Haven't signed into your Scholastic account before?
Teachers, not yet a subscriber?
Subscribers receive access to the website and print magazine.
You are being redirecting to Scholastic's authentication page...
Announcements & Tutorials
Explore our NEW Text Set: Celebrating Black History and Voices!
How Students and Families Can Log In
1 min.
Setting Up Student View
Sharing Articles with Your Students
2 min.
Interactive Activities
4 min.
Sharing Videos with Students
Using Scholastic News with Educational Apps
5 min.
Join Our Facebook Group!
Exploring the Archives
Powerful Differentiation Tools
3 min.
Planning With the Pacing Guide
Subscriber Only Resources
Access this article and hundreds more like it with a subscription to Scholastic News magazine.
Lesson Plan - 5 Big Questions About Extreme Weather
Read the Article
Print this Lesson Plan
Get the Answer Key
Learning Objective
Students will understand how changes in Earth’s climate are affecting weather around the globe.
Text Structure
Question and Answer
Content-Area Connections
Earth Science
Standards Correlations
CCSS: RI.3.1, RI.3.2, RI.3.3, RI.3.4, RI.3.5, RI.3.6, RI.3.7, RI.3.8, RI.3.10, L.3.4, SL.3.1
NGSS: Weather and Climate
TEKS: Science 3.8
1. Preparing to Read
Watch a Video: Wild Weather
Ask: What are some examples of extreme weather mentioned in the video? Which, if any, have you experienced?
Preview Words to Know
Project the online vocabulary slideshow and introduce the Words to Know.
Set a Purpose for Reading
Point out the "As You Read" question, and have students identify ways experts think humans are affecting Earth's climate.
2. Close-Reading Questions
1. Why does the author mention the drought in Western states? The author mentions the drought as an example of a weather event that scientists believe is linked to climate change.(RI.3.6 AUTHOR’S CRAFT)
2. According to most scientists, what part have people played in today’s warmer temperatures? Scientists say humans have contributed to the warming temperatures by burning fossil fuels like oil and coal. People burn these fuels for energy. This gives off greenhouse gases. An increase in these gases has caused Earth's temperature to rise over time. RI.3.2 KEY DETAILS
3. What is the greenhouse effect? The greenhouse effect is what happens when gases like carbon dioxide act as a blanket, trapping some of the sun's heat in Earth's atmosphere. RI.3.7 DEMONSTRATE UNDERSTANDING
3. Skill Building
FEATURED SKILL: Text Features
Use the skill builder "Focus on Text Features" to have students analyze various text features in the article. RI.3.7 TEXT FEATURES
Multilingual Learners Use the "What I Learned" skill builder to assess multilingual learners' comprehension of the article. Look for it in our Graphic Organizer Library.
Striving Readers Have students read or listen to the lower-level version of the article, noting key ideas and listing any vocabulary words that are new to them.
Writing Extension Ask: We use energy whenever we use electricity. What are some ways you can reduce the amount of electricity you use each day?