Connect Reading and Writing

Vocabulary

  • areas

  • atmosphere

  • feature

  • glaciers

  • melting

  • reefs

  • soil

  • temperature

Critical Thinking

  • 1. SUM IT UP Create a word card for each vocabulary word. Then use at least five words to summarize what is happening to Earth as a result of the glaciers melting.

    Illustration of three index cards, each with a vocabulary word printed on it

  • 2. Explain Revisit the KWL Chart you made on page 592. Write what you learned about global warming in the L column. How are Earth’s features affected? Discuss your completed chart with classmates.

  • 3. Speculate If the glaciers continue to melt, how might this affect the Earth’s atmosphere in the future? What might happen to living things?

  • 4. Paraphrase In your own words, explain to a partner how a change in temperature can affect a reef. Use the text to support your ideas.

Reading Fluency

Phrasing Read the passage on page 670 to a partner. Assess your fluency.

  • 1. I read

    • a. great

    • b. OK

    • c. not very well

  • 2. What I did best in my reading was ______.

Reading Strategy

Synthesize

What ideas from “Handle with Care” and “Melting Away” did you combine? Discuss your conclusions with a partner.

Vocabulary Review

Oral Review Read the paragraph aloud. Add the vocabulary words.

People are worried that Earth’s ______ is rising. Gases in the ______ aren’t protecting us like they used to. Large covered by ice sheets, or ______, are ______ and becoming smaller. Coral ______ are dying because of the heat. They are an important ______ of the ocean. If the ocean is heating up, that means the ______ is getting warmer, too.

Written Review Imagine you live in a future in which the glaciers have all melted. Write a letter to the people of the past. Tell them about your world and how they need to change their actions. Use five vocabulary words.

Illustration of the pen icon Write About the Guiding Question

Explore Why Earth Is Changing

Why are melting glaciers and dying reefs warnings? Write your opinion. Reread the selection to find support for your opinion.