LESSON 20 TEACHER’S GUIDE Climate Change in...

Number of Words: 2,921

L E S S O N 2 0 T E A C H E R ’ S G U I D E

Climate Change in the Pastby Joann Mulvaney Messier

Fountas-Pinnell Level YInformational TextSelection SummaryClimate changes that resulted in severe conditions may have caused ancient societies to collapse. Scientists study these past climates to estimate conditions for given periods of history, and predict future climate changes.

Copyright © by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company

All rights reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying or recording, or by any information storage or retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the copyright owner unless such copying is expressly permitted by federal copyright law. Permission is hereby granted to individual teachers using the corresponding (discipline) Leveled Readers to photocopy student worksheets from this publication in classroom quantities for instructional use and not for resale. Requests for information on other matters regarding duplication of this work should be addressed to Houghton Miffl in Harcourt Publishing Company, Attn: Contracts, Copyrights, and Licensing, 9400 SouthPark Center Loop, Orlando, Florida 32819. Printed in the U.S.A. 978-0-547-30857-9 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 0940 15 14 13 12 11 10 09

If you have received these materials as examination copies free of charge, Houghton Miffl in Harcourt Publishing Company retains title to the materials and they may not be resold. Resale of examination copies is strictly prohibited.

Possession of this publication in print format does not entitle users to convert this publication, or any portion of it, into electronic format.

Characteristics of the Text Genre • Informational Text

Text Structure • Third-person narrative organized in nine short chapters Content • Paleoclimatology

• Ancient empires and their demise Themes and Ideas • The environment might have played a role in the fall of ancient civilizations.

• Climate scientists need to dig deep for evidence.• Climate changes have had an enormous impact on human history.

Language and Literary Features

• Sophisticated concepts clearly explained• Vocabulary defi ned in context

Sentence Complexity • Longer, more complex sentence structures• Colons, dashes, commas in series• Diffi cult pronunciations contained in parentheses

Vocabulary • Some scientifi c language with words explained in the text, such as paleoclimatology, ice cores, proxy data, sediment.

Words • Many multisyllable words, some of them challenging, including names and places, such as Euphrates, Mesopotamia, Ozymandias.

Illustrations • Color maps and photographs Book and Print Features • Sixteen pages of text, easy-to-read chapter headings, several maps and photographs

• Timeline, table of contents, poem© 2006. Fountas, I.C. & Pinnell, G.S. Teaching for Comprehending and Fluency, Heinemann, Portsmouth, N.H.

6_308579_AL_LRTG_L20_climatechange.indd 1 1/9/10 4:55:09 PM

Target Vocabulary

arid – lacking moisture, p. 8barbarians – a member of a

people considered to have primitive civilization, p. 17

paleoclimatology – the study of climatic conditions in the past, p. 4

proxy data – information collected from tree rings,

pollen fossils, ice cores, coral reefs, and other natural recorders of climate, p. 4

sediment – material that settles to the bottom of a liquid, p. 4

Climate Change in the Past by Joann Mulvaney Messier

Build BackgroundHelp students use their knowledge about climates to visualize the selection. Build interest by asking questions such as the following: What type of climate does your town have today? Does the climate change during each season? Read the title and author and discuss the cover photograph. Note the nine chapter heads. Tell students that this is informational text about climate change through history and how it might have affected historical events in ancient empires.

Introduce the TextGuide students through the text, noting important ideas, and helping with unfamiliar language and vocabulary so they can read the text successfully. Here are some suggestions:

Page 4: Read the sentences: Scientists studying past climates gather data from a wide variety of sources. They look at tree rings, pollen fossils, ice cores, and coral reefs. They also examine sediment, such as minerals, at the bottom of lakes and seas. Suggested language: How do you think scientists collect minerals and other deposits that have settled at the bottom of bodies of water?

Page 7: Look at the map and read the caption. Tell students that the empire collapsed. What might cause a large empire to suddenly collapse?

Page 8: Read the second and third sentences in the fourth paragraph. What would an arid climate be like?

Pages 14–15: Direct students to the “Impact of Climate Change” timeline on these pages. Ask: Why do you think that the author chose to highlight these particular events?

Now go back to the beginning and read to fi nd out what role climate change played in the collapse of once-great empires.

2 Lesson 20: Climate Change in the PastGrade 6© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company

6_308579_AL_LRTG_L20_climatechange.indd 26_308579_AL_LRTG_L20_climatechange.indd 2 7/24/09 7:59:13 AM7/24/09 7:59:13 AM

ReadHave students read silently while you listen to individual students read aloud. Support their problem solving and fl uency as needed.

Remind students to use the Visualize Strategy as they read, and remind them to use text details to form pictures in their minds of what they are reading.

Discuss and Revisit the TextPersonal ResponseInvite students to share their personal responses to the book. Suggested language: What did you fi nd most interesting about this text?

Ways of ThinkingAs you discuss the text, help students understand these points:

Thinking Within the Text Thinking Beyond the Text Thinking About the Text

• Climate has played an important role in the development of ancient civilizations.

• Some experts believe that shifts in world climates lead to the demise of the Akkadian empire, the Mayan civilization, and the Roman empire.

• By studying changing weather patterns of the past, scientists hope to predict what will happen in the future.

• Present-day human activity can adversely affect the climate of the future.

• The climate change theory originally met much resistance, and only became accepted after other determined scientists analyzed more evidence.

• People need to expect and plan for changes in climate.

• The photographs, maps, and poem offer additional insight into past climate change.

• The timeline depicts the impact of climate change.

• The text style is informative without being scientifi cally overwhelming.

© 2006. Fountas, I.C. & Pinnell, G.S. Teaching for Comprehending and Fluency, Heinemann, Portsmouth, N.H.

Choices for Further Support• Fluency Invite students to recite the poem “Ozymandias” by Percy Bysshe Shelley on

page 10. Remind them to speak with emotion and to stress the end rhymes in the last syllables of verses.

• Comprehension Based on your observations of the students’ reading and discussion, revisit parts of the text to clarify or extend comprehension. Remind students to go back to the text to support their ideas.

• Phonics/Word Work Provide practice as needed with words and word parts, using examples from the text. Explain that the suffi x –ology (archaeology, paleoclimatology), which means “the study of,” comes from the Greek word logia (“to speak”). The –ology suffi x is often joined with the names of scientifi c and other branches of knowledge.



Writing about ReadingCritical ThinkingHave students complete the Critical Thinking questions on BLM 20.9.

RespondingHave students complete the activities at the back of the book, using their Reader’s Notebook. Use the instruction below as needed to reinforce or extend understanding of the comprehension skill.

Target Comprehension SkillMain Ideas and Details

Target Comprehension Skill Have students identify details that support the

main ideas. They should also infer main ideas based on the supporting details in the text. Model how to add details to the Graphic Organizer, using a “Think Aloud” like the one below:

Think Aloud

A volcanic eruption changed the climate of Tell Leilan, making it more arid. Water and food supplies in the south could not support an increased population. These are both details that support the idea that the Akkadian Empire fell due to climate change.

Practice the SkillEncourage students to share their examples of another book that uses main ideas and details to tell about natural disasters that impact people.

Writing Prompt: Thinking About the TextHave students write a response to the writing prompt on page 6. Remind them that when they think beyond the text, they use their personal knowledge to reach new understanding.

Assessment Prompts• What is the author’s purpose for writing this book?

• What does the word opulent mean in the second paragraph on page 15?

• According to the poem on page 10, where does the “shattered visage” of Ozymandias lie?



Critical ThinkingRead and answer the questions.

1. Think within the text What is paleoclimatology?

2. Think within the text What did archaeologist Harvey Weiss discover

about the Akkadian Empire? List one detail that supports his idea.

3. Think beyond the text If human empires can be toppled by

climate changes, then what does that suggest about our role in the

environment?

4. Think about the text Do you agree that climate may have caused the

collapse of the Roman Empire? Explain your answer.

Making Connections Climate change is an important issue right now. If our climate is changing, what problems could that cause for our civilization?

Write your answer in your Reader’s Notebook.

Name Date

Climate Change in the Past

Critical Thinking

Critical Thinking© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Lesson 20B L A C K L I N E M A S T E R 2 0 . 9

Grade 6, Unit 4: Treasures of the Ancient World11

Paleoclimatology is the study of past climates.

Weiss discovered that climate change may have caused its

collapse. Sediment samples revealed that dust storms happened

around the time of its collapse.

Our role should be to control any more damage to the environment

so we won’t be at risk for the same type of downfall.

I agree that climate may have played a part in the collapse of the

Roman Empire. It sounds like the Romans were having many

problems. I think it’s possible that all of these elements combined

caused the fall of the Roman Empire.

Possible responses shown.

20.09_6_246260RNLEAN_Crtl Thk.in11 11 6/22/09 2:29:34 PM

English Language DevelopmentReading Support Make sure the text matches the students’ reading level. Language and content should be accessible with regular teaching support. Have students listen to the audio or online recordings. Remind students that climate changes have had an enormous impact on human history.

Cognates The text includes many cognates. Point out the English words and their Spanish equivalents: maize (maíz), climate (clima), and temperature (temperatura).

Oral Language DevelopmentCheck student comprehension, using a dialogue that best matches your students’ English profi ciency. Speaker 1 is the teacher, Speaker 2 is the student.

Beginning/Early Intermediate Intermediate Early Advanced/ Advanced

Speaker 1: What is the study of past climates called?

Speaker 2: paleoclimatology

Speaker 1: What Egyptian ruler did Percy Bysshe Shelley write a poem about?

Speaker 2: Ozymandias

Speaker 1: Where do scientists obtain ice core samples?

Speaker 2: They get them from mountain tops and polar ice caps.

Speaker 1: How did the Maya successfully farm when rain was scarce?

Speaker 2: They created irrigation systems and waterways to store and carry water.

Speaker 1: What is the difference between weather and climate?

Speaker 2: Weather conditions only last for a brief period of time. Climate is the average weather pattern in a region for a longer period.



Name Date

Climate Change in the PastThinking Beyond the Text

Think about the questions below. Then write your answer in two or three paragraphs.

Remember that when you think beyond the text, you use your personal knowledge to reach new understandings.

On page 4, the author describes how scientists collect data from historical documents and other written observations of weather and climatic changes. Then they use the data to create computer models and estimate past climate conditions.

If you were a scientist, what kinds of written records might you evaluate to collect data? How do these historical sources differ from modern-day observations about the weather? How are they similar?



Critical ThinkingRead and answer the questions.

1. Think within the text What is paleoclimatology?

2. Think within the text What did archaeologist Harvey Weiss discover

about the Akkadian Empire? List one detail that supports his idea.

3. Think beyond the text If human empires can be toppled by

climate changes, then what does that suggest about our role in the

environment?

4. Think about the text Do you agree that climate may have caused the

collapse of the Roman Empire? Explain your answer.

Making Connections Climate change is an important issue right now. If our climate is changing, what problems could that cause for our civilization?

Write your answer in your Reader’s Notebook.

Name Date


Critical Thinking

Lesson 20B L A C K L I N E M A S T E R 2 0 . 9



1414

258

Student Date Lesson 20

B L A C K L I N E M A S T E R 2 0 . 1 3


Running Record Form

Climate Change in the Past LEVEL Y


Behavior Code Error

Read word correctly ✓cat 0

Repeated word, sentence, or phrase

®cat

0

Omission —cat 1

Behavior Code Error

Substitution cutcat 1

Self-corrects cut sccat 0

Insertion the

ˆcat 1

Word told Tcat 1

page Selection Text Errors Self-Corrections

12 For many years, Mayan cities thrived and their populations

grew. Tikal, one of the largest cities, was home to as many as

60,000 people. It had thousands of structures, including

several temple-pyramids that towered more than 200 feet high.

In addition, the Maya created a calendar, a writing system, and

mathematics that included the concept of zero.

The Maya also developed complicated irrigation systems and

waterways to store and transport water during times when

meager amounts of rain would not support farming. The Maya

became very successful at farming their land.

Comments: Accuracy Rate (# words read

correctly/93 × 100)

%

Total Self- Corrections


LESSON 20 TEACHER’S GUIDE Climate Change in...

Documents

Transcript of LESSON 20 TEACHER’S GUIDE Climate Change in...