The ability to make predictions while reading is an important component of reading comprehension. We’ve highlighted three lessons that provide opportunities for students to make predictions from informational text in print and on the web.
The Sun and Earth’s Climate: Virtual Bookshelf
In this collection of books, students will learn how Earth’s rotation and revolution around the Sun give us weather and seasons. These temperature variations, in turn, make the water cycle possible. Titles that aren’t recommended and the reasons why are also included.
Lessons about the Sun and Earth’s Climate
Lessons that help elementary students develop an understanding of how the Sun’s light warms Earth’s air, land, and water and how variation in daylight hours are associated with seasonal change are highlighted. Lessons that provide opportunities for primary students to make observations about the seasons, including weather, behavior, and changes in the plants and animals they see outside are also available.
Unit Plans: The Sun and Earth’s Climate
This article includes unit plans for Grades K-2 and 3-5 using resources from The Sun and Earth’s Climate issue of Beyond Weather and the Water Cycle.
The Seasons and the Sun
In this informational text, elementary students learn about the Sun, its role in heating the Earth’s air, land, and water, and its connection to our seasons and weather. The text is available at two reading levels: Grades K-2 and 3-5.
Create Interactive Activities with Content Clips
Learn how you can use a free online collection and tool called Content Clips to integrate digital resources into your instruction.
Take Action: Using Solar Power
This article provides ideas for using the sun’s energy in various ways including cooking food and drying our clothes.
Setting the Stage for Understanding the Climate System’s Complex Interactions
This article highlights lesson plans about components of Earth’s climate system, including weather, water and the water cycle, the oceans, and Earth’s atmosphere. Lessons are aligned to the National Science Education Standards.
Unit Plans That Teach Foundational Climate Concepts
This article includes unit plans on weather, water as a solid, liquid, and gas, and the water cycle. Unit plans are provided for the K-2 and 3-5 grade bands.
Understanding Earth’s Climate: Virtual Bookshelf
This month’s bookshelf has been divided into four subtopics for a holistic look at how variations in air and water temperatures come together to drive weather and climate.
All About Earth’s Climate
In this informational text, elementary students learn about the difference between weather and climate and the various components of Earth’s climate system, including the Sun, atmosphere, land, and oceans. The text is available at two reading levels: Grades K-2 and 3-5.
Lessons about Visualizing with Informational Text
This article highlights lesson plans that teach the reading comprehension strategy of visualizing with informational text. Lessons are aligned to the NCTE/IRA standards for the English Language Arts.
Interactive Activities for Understanding Earth’s Climate
This article highlights free interactive resources on the topics of water, the water cycle, and weather.
Take Action: Energy Independence and Renewable Energy Sources
This article provides ideas for teaching about renewable and nonrenewable energy sources and helping students to consider the choices they make with regards to energy.
Teaching about Adaptations and Environments with ARKive
This article describes a freely available digital library, called ARKive, that includes photographs and videos of wildlife around the world. It also includes games and activities that teachers can use as part of their instruction.
Plants Need the Perfect Place
In this informational text, elementary students learn how plants are adapted for life in specific climates. The text takes them through the various rooms and displays at the Franklin Park Conservatory in Columbus, Ohio, to learn about plants from four biomes around the world.
Lessons about Inferring
This article describes five lessons that help elementary students develop the skill of making inferences. Each lesson is aligned to the NCTE/IRA Standards for the English Language Arts.
Lessons About Organisms, Their Adaptations, and Their Environments
This article highlights lesson plans that help elementary students understand that animals and plants can only survive in certain environments. Lessons about migration and fossils are also included.
Unit Plans About Organisms, Their Adaptations, and Their Environments
This article shares a unit plan that develops an understanding of how local plant species are adapted to their environment. It also highlights a set of similar plans focused on polar mammals.
We Depend on Earth’s Climate: Virtual Bookshelf
This article describes children’s literature about animal adaptations, migration, and fossils.
Take Action: Eat Locally, Seasonally With School Gardens
This article provides resources about creating a school garden. Gardening can help teach students the value of eating local, seasonal food.
Activities for Studying Tree Rings Online
This article highlights and describes three web-based activities that allow students to study tree rings and learn how tree rings are used to reconstruct past climates.
Lessons about Earth’s Past Climates
This article describes and links to lessons that allow elementary students to explore three examples of climate proxies: tree rings, fossils, and ice cores. It also includes a few lessons that introduce climates of the recent and distant past to students.
Lessons about Asking, Answering Questions
This article links to and describes lessons that help students learn to pose questions before, during, and after reading.
Can You Read a Tree?
In this informational text, elementary students learn scientists use cross sections from trees to reconstruct past climates. The text also introduces students to Methuselah, a nearly 5,000 year-old bristlecone pine tree in CA and the oldest known living tree in the world.
Unit Plans: Earth’s Climate Changes
This unit is designed to provide elementary students with the opportunity to investigate how the annual rings in trees help scientists learn about past climates. It uses hands-on experiences and nonfiction text to answer the question: How do trees help scientists learn about the past?
Earth’s Climate Changes: Virtual Bookshelf
In this article, we’ve highlighted nonfiction children’s literature that helps students learn about climate proxies, those preserved physical characteristics, such as fossils, that scientists use to reconstruct past climates. We’ve also highlighted a few books that provide information about two past climatic events – the last ice age and the Dust Bowl.
Take Action: Plant a Tree
This article explains how planting trees can reduce the impacts of climate change. Resources for further reading are provided.
Take Action: Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle
This article explains how the 3Rs – reduce, reuse, recycle – can help reduce the effects of climate change.
Video Clips about Collecting Climate Data
This article describes and links to four articles that can help elementary students learn how scientists collect data about Earth’s climate and weather.
Unit Plans: We Study Earth’s Climate
This unit is designed to provide elementary students with the opportunity to investigate how scientists study the Earth’s climate. It uses hands-on experiences and nonfiction text to answer the question, How do we learn about Earth’s climate?
Lessons about Evaluating
This article describes and links to four lessons that allow elementary students to practice evaluating information from text.
Collecting Climate Data
This article highlights lessons that either allow elementary students to collect and analyze weather and climate data or learn about tools and technologies that make such data collection possible.
We Study Earth’s Climate: Virtual Bookshelf
This article features children’s literature about the tools we use to observe and predict weather.
How Do We Study Climate?
In this informational text, elementary students learn how scientists use tools and technology to study the Earth’s climate. Versions are available for Grades K-2 and 3-5. The text is available as a text document, illustrated book, and electronic book with recorded audio narration.
Learning about Sustainable Communities with Recycle City
This article features the interactive web site Recycle City. Produced by the EPA, the site is designed to teach students about actions that create a sustainable community, including recycling, reducing waste, and using less energy.
Making Connections with Literacy Lessons
This article lists and describes five lessons that help elementary students make text-to-text, text-to-self, and text-to-world connections to nonfiction text. Lessons are aligned to the NCTE/IRA Standards for the English Language Arts.
Science Lessons About Our Environmental Impact
This article lists and describes science lessons and activities about environmental issues and the greenhouse effect for elementary students. All lessons and activities are aligned to the National Science Education Standards.
Take Action: Stopping Energy Vampires
This article discusses how students can reduce energy use by identifying and stopping energy vampires – appliances and devices that continue to draw electrical current even when turned off.
Unit Plan: We Change Earth’s Climate
In this unit, elementary students learn about the greenhouse effect through hands-on experiences, and informational text. Students use nonfiction text features to locate information to extend their knowledge, and create diagrams (infographics) depicting the greenhouse effect.
We Change Earth’s Climate: Virtual Bookshelf
This article features nonfiction children’s literature about environmental issues and the greenhouse effect.
Life in the Greenhouse
In this informational text, elementary students learn how about the greenhouse effect.
Investigating Extreme Weather Events with Interactive Activities
This article highlights resources that can be used to supplement lessons on extreme weather, including games and video clips.
Consequences of Climate Change: Lessons about Water Availability and Extreme Weather
This article highlights lessons for elementary students about the availability of freshwater worldwide and extreme weather events. Lessons are aligned to the National Science Education Standards.
People of the Whale
In this informational text, elementary students learn how the Inupiat of Alaska’s Northwest coast have adapted to a changing climate. Versions are available at K-2 and 3-5 reading levels.
Lessons for Summarizing, Synthesizing Text
This article highlights lessons that help elementary students learn to summarize and synthesize information from text. Lessons are aligned to the NCTE/IRA Standards.
Unit Plan: Earth’s Climate in the Future
This article presents unit plans for grades K-2 and 3-5 focused on the availability of freshwater around the world and the importance of conserving water. Unit plans follow the learning cycle format and are aligned to the National Science Education Standards and the NCTE/IRA Standards for the English Language Arts.
Getting Warmer: Virtual Bookshelf
This article highlights high-quality children’s literature about water availability and extreme weather events.
Take Action: Water Conservation
This article provides resources that teachers can use to help their students learn about and practice water conservation.
