough, they fall. Rain comes down in different ways. Sometimes there are floods when it rains for a long time. Thunderstorms are scary! Lots of tiny drops of water whip around inside the cloud at very high speeds. When they rub and bump against each other, they make electricity. When enough electricity builds up, it bursts through the cloud and flashes. This is called lightning. Lightning is very hot. It heats the air around it. The hot air expands and…BOOM! Flesch-Kincaid Level: 3.8 I would use this text as read aloud to the whole class. It is well above a second grade reading level, so it would not be useful for all of my students. This book is a good introduction, as part of the preparation phase, to the weather unit because it exposes the students to different vocabulary words that are associated with different weather and storms. The author, Gail Gibbons, does a nice job of providing important information about a difficult concept in a way that younger students can understand. During reading I would make sure to stop and discuss important vocabulary words such as temperature, moisture, blizzard, etc. Resource #2. What Will the Weather Be? By: Lynda Dewitt Dewitt, L. (1991). What Will the Weather Be? (1st ed.). New York, New York: HarperCollins Publisher. Readability Level: About 5th grade using the Fry Readability Formula p. 5 The sky was gray and cloudy over Washington, D.C., on the morning of January 22, 1987. The weather forecast called for an inch or two of snow. But by noon, there was so much snow on the ground that many cars and buses were stuck in it. The airports had to close down. So did the schools. In all, fourteen inches of snow fell on the city. The weather forecast was wrong. And people were not prepared for the huge storm. Weather forecasts tell us what kind of weather is coming. But predicting the weather is hard to do. It is easy to see what the weather is like right now. You can go 141 syllables 11 sentences Readability Level: 5th grade p. 10 But then something happens. The wind begins to blow. Air from somewhere else moves in. Sometimes it is cooler air from the north. Sometimes it is warmer air from the south. The new air pushes against the old air. The place where this happens is called a front. Most changes in the weather occur along fronts. Where cold air pushes against warm air, we say there is a cold front. Cold fronts move fast. They can make the wind howl. They quickly push warm air up and out of the way. The rising air carries water. The water is not 122 syllables 13 sentences Readability Level: 2nd grade p. 15 The clouds grow big and dark as more air rises. Then it rains. There may be thunder and lightning. If it is cold enough, snow falls. It all happens very fast. Cold fronts cause sudden storms, but they usually do not last long. After a cold front passes, the sky clears and the weather is colder. Where warm air pushes against cold air, a warm front forms. Warm fronts move slowly. They make the wind blow just a little. Wispy clouds cover the sky. There may be a light shower. Or it may drizzle for a couple of days. Warm fronts change the weather slowly. After a warm front passes, the sky clears and the weather is warmer. Meteorologists, people who study the weather, try to predict where fronts 140 syllables 12.5 sentences Readability Level: between 4th and 5th grade This book also does a nice job of introducing the topic of weather as an overarching concept. I would use this book again as a read aloud to the whole class to begin the discussion about weather in general before really focusing on specific storms. This book would be useful to use during the preparation phase. As I read the book aloud to the class we could make a concept map about weather and discuss ways to predict the weather. This would also be a good book to use when trying to chart the weather. Since this book is above a second grade reading level I would not use it as an independent reading source except for my students that are reading above grade level. In order for my low students to understand the text I would have to use it as a read aloud. Resource #3. Scholastic Discover More Weather by: Penelope Arlon and Tory GordonHarris Arlon, P., Gordon-Harris, T. (2013). Scholastic Discover More Weather (1st ed.). New York, New York: Scholastic Inc. Readability Level: About 7th grade using the Fry Readability Formula p. 16 How strong is the wind today? We describe wind using a scale that is hundreds of years old. An anemometer measures wind speed. The device’s cups spin around in the wind, and their speed is measured in miles or kilometers per hour. At sea, there are no trees or buildings to slow wind down. The Beaufort scale was developed to warn ships about sea winds and is still used in shipping forecasts today. The amount of water in the air stays constant. But that water is continuously recycled-lost as falling rain, then gained by evaporation. The white light from 140 syllables 8 sentences Readability Level: 7th grade p. 24 You can be a cloud spotter! Learn to recognize different cloud types. Clouds are identified by appearance and height. You can spot strangely shaped clouds on most cloudy days. Look out especially for these, which are rare and spectacular. Every day, more than 550 trillion tons of water falls to Earth as rain, snow, or hail. This water is known as precipitation. There is nothing more awesome than a huge thunderstorm, with its fiery lightning and booming rumbles. When the air is especially warm and humid (damp), it rises and cools, building up huge cumulonimbus clouds. They grow taller and move 145 syllables 9 sentences Readability Level: 7th grade p. 38 Extreme weather can happen anywhere in the world, but some powerful winds always happen in the same places. Tornadoes are violent, whirling winds that are created during giant thunderstorms called supercells. They are the most powerful gusts on Earth. Tornadoes are usually about 250 feet (76 m) wide, but some have been up to 1 mile (1.5 km) across! A tornado is the most violent weather that the atmosphere produces. It can pick up a house or train and break it into pieces. Three-quarters of all tornadoes happen in the United States. Tornadoes begin in huge supercell storm clouds. They are often accompanied by thunder, lightning, hail, and very strong winds. 165 syllables 9 sentences Readability Level: 12th grade This text is a great book to use once you have introduced the students to the concept of weather in general and they have a good understanding of what it is. This is a Scholastic book, so there is a lot of information inside, but it is all very relevant and gives great detail about all of the storms that second graders are required to know. The book also provides great visuals of real life photographs, which are extremely helpful to students that have never seen a tornado or blizzard before. I would use this book during the assistance phase of the PAR lesson frame. Again, I would have to use this book as a read aloud to the whole class because it is well above a second grade reading level. I would not read the entire book however, I would pick and choose the sections that relate to the material I am teaching and focus on that. I would also have this book out for students to look through while working on research or to just get a better look at the pictures and examples. Resource #4. Storm Chasers by: Dan and Janet Ahearn Ahearn, D and J. (2011). Storm Chasers (1st ed.). Pelham, New York: Benchmark Education Company. Readability Level: About 4th grade using the Flesch-Kincaid Readability Formula p. 8 Suddenly, all the prairie dogs disappeared from sight. Julie looked up at the sky. It was much darker now. When did the clouds get so gray, Jack? She checked her watch. It’s 3:30! We’re late! Mom’s going to be angry. Jack said, Look over there! He pointed to some large, dark clouds that were moving very fast. We have to get home! We can’t get caught in a thunderstorm, Julie said. How did this happen? How did it get so late? Forget about that. Let’s just get home. The twins ran to their bicycles and headed back to the road that led to their farm. They hadn’t ridden far when Jack shouted, it looks like the storm will catch us before we reach the farm. Flesch-Kincaid: 1.5 p.12 They tried. But soon their legs ached and they were out of breath. Their pedaling got slower. They were getting really tired. Finally, Julie stopped and put her foot on the ground. Jack stopped next to her. We have to take cover soon, Jack. How about under that bridge? We can stay under there if we have to. They started toward the bridge. They were tired and getting scared. It looked as if the storm were about to catch them. Finally, they reached the bridge and walked their bikes underneath. Look, Jack. What are those people doing? They could see a van parked by the side of the road. There were five people standing beside it. Flesch-Kincaid: 1.3 p.17 Cassie was worried about the twins’ safety. But her team couldn’t stop yet. She told the twins to get in the van. She ordered the twins to stay out of the way and let the team work. Julie and Jack watched them but didn’t really understand what they were doing. Then Julie realized that they were measuring the storm. An older woman seemed to be in charge. She was shouting orders and advice over the growing noise of the storm. The twins could almost feel the storm pressing down on them. Dust started to fly around outside. They saw Cassie and the others put on safety goggles to protect their eyes from the dust. Flesch-Kincaid: 3.6 p. 20 Outside, everyone was shouting with excitement. Julie and Jack couldn’t stand it. They had to get a better view of the tornado. They opened the door of the van just enough so that they could take some pictures. They just kept snapping away at the incredible sight. Cassie turned and saw that the twins were leaning out of the door. I told you two to stay in the van! I know it’s exciting, but I don’t want you getting hurt! In the van, now! She angrily slammed the door. Suddenly, the man operating the instrument with the two radar dishes shouted, I think we should go while the going is good! The tornado showed no sign of breaking up. The twister was coming! Flesch-Kincaid: 3.8 p. 2 It was a fine summer morning. As Julie Taylor ate her breakfast, she looked at her new camera. Her twin brother, Jack, sat next to her. He had a new camera, too. The cameras were birthday presents from their parents. School had just ended for the year. It was the twins’ first chance to spend the day taking pictures. The twins loved photography. The twins often talked about how they wanted to have their pictures published in National Geographic magazine. Mom, said Jack, Julie and I are riding our bikes out to the plains today. Did you check with your father? He might need help on the farm. Flesch-Kincaid: 3.7 It was difficult for me to find an accurate reading level for this book. I had to use five separate passages in order to find a range that was closer together. In the end I was able to conclude that it was closer to a fourth grade leveled text. This is a book that I would use in my small reading group instruction with my highest students. This would be used during the assistance phase as well, and I would only use this book with my students that are reading at this level or higher. This is a great fiction book about ‘storm chasers’ that can integrate what we are studying in science with my reading lessons. The book is about two young children that go out during a tornado to take pictures with their new cameras. It is a great way to also talk about different text-to-self connections and reference different storms that students might have seen or experienced in their own lives. Resource #5. The Magic School Bus: Inside a Hurricane by: Joanna Cole Cole, J. (1995). The Magic School Bus: Inside a Hurricane (1st ed.). New York, New York: Scholastic Inc. Readability Level: This book would be appropriate for late 3rd-6th grade using the FleschKincaid Readability Formula p. 12 We started going up, and Ms. Frizzle said, did I mention, children, that hot air rises? We rose higher and higher. Even though hot air was filling the balloon, the air around us was growing colder. We had to put on warm jackets. Warm air rising from earth carries lots of water vapor molecules, Ms. Frizzle continued. As the air rises, it cools down. The water condenses in the air and forms clouds. We drifted into the center of a cloud. Ms. Frizzle was rightit was damp in there. The cloud was made of tiny droplets hanging in the air. Flesch-Kincaid: 4.2 p. 24 In the clouds around us, huge bolts of lightning were flashing. We thought it was all over for us, but then we saw the bus again. It had become a weather plane-the kind that explores hurricanes. We tumbled into a rescue chute and fell onto the plane…that is, the bus…er…we mean the plane. Thunder crashed and boomed. We covered our ears. Ms. Frizzle turned the plane, and we headed straight toward the center of the storm. We had the feeling someone was missing. We flew through miles of thunderstorms, and Ms. Frizzle took roll call. Guess who was missing-Arnold! He had fallen and missed the plane! Flesch-Kincaid: 3.5 p. 32 The entire hurricane was moving across the ocean toward land, and we were going with it! The right forward corner of the hurricane as you are looking toward land has the strongest wind and rain and the highest ocean waves, shouted the Friz. Naturally, she flew directly to that part. As the hurricane approached land, the wind pulled up trees by roots and blew the roofs off houses. It also blew ashore a huge dome of water called the storm surge. The ocean rose ten feet higher than usual, and, on top of that, there were giant waves. We were horrified as we watched the storm surge sweep over the shore below. Flesch-Kincaid: 6.3 p.34 Somehow Arnold managed to get on the plane before we were swept away by the waves at the front edge of the hurricane. The water was creeping up the windows. The plane was going to sink for sure! Then we saw a dark, funnel shape coming our way. I’ve seen that shape on TV, said Ralphie. I read about it in a book! said Keesha. The twister came right for us. The next thing we knew, it had picked us up, and we were traveling by tornado! After a while we felt a bump and looked around. The tornado had set us down gently. We were in our old school bus again. We were dressed in our regular clothes again. And we were at a gas station. Flesch-Kincaid: 2.6 The students always love a Magic School Bus story with Ms. Frizzle! The adventures that Ms. Frizzle can take students on is very engaging and keeps them interested in the text. This is a book that I would use during the preparation or assistance phase of the PAR lesson framework. I could use this book to introduce students to hurricanes or I could use it as a resource for students to use during research. I actually used this book for both. I read it aloud to the whole class and set it out for students to look at on their own time as well. The book provides students with very important facts and information about hurricanes, but keeps them engaged by imagining that they are actually inside a hurricane. While researching storms, heterogeneous groups of students could use this book to help them gather facts, but this would only be effective if you paired the low students with a high student that was capable of reading the text. Resource #6. Hurricanes by: Seymour Simon Simon, S. (2003). Hurricanes (1st ed.). New York, New York: HarperCollins Publisher. Readability Level: About 8th grade using the Flesch-Kincaid Readability Formula p. 1 Hurricanes are huge spinning storms that develop in warm areas around the equator. Hurricanes bring strong winds, heavy rains, storm surges, flooding, and sometimes even tornadoes. Coastal areas and islands are in the most danger during a hurricane, but even inland areas are at risk. Hurricane season along the East Coast of the United States begins in June and continues until the end of November. The peak hurricane months are August and September. The East Coast averages about five hurricanes a year. Over other parts of the world, hurricanes happen year-round. The word hurricane comes from people who lived in the Tropics in earlier times. The ancient Mayan people of South and Central America called their storm god Hunraken. An evil god of the Taino people of the Caribbean was called Huracan. Hurricanes are not really evil, but they can cause terrible destruction and great loss of life. Flesch-Kincaid Level: 8.3 p.4 Hurricanes are the only weather disasters that have been given their own names, such as Andrew, Camille, Floyd, Fran, Hugo, Irene, and Opal. In some ways all hurricanes are alike. But like different people, each hurricane has its own story. All hurricanes form in the same way. They begin life in the warm, moist atmosphere over tropical ocean waters. First, the atmosphere gathers heat energy through contact with ocean waters that are above eighty degrees Fahrenheit to a depth of about two hundred feet. Next, moisture evaporating from the warm waters enters the atmosphere and begins to power the infant hurricane. The growing hurricane forms bands of clouds and winds near the ocean surface that spiral air inward. Thunderstorms form, heating the air further and forcing the winds to rise higher into the atmosphere and the spinning to increase. Flesch-Kincaid Level: 8.8 p. 8 A storm surge is a huge dome of water, fifty to one hundred miles wide, that sweeps across a coastline where a hurricane makes land. A storm tide is a combination of a storm surge and a regular monthly high tide. When they come together, water heights are at their greatest. In September 1900, a deadly hurricane swept over the port town of Galveston, Texas. It caused the worst storm tide in United States history. The streets were flooded to depths of fifteen feet and higher. Winds gusted to more than 100 miles per hour, ripping off roofs and uprooting trees. Huge chunks of buildings flew through the air. Flesch-Kincaid Level: 6.1 Hurricanes is a great nonfiction text for students to use when studying storms, especially hurricanes. The book focuses on hurricanes only and is very text heavy except for a few pictures. This text would not be appropriate for my students to read independently because it is too far above a second grade reading level. I would however use the book as a read aloud and for students to study the pictures. I could justify using this book for research if there was an aid or teacher leading the group. The benefits to using this book are the pictures. It provides great photos of real hurricanes and the damage they can cause. Resource #7. Weather Wiz Kids.com Wicker, C. (n.d.). Welcome to Weather Wiz Kids. Retrieved October 21, 2015. Readability Level: Between 7th-10th grade using the Flesch-Kincaid Readability Formula Drought A drought is when there is a lack of precipitation over an extended period of time, usually a season or more, resulting in a water shortage for some activity, group, or environmental sector. Its impacts result from the interplay between the natural event (less precipitation than expected) and the demand people place on water supply, and human activities can exacerbate the impacts of drought. Drought has many causes. It can be caused by not receiving rain or snow over a period of time. If you live in a place where most of the water you use comes from a river, a drought in your area can be caused by places upstream from you not receiving enough moisture. There would be less water in the river for you and other people who live along the river to use. People can also play a big role in drought. If we use too much water during times of normal rainfall, we might not have enough water when a drought happens. Flesch-Kincaid: 10.0 Hurricanes A hurricane is a huge storm! It can be up to 600 miles across and have strong winds spiraling inward and upward at speeds of 75 to 200 mph. Each hurricane usually lasts for over a week, moving 10-20 miles per hour over the open ocean. Hurricanes gather heat and energy through contact with warm ocean waters. Evaporation from the seawater increases their power. Hurricanes rotate in a counter-clockwise direction around an “eye” in the Northern Hemisphere and clockwise direction in the Southern Hemisphere. The center of the storm or “eye” is the calmest part. It has only light winds and fair weather. When they come onto land, the heavy rain, strong winds and large waves can damage buildings, trees and cars. Flesch-Kincaid: 8.0 Thunderstorms A thunderstorm is a storm with lightning and thunder. It’s produced by a cumulonimbus cloud, usually producing gusty winds, heavy rain and sometimes hail. The basic ingredients used to make a thunderstorm are moisture, unstable air and lift. You need moisture to form clouds and rain. You need unstable air that is relatively warm and can rise rapidly. Finally, you need lift. This can form from fronts, sea breezes or mountains. A thunderstorm is classified as “severe” when it contains one or more of the following: hail one inch or greater, winds gusting in excess of 58 mph (50 knots), or a tornado. Flesch-Kincaid: 7.1 After using three different passages from the website, I was only able to determine that the reading level for the site was somewhere between 7th and 10th grade, but probably closer to 8th grade. This website was created by an actual meteorologist from Indiana. This site includes valuable information on each storm that my students were studying. I used this website for students to complete research for a project that I assigned at the end of our weather unit. Of course, I had the groups heterogeneously mixed so there was at least one student in each group that could read some or most of the words. I also monitored the groups and walked around the room to help any students that needed help reading or finding important information. Not only does the website include important facts about the different storms, but it also includes lesson ideas for the teacher and important vocabulary to go with each storm listed on the site. I really like to use this website to extend my students’ learning and understanding of weather and storms. Resource #8. PebbleGo.com “The Emergent Reader Research Solution” PebbleGo. www.pebblego.com. Retrieved October 18, 2015. Readability Level: About 3rd grade using the Flesch-Kincaid Readability Formula Blizzards Blizzards are strong winter storms. They have snow, high winds, and very cold temperatures. Winds blow at least 35 miles (56 kilometers) an hour. Everything looks white. Blizzards start in winter when a front of cold air meets a front of warm air. Clouds form and fill with ice crystals and water vapor. The vapor and crystals mix to make snowflakes. Falling snow fills the sky. Strong wind blows the snow, making it hard to see. Snow on the ground is blown into high drifts. Wind makes the freezing air feel even colder than it is. Snow in the air, on the ground, and in the clouds causes a whiteout. Snowdrifts make it hard to walk or drive. Uncovered skin quickly freezes, causing frostbite. Flesch-Kincaid: 3.2 Tornadoes A tornado is a swirling funnel of wind. These very strong windstorms come down from the clouds. When the funnel touches the ground, it is a tornado. Tornadoes usually happen in spring and summer storms. Warm air masses meet cold air masses. Wind spins the air into a funnel cloud. The tornado spins the air very fast as it moves along. Tornadoes happen all over the world. Hundreds of tornadoes form each year in the central United States. This area is known as Tornado Alley. Strong tornadoes destroy anything in their paths. Strong wind uproots trees. Spinning wind rips the roofs off buildings. Flesch-Kincaid: 4.5 Droughts Droughts happen when there is not enough precipitation in an area. Crops die up and dry. Lakes and rivers may also dry up in a severe drought. Dry weather and drought are different. A place may have less rain or snow than usual for a few weeks. But drought happens when very dry weather lasts many months or longer. Droughts may happen anywhere. But droughts hit desert areas most often. Grasslands and plains also have droughts. Crops grow on plains so droughts there leave people with little food. Every area has usual wind patterns. If these winds change, weather changes. Winds may push away storms or keep clouds from forming. Then rain doesn’t fall and droughts happen. Flesch-Kincaid: 3.4 I use Pebblego often when I am teaching a science or social studies concept. It is a quick and easy way to grab students’ attention and keep them engaged in the topic at hand. It is a great resource to use for students that are reading below grade level because it reads the material aloud and has visuals to support the text. I like to use this site in both whole group lessons and small group when students are completing research on a topic. Pebblego has information on all of the storms that we study during our weather unit, so I would use this when students are completing research for their final projects. They are able to watch short videos of the storms as well as listen to the text being read to them. Resource #9. Brainpopjr.com: Temperature Video Temperature. (n.d.). Retrieved October 21, 2015, from https://jr.brainpop.com/math/measurement/temperature/ Readability Level: This video is appropriate for students kindergarten through second grade. This is a website that I like to use when I am introducing a new concept in any of the content areas. The site offers many short video clips that correlate with many SOLs. The particular video that I chose for my text set was the video on temperature. Since temperature is part of the weather SOL, I like to show it at the beginning of the unit. It is a great introduction to temperature and the weather in general. There is another site that is geared toward the upper elementary grades called Brainpop and they offer videos about certain storms. I do not like to show these to my whole class because the information is a bit too advanced for some of my students, so I like to use the videos that are geared toward the lower elementary grades. I would consider showing my high students the other videos in small group just to provide them with enrichment and a bit more differentiation about the concept. Resource #10. Learning Resource: Student created weather forecast videos