Lesson Plan - One Cool City

Watch the Video
Play the video “A Trip to the Ice Festival” and discuss: What are some of the activities visitors to the ice festival can do?

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

• treacherous
• modeled

Set a Purpose for Reading
As students read, have them think about what attracts so many visitors to the ice festival.

1. Based on the article, what does the expression “bone-chilling” mean? What clues in the article help you figure it out?
You can tell that the expression “bone-chilling” means “very cold.” The article gives a clue when it says that the temperature “barely rose above zero degrees Fahrenheit.” Another clue is the word brrrr!
^{(RI.3.4 Determine Meaning)}

2. What are the main steps involved in creating the ice festival’s sculptures?
The main steps involved in creating the ice festival’s sculptures were cutting ice from the frozen Songhua River, carving and stacking the blocks, and using saws, chisels, and other tools to make the artwork.
^{(RI.3.2 Main Idea and Key Details)}

3. How does the photo that appears with the article help you understand what happens at the ice festival?
The photo helps you understand what happens at the ice festival by showing people admiring an ice tower and ice sculptures of many sizes, neon lights lighting up the ice, and a fireworks display.
^{(RI.3.7 Text Features)}

FEATURED SKILL: Summarizing
Use the skill builder “Summarize It” to help students build summarizing skills. The page invites students to fill in the blanks in a cloze-style summary.
^{(RI.3.2 Summarizing)}