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The Challenges ofStorm Chasing SUMMARY In Tornado Alley, which crosses the plains of the United States, storm chasers track tornadoes to learn more about them and to experience the thri

The Challenges of

Storm Chasing

SUMMARY In Tornado Alley, which crosses the

plains of the United States, storm chasers

track tornadoes to learn more about them

and to experience the thrill of seeing them up

close But storm chasing can be dangerous,

especially when practiced by novice chasers

LESSON VOCABULARY

branded constructed

resourceful thieving

veins

INTRODUCE THE BOOK

INTRODUCE THE TITLE AND AUTHOR Discuss

with students the title and the author of The

Challenges of Storm Chasing Have students

discuss the challenges they expect to read

about

BUILD BACKGROUND Ask students whether they

have ever seen a tornado in real life, on TV,

or in a movie Ask them to describe what they

have seen Ask: What other types of storms

have you seen up close?

Students may come from countries

that do not have tornadoes Show students

photographs of tornadoes to help them

visualize this type of storm Encourage

them to describe a tornado and the kinds

of damage it can do

PREVIEW/USE TEXT FEATURES Have students

preview the book by looking at the photographs,

the map on pages 4–5, and the diagrams on

pages 10 and 13 Ask: What do you think you

will learn from this book?

READ THE BOOK SET PURPOSE Ask students to set a purpose

for reading The Challenges of Storm Chasing

Ideas might include to learn about the tools

of storm chasers, to learn how storm chasers find tornadoes, and to understand the

dangers of storm chasing

STRATEGY SUPPORT: MONITOR AND FIX UP Have students take notes as they read and then

prepare an outline of The Challenges of Storm Chasing Remind students that an outline can

help them better understand how a piece of writing is organized and can serve as a way

of summarizing text

COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS

PAGE 5 What are some of the goals of a

storm chaser? (to study weather patterns and meteorology and to experience the thrill of seeing a tornado up close)

PAGE 7 What are some popular storm-tracking

tools? (radar, laptop computers, video cameras, radios, satellite images)

PAGE 9 What effect do “renegade” storm

chasers have on others? (They make roads more dangerous by speeding; they risk their own lives and the lives of others.)

PAGES 12–13 What makes a tornado funnel?

(Cold air moves over warm air Then lighter air rises up through cold air, creating the funnel cloud, which rotates.)

PAGE 15 What were the effects of the May

1999 Oklahoma tornado? (It destroyed houses and neighborhoods around Oklahoma City.)

PAGE 19 How and when did storm chasing

begin? (In the 1950s, a North Dakota man followed storms and photographed them.)

5.1.2

CAUSE AND EFFECT MONITOR AND FIX UP

16 The Challenges of Storm Chasing

Skill Work TEACH/REVIEW VOCABULARY

After you review the meanings of the vocabulary words with students, call on volunteers to use each word in a sentence

TARGET SKILL AND STRATEGY

CAUSE AND EFFECT Remind students

that a cause is why something happened;

the effect is what happened Note that

sometimes a cause may have multiple effects, and an effect may have more than one cause Encourage students to pose questions to themselves as they read, such as: What happened? What caused it to happen? This will work especially well when students read about tornadoes and look at photos on pages 14–15

MONITOR AND FIX UP Note that there are likely to be new words and challenging concepts in the text, so students will

want to adopt strategies to monitor

comprehension as they read Encourage

them to use fix-up strategies: summarizing

facts to clarify ideas (perhaps on paper);

slowing their reading rate; using diagrams, maps and photos Explain that they can use graphic sources such as the diagram

on page 13 to help them understand how a

tornado (effect) is caused

ADDITIONAL SKILL INSTRUCTION

DRAW CONCLUSIONS Remind students that

a conclusion is a sensible decision reached

after you have thought about details or facts

you have read Drawing conclusions is the

process of making those sensible decisions After students have finished reading the text, looking at the photos, and studying the diagrams, have them draw conclusions about the dangers of tornadoes

REVISIT THE BOOK

READER RESPONSE

1 Tornado Alley has many storms in the spring

because of weather patterns that occur

during that time of year This makes spring

the best season to spot tornadoes, but a

dangerous time as well

2 Responses will vary Learned: NSSL was set

up to track storms and inform citizens;

scientists study storms and improve

fore-casting by using “Doppler on Wheels” and

other equipment Want to Know: the

devastation of tornadoes, their frequency,

and safety precautions to take

3 brand, construct; sentences will vary.

4 Responses will vary Students should know

which states are part of Tornado Alley and

where it is located in the U.S

EXTEND UNDERSTANDING Encourage students

to discuss why the photographs and diagrams

are such an integral part of the book Ask:

Without the photos, would you have enjoyed

this book as much? What did the photos and

diagrams help you learn?

RESPONSE OPTIONS

WRITING Have students prepare a list of things

they would do or not do in order to remain

safe during a tornado

SCIENCE CONNECTION

Have students research

Hurricane Hunters, people

who fly into the eye of a

hurricane to study it Invite

students to go to the library or use

the Internet for their research

The Challenges of Storm Chasing 17

© Pearson Education 5

Cause and Effect

• A cause is the reason something happens The effect is what happens.

• A cause may have more than one effect, and an effect may have more than one cause.

• Sometimes a cause is not directly stated, and you need to think about why something

happened.

Directions Read the following passage Then answer the questions that follow.

Tornadoes form when a layer of cold air moves over a layer of warm air The lighter air rises

up through the cold air This makes the funnel cloud rotate as the air changes places A tornado

can do amazing damage to buildings, property, and land Tornado winds, rising to a furious

pitch, will rip through a town, and destroy everything in their path Houses and mobile homes

may be flattened, ripped apart, or carried away completely A tornado can even peel the bark

off trees!

But as dangerous as they are, tornadoes are a great source of delight for storm chasers They love to seek out, or chase, tornadoes Their task is a dangerous one High winds can flip the

chaser’s vehicle or blow out car windows Heavy rain and hail can make it hard to see Flooding

and fog can make traveling harder and might strand a chaser in the path of a storm Lightning,

a release of electricity in the atmosphere, is another danger for storm chasers It can strike

without warning!

1 Describe the cause of tornadoes.

2 What are two effects of tornadoes?

3 What is the cause for lightning, as stated in the passage?

4 What are two effects of tornadoes on storm chasers?

5 Would you like to be a storm chaser? Why or why not? Give examples from the reader to

support your choice

Storm Chasing

18

Name

© Pearson Education 5

19

Vocabulary

Directions Write the vocabulary word that best matches each definition below One word, with two

different meanings, is used twice

Check the Words You Know

branded devastation resourceful

constructed lullaby thieving

daintily pitch veins

1 the act of laying waste, destroying

2 likely to steal

3 with delicate beauty

4 thick, black, sticky substance made from tar

5 natural channels through which water flows

6 soft song sung to put a baby to sleep

7 good at thinking of ways to do things

8 marked by burning

9 tubes that carry blood through your body

10 put together

Directions Choose two vocabulary words and use each in a sentence below.

11.

12.

Storm Chasing

Name