Level X/60 Volcanoes: Nature’s Awesome Power › bec-tennessee › content › G6U6_Volcano… · Volcanoes: Nature’s Awesome Power Level X/60 Skills & Strategies Anchor Comprehension

B e n c h m a r k e d u c a t i o n c o m p a n y

Themes• Natural Disasters• Forces of Nature• Earth

Science

Volcanoes: Nature’s Awesome PowerLevel X/60

Skills & Strategies

Anchor Comprehension Strategies

• Identify cause and effect

Comprehension • Thinkandwriteaboutit

• Analyzetextstructureandorganization

• Usegraphicfeaturestointerpretinformation

Word Study/Vocabulary • Usecontextcluestodetermineword

meaning

Science Big Idea • Overtime,internalforcesofenergy

havecontinuouslychangedthefeaturesofEarth,bothconstructivelyanddestructively.

TeACher’S Guide

Pages 4–6: During Reading: Introduction–Chapter 1 • Model Metacognitive Strategy: Think and Write About It • Model Comprehension Strategy: Identify Cause and Effect • Use Context Clues to Determine Word Meaning: Direct Definitions

Pages 7–8: During Reading: Chapters 2–3 • Apply Megacognitive Strategy: Think and Write About It • Guide Comprehension Strategy: Identify Cause and Effect • Use Context Clues to Determine Word Meaning: Direct Definitions

Pages 9–10: During Reading: Chapter 4–Conclusion • Apply Metacognitive Strategy: Think and Write About It • Apply Comprehension Strategy: Identify Cause and Effect • Use Graphic Features to Interpret Information: Tables

Page 11: After Reading • Administer Posttest • Synthesize Information: Research

D a y

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A c t i v i t i e s

A dd i t i o n a l R e l a t e d R e s o u r c e s

Notable Trade Books for Read-Aloud• Barr, Linda, Halard Lescinsky, and

Timothy Rasinsky. Volcano! When a Mountain Explodes. Capstone Press, 2003.

• Burleigh, Robert. Volcanoes: Journey to the Crater’s Edge. Harry N. Abrams, 2003.

• Pratt Nicolson, Cynthia. Volcano! Kids Can Press, 2001.

• VanRose, Susanna. Eyewitness: Volcano and Earthquake. DK Publishing, 2000.

Web Site for Content Information• VolcanoWorld

http://volcano.und.nodak.edu/vw.htmlVolcanoWorld is a continuing project cre-ated in 1995 by a team of volcano experts. Among its goals is to provide students and teachers with lessons about volcanoes. It has a Teaching & Learning section, as well as a Kids’ Door, which contains games, quizzes, project ideas, and a student art gallery.

C o r e L e s s o n P l a n n i n g G u i d e

Copyright © 2011 Benchmark Education Company, LLC. All rights reserved. Teachers may photocopy the reproducible pages for classroom use. No other part of the guide may be reproduced or transmitted in whole or in part in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

ISBN: 1-4108-2586-82

Lesson at a GlanceBefore Reading (page 3)• Build Background• Introduce the Book• Administer Preassessment

During Reading (pages 4–10)

Introduction–Chapter 1 (pages 4–6)

• Model Metacognitive Strategy: Think and Write About It

• Set a Purpose for Reading• Discuss the Reading• Model Comprehension Strategy: Identify

Cause and Effect• Use Context Clues to Determine Word

Meaning: Direct Definitions

Chapters 2–3 (pages 7–8)

• Apply Metacognitive Strategy: Think and Write About It

• Set a Purpose for Reading• Discuss the Reading• Guide Comprehension Strategy: Identify

Cause and Effect• Use Context Clues to Determine Word

Meaning: Direct Definitions

Chapter 4–Conclusion (pages 9–10)

• Apply Metacognitive Strategy: Think and Write About It

• Set a Purpose for Reading• Discuss the Reading• Apply Comprehension Strategy: Identify

Cause and Effect• Use Graphic Features to Interpret

Information: Tables

After Reading (page 11)

• Administer Posttest• Synthesize Information: Research

Writing Workshop (pages 12–13)

• Model the Writing Process: Write a Cause-and-Effect Paragraph

Blackline Masters (pages 14–16)

• Identify Cause and Effect (page 14)• Use Context Clues: Direct Definitions

(page 15)• Cause and Effect (page 16)

Page 3: Before Reading • Build Background • Introduce the Book • Administer Preassessment

The following five-day lesson plan is just one option for incorporating this teacher’s guide into your daily lesson plans.

Before ReadingBuild Background • To prepare students for a visualization experience with a volcano,

have them brainstorm words they associate with volcanoes, such as eruption, lava, flow, and ashes. Encourage them to say what they know about how each word relates to volcanoes.

• Say: Imagine you live in a small village. Close your eyes and picture a huge volcano looming behind your village. The volcano rumbles as smoke billows out its top. Lava begins pouring out of the volcano, moving directly toward your village. What do you smell? See? Feel? Now open your eyes and draw a picture of your experience. Students share their drawings with a partner.

• Draw a T-chart like the one shown. As students share their drawings, ask them to describe what they smelled, saw, and felt during the visualization exercise. Record their experiences on the chart. The chart shown here provides several possible responses.

• Have students consider how the eruption of a volcano can affect people and other living things.

Introduce the Book • Give students a copy of the book. Have them read the title and

then turn to the table of contents. Ask: How many chapters are in this book? What are their names?

• Explain that Volcanoes: Nature’s Awesome Power discusses six different topics related to volcanoes.

• Have pairs of students choose from the table of contents one chapter to skim. Allow each pair of students to decide which chapter to skim. Student pairs should make their choice together and state the reason for their choice.

• Ask: When you skim a chapter of a book, what are important things to look at? (Possible answers: titles and section heads, pictures and captions, illustrations, diagrams, sidebars, boldfaced words)

• Ask students to find answers to these questions as they are skimming the pages: What pictures do you find interesting and why? What boldfaced words do you find? Do you know what they mean? Allow time for students to share their findings with the group.

Administer Preassessment• Have students take Ongoing Assessment #17 on page 70 in the

Comprehension Strategy Assessment Handbook (Grade 6).

• Score assessments and use the results to determine instruction.

• Keep group assessments in a small-group reading folder. For in-depth analysis, discuss responses with individual students.

Informal Assessment Tips

1. Assess students’ ability to skim and to tell about their findings.

2. Document informal observations in a folder or notebook.

3. Keep the folder or notebook at the small-group reading table for handy reference.

4. For struggling students, model how to skim text by looking at headings, boldfaced words, pictures, captions, etc.

© 2011 Benchmark Education Company, LLC 3

smoke, burning trees

people running to

safety, lava coming closer

fear, awe, panic, the

earth rumbling

WhatYouSmelled

WhatYouSaw

WhatYouFelt

During Reading: Introduction–Chapter 1

Model Metacognitive Strategy: Think and Write About It

• Use a real-life example of synthesizing. Say: I know college students who are asked to read large sections of books and then talk about what they read in the next class. These students tell me that they write notes to themselves to keep the main points and important details of a page or a paragraph in their mind. Then when the students attend class, their notes help them par-ticipate in a discussion about the topic of the reading. As they write their notes, they jot down phrases that remind them of facts they wish to remember; they might even write how they feel about the author or the text.

• Continue: What the college students have noticed is that writing down notes about their reading helps them remember the information from the reading longer than they would have if they had not written anything down.

• Read pages 2–3 aloud while students follow along. Try to anticipate ideas and words in the text that might cause them to stop and think. Stop and think at these points as you read. Share your thought process aloud with the students. Write your ideas on self-stick notes and place them in the book as the students observe. Some ideas that readers might discover follow.

Volcanoes erupt on land and under the sea. Hawaiians made up stories to explain volcanic explosions. Forces of nature cause volcanic eruptions. Volcanoes are named after an ancient god of fire.

Set a Purpose for Reading • Ask students to read pages 4–9 silently to see what they can

learn about how and why volcanoes form. Ask them to pay close attention to the new terms and descriptions. Have them jot down in their reading journal or on self-stick notes any questions or ideas that they have. Remind them that the thoughts they write are their own and will help them remember what they are reading. There are no right or wrong thoughts. Emphasize that what they write should help them understand how the author explains the formation and activity of volcanoes.

4 © 2011 Benchmark Education Company, LLC

Good readers think about what they are reading and then write about it. Thinking about what is read and then writing about it helps readers stay engaged with the text and enhances understanding. It also helps the reader quickly review what was read. To use this strategy, readers stop every so often and jot down a few thoughts about the read-ing in a journal or on self-stick notes. Readers do not have to write a lot, nor do they need to write perfectly. The writing is for the reader and no one else.

Content InformationStudents may have difficulty under-standing what plate tectonics are and how they affect Earth. Explain that plates are pieces of Earth’s crust that are always moving in relationship to one another. The moving plates may cause the following:

• Earthquakes may result when the pressure of two or more plates push-ing against each other is too great.

• Volcanic eruptions often result near the edges of plates, which are weak spots in Earth’s crust. Cracks and holes form near the weak spots, allowing the magma underneath the plates to move up to Earth’s surface. Eventually, the magma bubbles until it reaches a hole at the top of a crater and erupts.

Minds-On/ Hands-On Activity

1. Give groups of students a sample of a volcanic rock, such as pumice, along with several samples of nonvolcanic (metamorphic or sedimentary) rocks. (Pumice is inexpensive and readily available where hardware and body-care items are found.)

2. Have students compare the character-istics of the rocks using a hand lens. (While the other rocks are rather smooth, the volcanic rock is full of holes.) Remind students that a volca-no releases gases during an eruption. Ask: What do you think caused the holes to form in this volcanic rock? (Gases were trapped inside the hot lava. When the lava cooled, the gases escaped and left holes.)

3. Students will also notice that the pumice is much lighter than the other rocks. Have students put the rocks into a bowl of water and observe what happens. (Pumice floats, and the other rocks sink.) Ask: Why does pumice float? (It has so many holes that it is lighter than water.)

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Informal Assessment Tips1. Watch students as they write

their thoughts on self-stick notes and attach them to the appropriate pages.

2. In a folder or notebook, jot down what you see each student doing.

3. Document students who are not writing notes about the text they read.

4. Remind students that writing about what they read helps them recall information and focus on what is important.


Page Number Cause Effect

Identify Cause and Effect

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Forces of nature Volcanic eruptions

Discuss the Reading • Say: I found that Chapter 1 explains in detail what the introduc-

tion briefly mentions—that forces of nature cause volcanoes.

• Ask: What force of nature begins the creation of active volcanoes? (tectonic plates moving from built-up pressure from heat and gas below)

• Ask students to share the ideas that they jotted down while reading. Discuss why these ideas were important to them in understanding the reading.

Model Comprehension Strategy: Identify Cause and Effect• Explain what a cause-and-effect relationship is. Say: One way

authors explain information is to tell why certain events happen. When you read about a phenomenon of nature, such as a volcanic eruption, and why it occurs, you are reading about a cause-and-effect relationship. As I read this chapter, I paid attention to what happened, and I looked for an explanation telling why it happened. Identifying the event as the effect and the reason for it as the cause helped me understand the information in this chapter.

• Distribute the graphic organizer “Identify Cause and Effect” (blackline master, page 14 of this guide). You may want to make a chart-size copy of the graphic organizer or use a transparency.

• Explain that as students read, they will complete the first six rows of causes and effects as a group. They will complete the last two rows independently.

• Have students follow along in their books while you show them how to find cause-and-effect relationships in the introduction and Chapter 1. As you find each cause-and-effect relationship, write the cause and effect on the graphic organizer. Have students copy cause and effect relationships on their graphic organizers.

• Read page 2 aloud and say: Authors often provide clue words to help readers find cause-and-effect relationships. Some of these words are because of, due to, cause, as a result, if, then, effects, makes, and since. I see the clue word cause in the last paragraph on this page. After describing a Hawaiian myth’s explanation of volcanic eruptions, the author explains, “The forces of nature are the cause of volcanic eruptions.” I’ll write “forces of nature” as the cause and “volcanic eruptions” as the effect. I can ask, “What happened?” to check my answer in the Effect column and “Why did it happen?” to check my answer in the Cause column.

Introduction–Chapter 1


• Read the explanation of volcanoes on page 6. Say: The question “What causes a volcanic eruption?” has the clue word causes in it. The sentences after the question indicate the cause of a volcanic eruption. We’ll write the answer to the question in the Cause box.

• Read page 8 aloud. Say: I see a sentence that begins with the word if. The word if is often a clue that a cause-and-effect relationship is being described. The if clause tells the cause, and the clause that follows it tells the effect. Discuss with students the cause and effect described on page 8 and fill in the chart as shown. Have students brainstorm other cause-and-effect statements using the word if, such as: If you touch hot lava, your hand will get burned.

• Read page 12 aloud. Say: Sometimes cause-and-effect relationships repeat themselves, leading to a larger effect. Guide students in finding the series of causes on page 12 that leads to the effect of a chain of volcanoes. Fill in the Cause and Effect boxes for page 12 on the graphic organizer as shown.

Use Context Clues to Determine Word Meaning: Direct Definitions• Have students find the term plate tectonics on page 5. Explain

that the author gives a direct definition to help the reader determine the meaning of the word. Say: Look at the sentence in which the word occurs. It says, “This plate theory is called plate tectonics.” I’m going to read the sentences that come before it to see what the plate theory is about. They say that “the plates push into each other, pull away from each other, or slide past each other” and that the movement of the plates is very slow. In other words, plate tectonics is the movement of the plates.

• Focus students’ attention on the term hot spots on page 12. Say: The sentence containing the term hot spots provides a clue that its definition will be announced. The comma after the term and the words after the comma indicate an appositive. An appositive is a word, phrase, or clause placed near a term to explain it. The direct definition of hot spots is “areas of super-hot rock deep in Earth’s mantle.”

• Tell students that they will continue to use context clues to determine the meanings of unknown words as they read Volcanoes: Nature’s Awesome Power. Finding and learning the definitions of these words will help them understand the other new information in this book.



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Forces of nature

Pressure within Earth forces magma to surface.

Magma that contains a lot of gas

“Hot spot” volcano forms; plate above moves.

Volcanic eruptions

Volcanic eruption

Pyroclastic materials

Chain of volcanoes

Chapters 2–3

Apply Metacognitive Strategy: Think and Write About It• Remind students that they saw you write a self-stick note about

what you wanted to remember as you read the introduction to the book. Point out to students that writing about what they have read can help them retain information and focus their attention on the things that are of interest to them.

• Turn to page 13 and read the first paragraph aloud while students follow along. Say: Remember when you visualized a volcanic eruption before reading this book? Did you imagine the lava spurting out of the peak? It’s interesting to me that the volcano we visualized is just one of three types of volcanoes: shield volcano, stratovolcano, and cinder cone volcano. I’m going to write myself a note about that. On a self-stick note, write: Three types of volcanoes are stratovolcano, cinder cone volcano, and shield volcano. Place the self-stick note on the page.

• Explain that as students continue reading, they should write about the things that strike them as interesting, odd, or even confusing. Remind them to write on self-stick notes and to put the notes on the pages to which they correspond.

• Tell students that stopping to think and write about what they read can help them identify causes and effects. When readers ask how or why about something they read, a cause-and-effect relationship can often be found.

Set a Purpose for Reading • Ask students to read Chapter 2 to learn the characteristics of the

three types of volcanoes. Remind students to use self-stick notes for writing the information they want to remember.

• Ask students to read Chapter 3 to learn about the most famous volcanic eruptions. Encourage them to write a self-stick note for each volcano named, noting the facts that interest them most.

Discuss the Reading • Ask students to share some of the facts they wrote on their

self-stick notes for each type of volcano. Did they make notes about the same things?

• Have volunteers identify some things that the famous volcanic eruptions have in common.


Content InformationExplain to students that a volcano’s caldera (page 17) often becomes a lake.

• A crater lake is formed when solid magma blocks the channel that opens into a volcano’s crater. This allows a gradual collection of rainwater in the caldera, or crater.

• Some crater lakes in volcanoes contain acids from gases rising up from the volcano beneath. Living things cannot survive in these lakes, and people who touch the water can be burned by the acid.


1. Provide small groups of students with enough clay to make models of the three types of volcanoes: stratovolcano, cinder cone, and shield.

2. Have the students in each group work together to create cross-sectional clay models to represent each type of volcano.

3. Have each group share its completed volcano models with the class. Ask: Do the stratovolcano and the cinder cone volcano have steeper sides than the shield volcano? (Shield volcanoes are are wide and flat, unlike stratovolcanoes and cinder cones.)

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Chapters 2–3

Informal Assessment Tips1. Watch students as they complete

the “Identify Cause and Effect” graphic organizer.

2. In your folder, jot down what you see the students doing.

3. Ask yourself: Are students having problems with this strategy? If so, what are the problems? Are students mastering this strategy? If so, how do I know?

4. For struggling students, review the strategy using the compre-hension strategy poster. Use both sides of the poster if needed.

Guide Comprehension Strategy: Identify Cause and Effect• Review cause-and-effect relationships by reviewing the graphic

organizer and clue words that signal causes and effects. Remind students that not all cause-and-effect relationships contain clue words and that some effects have multiple causes. Tell students that you are going to revisit Chapters 2 and 3 to identify cause-and-effect relationships.

• Ask students to reread page 17 to find a cause-and-effect relation-ship. Ask: What factors lead up to the formation of the circular depression known as a caldera? (The volcano almost completely empties; the empty chamber can no longer support the weight above it; the top of the volcano collapses.) Where do you write this information? (You write this information in the Cause box.) What event goes in the Effect box? (A caldera forms.)

• Work with students to identify the causes of a Vulcanian eruption on page 19. Use the completed graphic organizer for answers.

Use Context Clues to Determine Word Meaning: Direct Definitions• Remind students that they can figure out the meaning of terms

by reading other nearby words or sentences. Have students locate the term caldera on page 17. Say that it has a direct definition just before it and more information in the next sentence. Ask students how the sentence describing the word’s Spanish meaning helps them understand the term.

• Ask students to find the term Peléean on page 18. Ask: What is the first thing I can do to find out the meaning of Peléean? (Read the sentence that contains the word.) Read the sentence aloud. Ask: What does the word Peléean mean? (the most explosive kind of volcanic eruption) Read the next sentence aloud. Ask: What does this sentence tell you about the term Peléean? (The origin of the term. It is named after the eruption of Mont Pelée.)

• Repeat this procedure to guide students to define the other types of eruptions—Hawaiian, Strombolian, Vulcanian—on page 19.

• Have students complete the blackline master “Use Context Clues: Definitions” on page 15.




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Forces of nature




Volcano completely empties; empty chamber collapses.

Thickened or solidified magma plugs up central vent; pressure builds and forces magma out.

Volcanic eruptions

Volcanic eruption


Chain of volcanoes

Caldera

Vulcanian eruption

Write the definitions of the boldfaced words. Use the passage to help you.

1. volcanologists

2. fumarole

3. active volcano

4. dormant volcano

5. extinct volcano

scientists who study and observe volcanoes

small holes from which rocks and volcanic materials escape

a volcano that has erupted within the last 10,000 years and could erupt again at any time

a volcano that has been inactive for a very long time but could erupt in the future

a volcano that scientists believe will never erupt again


Chapter 4–Conclusion

Apply Metacognitive Strategy: Think and Write About It• Remind students that they have been writing self-stick notes about

ideas in Volcanoes: Nature’s Awesome Power that seemed interest-ing, odd, or even confusing to them. They may also have taken notes on information that they would like to remember.

• Say: Looking back at your self-stick notes and the pages to which they are attached will help you recall the information that you thought was the most interesting and important in the book. The result will probably be that the book will stay in your memory lon-ger than it would have if you had not taken notes.

• Have students turn to pages 20–21. Say: What I find interesting about the eruption of Mount Vesuvius is that it happened so long ago, in 79 A.D., yet people wrote about it and painted pictures of it so we can learn about it today. I’m going to make a note about that. Stick the self-stick note on the page.

• Have students read pages 22–23 silently and write what they wish to remember from their reading on self-stick notes. Then, as a group, ask volunteers to share and compare their notes.

• Encourage students to continue thinking and writing about their reading on self-stick notes as they complete the book on their own.

Set a Purpose for Reading • Have students read the rest of the book silently to learn more

interesting facts about other famous volcanic eruptions, the effects of volcanic eruptions, and predicting future eruptions. Suggest that they write on self-stick notes the facts they think are interesting and would like to remember. Remind them to use context clues, such as direct definitions, to determine meanings of new terms.

Discuss the Reading • Discuss what students remember about the volcanic eruption of

Mount Pinatubo. Ask: How were thousands of lives saved? (The peo-ple living near there were warned about the eruption ahead of time, so 78,000 people were evacuated from the area before the eruption.)

• Go over the list of volcanoes on page 25, asking for volunteers to say anything they remember about each volcano, such as its location or history. If necessary to encourage discussion, ask questions such as: Which volcano is the largest one? (Mauna Loa in Hawaii) Which eruption in the list killed the most people? (Krakatoa in Indonesia)

• Have students discuss the negative effects of volcanoes, then the positive effects. List their answers in a chart on the board.

• Have students identify the context clue that helped them under-stand the meaning of the term geothermal energy on page 27.

• After students have read pages 28 and 29, discuss as a group why it is important to be able to predict volcanic eruptions ahead of time.

Content Information• Tell students that volcanologists

in Washington State have been carefully monitoring volcanoes in the Cascade Mountain region, especially since the eruption of Mount Saint Helens in 1980.

• Volcanologists are aware that there are thirteen volcanoes in the Cascades that could erupt at any time. Seven of these volcanoes have erupted in the last 200 years.

• One volcano of particular concern is Mount Rainier because some of the suburbs of Seattle are built very near the volcano. In fact, some of the houses were built right on top of volcanic ash deposits. A volcanic eruption on Mount Rainier would melt its glacier ice and send a large amount of water down the side of the mountain. The water and mud could damage or destroy areas where people live.


1. Use a classroom map of the world with a markable surface.

2. Have students find the location of the volcanoes listed on page 25 and label them on the map.

3. Say: Look back at the Ring of Fire on page 5. Draw red triangles around the volcanoes that appear to be located in the Ring of Fire. Draw blue circles around the volcanoes that killed more than 10,000 people.

3. Have students discuss the information that their completed map shows. (Most of them are located in the Ring of Fire.)

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Chapter 4–Conclusion

Apply Comprehension Strategy: Identify Cause and Effect• Review the graphic organizer with students and explain that you

want them independently to find and identify cause-and-effect relationships on pages 23 and 24. Have students name several clue words that indicate a cause-and-effect relationship. Remind students that some text offers no clue words, so they will need to read closely.

• Ask students if they have any questions about cause and effect. Monitor their work and intervene if they need help to complete the graphic organizer. (Students answers may differ from those shown.)

• Discuss students’ responses together. Make sure they state whether or not each cause-and-effect relationship they found has clue words or not and if it has clue words, what the clue words are. (page 23: no clue words; page 24: clue words—”Due to timely warnings”)

• Have students complete the blackline master “Cause and Effect,” page 16.

Use Graphic Features to Interpret Information: Tables• Have students look at the table on page 25. Point out that the table

has a heading (Famous Volcanic Eruptions) and four columns of information. Each column has a heading (Volcano, Country, Date of Eruption, Description). Demonstrate how to locate information in the table. Say: To learn when Mount Unzen erupted, I run my eye down column 1 to find Mount Unzen. Then I run my eye across to the column with the heading Date of Eruption and find the date in the same row as Mount Unzen. Mount Unzen erupted in 1991. When I glance at the date of eruption in the row of text below it, I see that another volcano also erupted in 1991, Mount Pinatubo. As I compare the Country information in the table for these two volcanoes, I see that they are in different countries—Mount Unzen in Japan and Mount Pinatubo in the Philippines.

• Have students in pairs use the table to compare and contrast the two volcanoes located in Mexico. (Paricutín erupted from 1943 to 1952, while El Chichón erupted only in 1982.)

• Ask: How is looking at information in the table different from looking at information on pages 20–24? (Possible answers: The descriptions on pages 20–24 tell the stories of the volcanoes, while the table shows facts; the table makes it easier and quicker to locate and compare information about the different volcanoes; the table shows a lot of information in a small space.)


Page Cause EffectNumber


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Forces of nature




Volcano completely empties; empty chamber collapses.Thickened or solidified magma plugs up central vent; pressure builds and forces magma out.

Pyroclastic explosion melted ice cap at top of volcano.

Timely warnings

Volcanic eruptions

Volcanic eruption


Chain of volcanoes

Caldera

Vulcanian eruption

Water rushed down slopes.

Large-scale evacuation of 78,000 people Cause:

Lava had cooled.

Lava glows red-hot in the dark.

Usually the lava from Kilauea flows slowly.

In 1989 and 1990, the lava from Kilauea poured more rapidly.

Effect:

About 500 acres of new land were added to the island.

It is easiest to see in the evening.

People can watch it safely from a distance.

Plants, wildlife, and sixty-five houses were destroyed.

Informal Assessment Tips 1. Watch students as they identify

cause-and-effect relationships. Ask yourself: How have the students progressed with identifying causes and effects? What problems are they still having? What questions pop into my mind about what I see them doing?

2. Watch students as they complete the graphic organizer indepen-dently. Ask yourself: Who is still struggling with this strategy? What are they doing or not doing that makes me think they are struggling? How can I help them?

3. Jot down your thoughts in your folder or notebook.

After ReadingAdminister Posttest• Have students take Ongoing Assessment #18 on page 72 in the

Comprehension Strategy Assessment Handbook (Grade 6).

Synthesize Information: Research: Become an Expert• Have students choose one type of volcano from Chapter 2 and

become a volcano expert. Explain to students that they can use the book and reference sources, including the Internet, to locate information about their chosen volcano. Direct students to include a description, examples, what type of damage explosions cause, and any other information they find interesting.

• When students have found enough information on their chosen volcano to become an expert, have them share their findings with a small group or with the entire class.



1. Score assessments and determine if more instruction is needed for this strategy.

2. Keep group assessments in a small-group reading folder.

3. Look closely at students’ responses. Ask yourself: Why might this student have answered the question in this manner? For in-depth anal-ysis, discuss responses with individual students.

4. Use posttests to document growth over time, for parent/teacher conferences, or for your own records.

Model the Writing Process: Write a Cause-and-Effect Paragraph• Remind students that in the book Volcanoes: Nature’s Awesome

Power, they read about the causes and effects of volcanoes.

• On chart paper or the board, display a chart like the one below, showing the causes of thunder.

• Use the writing model to show how to use the information in the chart to write a paragraph containing cause-and-effect relationships. List these words on the board or chart paper for students to refer to: causes, because, results in, consequence, since, if, so, then, leading to, therefore, as a result.

• With students, brainstorm a list of causes of volcanic eruptions. Students can revisit pages 6, 8, 12, and 13 for help. Have students then use the list to create a chart similar to the one shown, listing several causes of volcanic eruptions.

• Point out that the writing model contains an embedded question that helps show the reader what the paragraph is about. Tell students that their paragraph should also include an embedded question. Ask students to think of one or two questions that they could include in a paragraph about the causes of volcanic eruptions and write them down. Students can revisit pages 6, 12, and 17 to see other examples of embedded questions. Ask vol-unteers to share their questions.

• Have students write a paragraph about the causes of volcanic eruptions. Remind them to use signal words and embedded questions to help them explain the cause-and-effect relationships.


1. Observe students as they participate in the group writing project. Identify those who might need help during the various stages of the writing process. Jot down notes in your journal.

2. During conferences, keep notes on each student’s writing behaviors. Ask yourself: What evidence do I have to support the conclusion that this student is writing well or poorly? What can I do about it?

3. Have struggling students practice identifying cause-and-effect relationships like those in the blackline master on page 14.


Writing Workshop

Teaching Tips: Process Writing Steps

1. Have students independently write a first draft using the cause-and-effect structure and include at least one embedded question.

2. After students complete their paragraphs, have them revise and edit with the help of a classroom buddy.

3. Conference with each student following the first revision and editing.

4. Have students make any additional changes and create a final copy of their paragraphs.

5. Finally, invite students to share their paragraphs with a group of other students.

What Causes Thunder?

Bolt of lightning makes surrounding air very hot.

Hot air molecules close to lightning crash into the colder, surrounding air.

An explosion results.

Shock wave travels through air and makes sound of thunder.

Surrounding air vibrates and creates shock wave.

© 2011 Benchmark Education Company, LLC

What Causes Thunder?

At an early age, you probably learned to listen

for thunder when you saw the flash of lightning

during a storm. Maybe you even counted the

number of seconds it took for the sound of the

thunder to reach you. But do you know what causes

the sound of thunder? First, a bolt of lightning

makes the air around it very hot—54,000˚F! Then

the hot air molecules close to the lightning flash

crash into the colder surrounding air. Because the

hot and cold molecules crash together with great

force, they create an explosion. As a result, the

surrounding air begins to vibrate, leading to a kind

of sound wave known as a shock wave. This shock

wave travels through the air and makes the sound

of thunder.

Writing Model


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Use Context Clues: Direct DefinitionsDirections: Read the passage. Look for direct definitions of the boldfaced words. Complete the exercise at the bottom of the page.

Volcanoes: Awake or Sleeping?

Volcanologists are scientists who study and observe volcanoes. They study old cracks in the ground that have widened and new cracks that have just appeared. They also record changes in rocks and vapors around fumaroles. Fumaroles are small holes from which gases and volcanic materials escape. Volcanologists do not have time to monitor every volcano in the world, so they pick the ones that appear to be active volcanoes. Volcanologists say that a volcano is active if it has erupted within the last 10,000 years and could erupt again at any time. A dormant volcano is “sleeping,” meaning that it has not been active for a very long time but could erupt at some time in the future. Volcanologists pay the least attention to extinct volcanoes, which are volcanoes that scientists believe will never erupt again. However, even extinct volcanoes have been known to erupt from time to time.

Write the definitions of the boldfaced words. Use the passage to help you.

1. volcanologists

2. fumarole

3. active volcano

4. dormant volcano

5. extinct volcano

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Cause and EffectDirections: Identify the causes and effects in the passage. Complete the graphic organizer that has four sets of causes and effects.

A Very Active Volcano

The Kilauea volcano on the island of Hawaii erupts almost every day. Kilauea is located on the slope of a larger volcano called Mauna Loa. The almost-daily cycle of eruptions started here in 1983. By 1995, about 500 acres of new land were added to the island as a consequence of the lava flows that had cooled. Many people visit Kilauea for a chance to see real lava coming out of a volcano. Because the lava glows red-hot in the dark, it is easiest to see during the evening. Usually the lava from Kilauea flows slowly, so people can watch it safely from a distance. However, in 1989 and 1990, the lava from Kilauea poured out of the volcano rapidly, destroying plants, wildlife, and sixty-five houses in its path.

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Level X/60 Volcanoes: Nature’s Awesome Power › bec-tennessee › content › G6U6_Volcano… · Volcanoes: Nature’s Awesome Power Level X/60 Skills & Strategies Anchor Comprehension