1) This document outlines a 5-day unit plan focusing on how nature can challenge us. Each day covers content like videos on natural disasters, vocabulary, reading passages from the book Thunder Rose, and research on a force of nature. 2) Activities include building oral language skills, learning vocabulary like "roaring" and "twister", reading about tornadoes in Thunder Rose, and researching a natural disaster. 3) Assessment includes a presentation on a researched natural disaster, with the goal of communicating findings to peers through eye contact, clear speaking, and responding to questions.

1. UNIT 1 WEEK 2
Thunder Rose

2. Day One – Content Knowledge
Oral Language
• How can nature challenge us?
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KzUTxZkU5pc
• Inside the tornado

3. Build Oral Language

4. Oral Vocabulary
Amazing Words!
1.Roaring
2.Stationed
3.Meteorologist
4.Twister
How Nature Challenges Us
Tornado Snow and Ice Wildfire Understanding
weather

5. Read Aloud – Night of the Twisters

6. Comprehension Skill: Cause and Effect
Comprehension Strategy: Summarize

7. Vocabulary
• With a partner read each word and definition. In the back half
of your reading spiral write each word in a sentence.
Underline or highlight the vocabulary word in the sentence.

8. Conventions – Small Group. Bring your packet!
Handwriting – Work on page 8 from your handwriting without tears
packet.
Spelling – Long Vowel VCV
Take the pretest on Spelling City. Write the correct list of words in your
spiral.
Complete WS DVD10
Research and Inquiry – How can nature challenge us?
STEP 1 – Identify and Focus Topic
Research a challenging force of nature, such as a tornado, earthquake,
volcano, or hurricane.
Choose one force to research. List what you will use to find your
research in your spelling spiral. Then write an inquiry question.
Centers

9. Day 2 - Content Knowledge
Build Oral Language
• How can nature challenge us?
• http://www.schooltube.com/video/561eabf190c390338a52/Hurri
canes%20101
• Hurricanes
• “The roaring had started somewhere to the east, then came
bearing down on us like a hundred freight trains. Only that
twister didn’t move on It stationed itself right overhead, making
the loudest noise I’d ever heard, whining worse than any jet.”
• What does roaring mean?
• Why would a tornado be described as roaring?

10. Oral Vocabulary
• Amazing word –
Precipice
• Look on page 50 and
51. How do you think
the icy precipice
makes the climber
feel?
• Discuss with a partner-
• What would you do if a
twister came roaring
toward your house?
• What would be
interesting if you
worked as a
meteorologist?
• If you were helping
younger students
where might you be
stationed? why?
How Nature Challenges Us
Tornado Snow and Ice Wildfire Understanding
weather

11. Word Analysis – Greek and Latin Roots
• Greek and Latin rots, such as viv, struct, and tele can give
clues about work meanings. Roots are combined without
word parts to form whole words.
• Copy the chart below in your reading spiral. Draw a line
connecting the Greek word to the Meaning.

12. Literary Terms - Hyperbole
• Hyperbole is an obvious exaggeration that is commonly
used in tall tales.
• An exaggeration could be much greater or less, or much
better or worse than things actually are.
• Read Carrie the Calf on page 55. There are lots of
hyperboles throughout the story.

13. Literary Terms – Hyperbole

14. Vocabulary Skill – Homonyms

15. • A tall tale is a humorous
story that tells about
extravagantly impossible
happenings. it usually
involves a character with
special abilities.
• A tall tale by Jerdine Nolen
• Illustrated by Kadir Nelson

16. Conventions – Small Group. Bring your packet!
Type to Learn – Log in and work for 15 minutes.
Spelling – Long Vowel VCV
Reader’s and Writer’s Notebook WS 54
Research and Inquiry – How can nature challenge us?
STEP 2 – Navigate and Search
Use the internet and books from the library in order to research your
inquiry question you wrote about on Monday.
Write your facts on separate notecards.
Make sure you write down web addresses, authors, and dates of the
web sites
http://environment.nationalgeographic.com/environment/natural-
disasters/
http://www.ready.gov/natural-disasters
http://www.neok12.com/Natural-Disasters.htm videos
Centers

17. Day 3 – Content Knowledge
Oral Language
• How can nature challenge us?
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VSgB1IWr6O4
• Earthquakes
• “Her ma was right grateful to have such a resourceful child. No other
newborn had the utter strength to life a whole cow clear over her head
and almost drink it dry.”
• What does resourceful mean?
• What makes rose resourceful?
• What does grateful mean?
• What are some synonyms for these two words?

18. Build Oral Vocabulary
• Amazing word –
disaster
• Name a disaster that
could happen to your
family or your
community.
• Discuss with a
partner-
• What do you think
Thunder Rose would
do if she saw
someone hanging
onto a precipice?
Why?
• What types of workers
need stamina to get
their jobs done?
How Nature Challenges Us
Tornado Snow and Ice Wildfire Understanding
weather

19. • How do you know that
Thunder Rose is a tall tale?
• Use your own words to
explain how Rose invented
barbed wire.
• A tall tale by Jerdine Nolen
• Illustrated by Kadir Nelson

20. Think Critically
• In your reading spiral
answer the Think
Critically questions on
your own.

21. Conventions – Subjects and Predicates
Worksheet DVD15
Spelling – Long Vowel VCV
Reader’s and Writer’s Notebook WS 60
Research and Inquiry – How can nature challenge us?
STEP 3 – Analyze Information
Look at the information you found last time about your topic. Do you
need to refocus your inquiry question?
… something else here?
Centers
Handwriting – Work on page 9 from your handwriting without tears
packet.

22. Day 4 – Content Knowledge
Oral Language
• How does nature challenge us?
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dJBS94GVyuo
• Tsunami Video
• “The stories of Rose’s amazing abilities spread like wildfire, far and
wide. And as sure as thunder follow lightning, and the sun follows
rain, whenever you see a spark of light flash across a heavy steel
gray sky, listen to the sound of the thunder and think of Thunder Rose
and her song. That mighty, mighty song pressing on the bull’s-eye
that was set at the center of her heart.” –Thunder Rose p. 73
• What does wildfire mean?
• What does the phrase spread like wildfire mean?
• What do you think it meant by the bull’s eye that was set at the center
of he heart?

23. Build Oral Vocabulary
• Amazing word –
unpredictable
• Yesterday we learned
that tornadoes can be
unpredictable. What
does unpredictable
mean?
• Discuss with a
partner-
• How might a drought
affect agriculture in a
rural area? How might
agricultural problems
affect other people?
• Identify the disasters
that Thunder Rose
prevented? How did
she?
How Nature Challenges Us
Tornado Snow and Ice Wildfire Understanding
weather

24. Science in Reading – Expository Text
• The texts we read are structured differently depending on the author’s
reasons for writing.
• Expository text give information about real people or events. These
text will present quantitative or factual information graphically
• What types of expository text have you used before?
• Why did you use them?
• Graphics are used to show information visually. What are some
examples of graphic sources in expository text?
What is our T-Chart showing so far?
As a group at your table create an example of a graphic that would be in one of
the sources we have below.

25. Measuring Tornados
• What information is the chart
on page 79 telling us?
• What facts are given about
F-3 tornadoes?
• F-5?
• In your reading spiral write
three things you learned
from the Fujita scale chart.

26. Measuring Tornadoes
• Where do you think the twin tornadoes that Thunder Rose
lassoed would fall on the Fujita Scale?
• Discuss what you think Thunder Rose’s tornadoes did to the
farms in her area.

27. • When my brother stole a cookie from
the cookie jar, my mom told him to
clean up his act.
• We can use context clues to determine
the meaning of the idiom, “clean up his
act.”
• Was the brother misbehaving? What do
you think his mom wanted him to do?
• With a partner find idioms in Thunder
Rose. Create a chart in your reading
spiral for idioms you find and what they
mean.
Idiom and Page # Meaning

28. Listening and Speaking
• Think about a time when you
saw or heard someone perform
an engaging reading of a story.
What made the storyteller
interesting to listen to or to
watch?
• Create your own tall tale!
Remember to use vivid words,
idioms, and exaggerations.
• We will be sharing our stories
with our groups!

29. Conventions – Subjects and Predicates
Reader’s and Writer’s Notebook p. 61
News-o-matic- ?
Spelling – Long Vowel VCV
Let’s Practice It! DVD16
Research and Inquiry – How can nature challenge us?
STEP 4 – Synthesize
Synthesize your research findings and results into a fact sheet and a
map.
I’m not sure what fact sheet and map we are supposed to be using
here 
Centers

30. Day 5 – Content Knowledge
Oral Language
• How can nature challenge us?
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uZp1dNybgfc
• Volcanoes

31. Build Oral Vocabulary
• Amazing words
• roaring, stationed,
meteorologist, twister,
stamina, precipice,
agriculture, disaster,
unpredictable, wildfire
• Discuss with a partner-
• Use the concept map
and what you have
learned from this week’s
discussions and reading
selections to form and
– a
realization or big idea
about meeting
challenges.
• In your spiral write down
a few sentences about
your
beginning with, “This
week I learned…”
How Nature Challenges Us
Tornado Snow and Ice Wildfire Understanding
weather

32. REVIEW
• Comprehension Skill: Cause and Effect
• An effect is something that happens. A cause is the
reason why something happens. A cause may have
more than one effect, and an effect may have more than
one cause.
• This helps us understand why characters do certain
things.
• Let’s Practice it! p. 17

33. REVIEW
• Vocabulary Skill: Homonyms
• Homonyms are words that have the same pronunciation and
spelling but different meanings and origins.
• The pitch of her voice got higher and higher as she
continued her tirade.
• How can we determine the meaning of the homonym pitch using
context clues?
• Look through Thunder Rose. Find one homonym.
• With a partner write multiple sentences for the homonym
using context clues to illustrate the multiple definitions.
• Extra time? Find one more!

34. REVIEW
• Word Analysis: Greek and Latin Roots
• Remember, Greek and Latin roots give clues about word
meanings.
• Roots are combined with other word parts to form whole
words.
• How do the roots aqua (water), tele (far), and struct (build)
help decode the meanings of the following words:
• Aquatics
• Aquamarine
• Telephone
• Television
• Construct
• Destruction

35. REVIEW
• Literary Terms: Hyperbole
• A hyperbole is an obvious exaggeration.
• Reread “The Tale of Carrie the Calf” on page 55.
• What is one example in the second paragraph of a hyperbole?
• What effect does this have on the story?
• Now, draw this t-chart in the back part of your reading spiral. With a
partner write the examples of hyperbole and what the author was
trying to express.
Hyperbole Example Hyperbole Meaning

36. Research and Inquiry – How can nature challenge us?
STEP5 – Communicate
Share your research presentation with your table group. Be sure to:
1. Keep eye contact with your teammates
2. Speak clearly, loudly, and at an appropriate rate.
3. Gesture and point to certain parts of your presentation to emphasize
important information.
4. Respond to questions with details from the research.
Spelling – Take your Post-Test on Spelling City!
Conventions – Subjects and Predicates
Review- The subject names whom or what the sentence is about. The
predicate describes what the subject is or does.
Practice DVD 18