Lesson Plan - Chasing Twisters

Watch the Video
Watch the video “What You Need to Know About Tornadoes.” Then discuss: Why do you think tornadoes are considered some of the most violent storms on Earth?

Preview Words to Know
Project the online vocabulary slideshow and introduce the Words to Know.

• debris
• meteorologists

Set a Purpose for Reading
As students read, have them think about why someone might decide to become a storm chaser.

1. How do storm chasers like the Castors help people?
Storm chasers like the Castors help people by gathering and sharing information about dangerous tornadoes. The article explains that the Castors give reports so people in a tornado’s path can quickly take shelter.
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2. What details in the article show that chasing tornadoes can be dangerous?
One detail in the article that shows that chasing tornadoes can be dangerous is that as the Castors drive, wind rocks their truck and debris flies through the sky. Another detail is that tornadoes “can destroy everything in their paths.”
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3. What are three facts you can learn from the sidebar, “How a Tornado Forms”?
From the sidebar, “How a Tornado Forms,” you can learn that tornadoes can form during storms called supercells. You can also learn that a column of rotating wind is called a mesocyclone and that this column is considered a tornado when it touches the ground.
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FEATURED SKILL: Vocabulary
The skill builder “Tornado Terms” asks students to choose and investigate one of the tornado-related vocabulary words in the article. Students will write a definition, original sentence, and synonyms for the word, and draw a picture to show its meaning.
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