Reading activities, timelines, experiments, and firsthand accounts give students get a comprehensive look at winter storms.

“Winter Storms," which is part of Scholastic’s Weather Watch: Severe Weather and Natural Disasters series, brings students face-to-face with heavy snow, freezing rains, and high winds. Various interactive activities make up this project, including:

• The Basics: Students read an introduction to winter storms and what causes them
   
• In-Depth: An interactive timeline, complete with images, shares the stories of memorable winter storms from the 1700s to 2000
   
• Experiments: Students simulate how rain — and snowflakes — are created with a simple experiment involving a glass jar, a plate, hot water, and ice cubes.
   
• Witness Account: David George Gordon shares his experience as a junior in high school when a major blizzard hit his hometown of Chicago.
   
• Words to Know: This interactive activity tests students’ know-how. They read an article on winter storms and fill in missing key words to complete sentences.
   
• Experts Say: Dr. Jeffrey Masters, director of Meteorology, discusses the tools he uses to predict weather, why snow is white, the warmest place it’s ever snowed, and more.
   
• Be Ready!: Students learn the basic emergency supplies to have in case you lose power during a winter storm. Plus, how to protect yourself outside in very cold temperatures.

Learning Objectives

Students will:

• Formulate questions to help guide their own learning
• Gain knowledge of weather terms and their appropriate usage
• Use observation skills to determine current weather conditions
• Gather data from several sources
• Forecast probable weather conditions after analyzing available data
• Complete a research project on a topic of their choice

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