Lesson Plan - Into the Storm

Build Knowledge and Vocabulary

Provide this task for students to complete as they watch “What You Need to Know About Hurricanes”: As you watch the video, sketch an image of a hurricane and label its parts. Then add notes about at least two important facts or terms. Guide students to research another fact about hurricanes individually, in pairs, or as a class. Discuss responses. Then use Words to Know to preteach the domain-specific terms equator, landfall, meteorologist, prime meridian, simulate, and tropical storm.

Read the Article

Read the article aloud or have students read it independently or in pairs. As students read, direct them to underline or jot down the central idea.

Answer Close-Reading Questions

Have students write their responses, or use the Close-Reading Questions to guide a discussion.

• What do hurricane hunters do? How do they use technology? (Central Ideas and Key Details)
Hurricane hunters are scientists who fly planes into storms to collect information about them. They release dropsondes, devices that capture data about air pressure, humidity, temperature, and wind direction and speed as they fall through the storm. Scientists are also hoping to test drones this season.

• What does meteorologist Joseph Cione mean when he says “Drones can help us go from a snapshot of a hurricane to a movie”? (Figurative Language)
He means that scientists will be able to capture more data with drones than they can with dropsondes. While dropsondes collect only a few minutes’ worth of data, drones can fly inside a hurricane for hours.

• Write two questions and answers about the “Tracking Hurricanes” map. (Map Skills)
Responses will vary.

Practice Latitude and Longitude

Have students answer the questions about the map on page 23 independently or in groups. Review answers. For more practice, assign the Latitude and Longitude lesson from our Map Skills Boot Camp. The full curriculum of 13 lessons is available at junior.scholastic.com/mapskills.