Reading Comprehension

Vania Dereck García Darby

7th Grade.

Unit 3 The environment.

Lesson 4 Disasters
Pre-Reading
Weather and Climate knowledge Quiz
What is the difference between  If it is winter in the Northern
climate and weather? Hemisphere, what season is it in
the Southern Hemisphere?
A) There is no difference.
B) Climate refers to weather conditions for A) spring
a region over a period of time. B) summer
C) Weather refers to climatic conditions C) fall
for a region over a period of time. D) winter
D) Climate is the location of the weather
conditions at a particular time.
 Why is it common to see snow on
very high mountains in the tropics?
Earth is not the only planet that
exhibits weather conditions. A) The circulation of the air blows the
What is required for a planet to cold upward.
support weather systems? B) It occasionally snows in the tropics.
C) The higher the altitude, the colder the
A) a surface temperature.
B) a moon D) It is colder on the shady side of the
C) an atmosphere mountains.
D) existing life
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 How does atmospheric  What happens to the water
circulation influence climate? vapor in the air when the air
temperature cools?
A) by producing winds that distribute
heat and moisture A) It evaporates.
B) by producing ocean currents that cause B) Water droplets form.
tornadoes C) It dissipates into the air.
C) by producing tornadoes that cause D) It turns into a gas.
ocean currents  Forecasters use clouds to help
D) by distributing air that causes wind
predict the weather. Which of
 From what do clouds form?
the following may be a reason
for this?
A) moisture released from wind
B) air pollution
C) water that has evaporated from the A) Certain cloud types appear after storms.
Earth B) There is no other way to predict weather.
D) moisture released from rivers C) Certain cloud types often appear before
storms.
D) Certain storms come from certain clouds.
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 What powerful storm can kill more people and destroy
more property than any other natural disaster?

A) thunderstorm
B) earthquake
C) lightning
D) hurricane

What do scientists call the circulation of water

through the Earth's crust, oceans, and atmosphere?

A) condensation
B) evaporation
C) the water cycle
D) precipitation http://school.discoveryeducation.com/quizzes20/curriculumcenter/CC_Weather.html
While-Reading
 Hunt for the
Supertwister
by Thomas Grazulis

http://www.pbs.org/teachers/connect/resources/7840/preview/
It had been a busy Tuesday in Thurston County, Nebraska, for young Dale
Larson. It was obvious to all farmers and their children that the day
would be stormy. The harvest was under way, and prewinter projects were
still competing with daily chores on the Larson farm three miles east of
Pender.

A mile from the Larson farm sat the James School. Miss Dorothy Smith was
only slightly uneasy about the threat of bad weather. The storm cave was
only a few feet from the school, and September was not tornado season.
Seven miles to the north-northeast was the Lamere School, where 22-
year-old Phyliss Stewart was conducting class for her pupils. She also was
not especially concerned about the weather. Another 10 miles to the
northeast, 19-year-old Helen Rooney, teacher at the O'Connor School,
was nervous in the stormy weather, as she always was. Her school was
situated on an exposed hilltop, and she frequently dispersed the children
to their homes on neighboring farms on those occasions when the
weather turned severe.
http://www.pbs.org/teachers/connect/resources/7840/preview/
Thunderstorms grew in the southwest and passed over the
county on that balmy fall afternoon. After a heavy rain, the
storm seemed to be over. The students at the James School
were about to be dismissed. At the O'Connor School, heeding
the advice of a neighboring farmer, Miss Rooney had already
dismissed her students early, but she stayed to work on the
lessons for the next day.
At 3:50 p.m., 17-year-old Dale Larson and his father looked out
from their hilltop farm and saw the rain drifting off to the
northeast. They also glanced to the southwest and noticed a
black low-hanging cloud near the ground. They knew in an
instant what it could be and what had to be done. The James
School was on the northeast side of a hill, and the approaching
tornado would not be seen by either the students or the
teacher. The massive funnel was moving steadily and directly
toward the little building.
http://www.pbs.org/teachers/connect/resources/7840/preview/
Without hesitation, Dale leaped into the family Ford and
began racing toward the school, heading directly into the
path of the oncoming twister. Losing a tire as he spun out
of the driveway, the race to the school seemed endless,
although it lasted only two minutes. He arrived seconds
before the school began to disintegrate. Until the moment
that Dale burst into the classroom, Dorothy Smith and
her 29 students were unaware that they were in any
danger. Dale hurled himself into the building and shouted
"Get into the cave! Cyclone!" In just a few seconds, the 31
people, ages six to 24, packed themselves into the tiny
storm cave.

http://www.pbs.org/teachers/connect/resources/7840/preview/
As the children were passing through the cloakroom, Dale
almost instinctively grabbed a skipping rope. He tied it to the
storm cave door and, with the help of two older boys, was
able to keep the door closed while a deafening noise rose and
fell outside. Ten minutes after the noise subsided they
emerged into sunshine and found nothing left but fragments
of a foundation, the posts from the swing, and the pump at
the well, set in concrete. Pieces of the Larson family car, Miss
Smith's car, and the teacher's hand bell were found more
than two miles away. No one at the James School was even
scratched. Fragments of schoolbooks were found in Iowa, 50
miles away. Whether they were from this or other schools in
the tornado's path is not known.

http://www.pbs.org/teachers/connect/resources/7840/preview/
 Match the picture with
the text.

The tornado that struck This is likely the kind of

the James School may damage that the Lamere Dale Larson and the
School suffered. Here, a
have looked something schoolroom in schoolchildren he saved
like this—a twister Murphysboro, IL, in which pose before the storm-
photographed about 60 children were caught shelter door that he
1930 near Gothenberg, during the Great Tri-State
Tornado of March 25, 1925. held down with a jump
Nebraska. rope.

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Post-Reading
A T D U O L C U H G W V A Q S
S B F O D A N R O T H A S N T
U S G U P P L H N Y A M B E O
N Z W Y C V R Y E U R O C D R
S R E G T Q F E V O X M N X M
H O A O D Z K S T L G L M N C
I S T O R M Y S W S F V I I A
N M H N R L R J F V I Z B A V
E C E I J E A I W C J W O R E
K X R M D Y C D K H A Q T Y P
T E B N K U B X E P Y W P V I
J R U L U X Q D Z C S O Q A R
I H T N E N O L C Y C M J E D
T T R K H S B G D S Z F E H W

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THANK YOU!!