When we decided to feature this story, we had no idea that several devastating hurricanes would impact the United States. If you’re looking for ways to process these disasters with your students, consider this hopeful poem from Storyworks.
ART BY TONYA ENGEL
Wind
In this dramatic and moving tale, students will understand how the main character learns that tough times can bring people together.
By Roland Smith
From the December 2017 / January 2018 Issue
Learning Objective: In this dramatic and moving tale, students will understand how the main character learns that tough times can bring people together.
Lexile: 520L
Guided Reading Level: N
DRA Level: 28
Featured Skill:
Plot,
Topic:
Natural Disasters,
Common Core Standards
TEKS Standards
Audio
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Activities
(5)
Download All Quizzes and Activities
Reading Kit
Skills Activities
Quizzes
(1)
Answer Key
(1)
Can’t-Miss Teaching Extras
Processing Disasters
Ant Invasion
In a strange coincidence, the illustrator of this story, Tonya Engel, was just finishing her artwork when Hurricane Harvey struck her hometown of Houston, Texas. Luckily, her family and her home were not hurt. But she shared with us one of the most bizarre parts of the experience: Massive colonies of red fire ants were floating around Houston—having been flooded out of their own “homes”—and ended up in people’s houses. Engel says the ants infested her home and climbed into the beds!
Animals in Need
Many family pets were impacted by the severe weather we’ve had. Your students won’t forget this heartwarming video of a special family in Texas who were able to rescue their pet pig.
Hurricane Heavy Hitters
Some places are more prone to hurricanes than others due to their geographical location. This news article will provide your students with the top 5 states that are most likely to be affected by hurricane season, with key facts about each one.
Helping Those in Need
Check out this story of how one Storyworks class was moved to take action after reading about the effects of Hurricane Harvey. We connected them to another Storyworks class in Texas, and the partnership between these two classes will be sure to inspire your students!
More About the Article
Key Skills
plot, how a character changes, key details, inference, author’s purpose, text features
Step-by-Step Lesson Plan
1. PREPARING TO READ
Preview Text Features (10 minutes)
• Direct students to the illustration on page 15, and invite them to study it. Ask: Based on the illustration, where do you think this girl lives? Why? What is she doing? How do you think she feels? Point out the subheads and the Pause and Think boxes at the end of each section. Explain that the questions in these boxes will help students better understand the story.
Set a Purpose for Reading
• We have created a fiction package that helps students focus on one important aspect of the story—in this case, identifying the series of events, or the plot, in the story. The tasks in the Think and Read and Think and Write boxes work together to support this skill focus. Have one student read the task in each box.
• Read aloud the first Pause and Think box on page 14. These questions will check basic comprehension. (Students will delve into higher-level work with the close-reading questions, available here.)
Introduce Vocabulary (15 minutes)
• This story includes five vocabulary words highlighted in bold: sandstorm, sway, batter, document, and permanent.
• The words are defined at the bottom of the column in which they appear. Discuss the meanings of the words, looking at how they are used in the story to help students further understand them.
• Distribute our vocabulary activity for more practice with these words.
2. CLOSE READING
Reading and Unpacking the Text
• First read: Students should read the story through one time for general comprehension. Whether your students read as a class, in small groups, or independently, ask them to answer the Pause and Think questions along the way.
• Second read: Project or distribute the close-reading and critical-thinking questions. (For struggling readers, you can distribute the sheet of Pause and Think questions.) Preview them as a class.
• Have students read the story again, pausing to answer the questions.
Close-Reading Questions (30 minutes)
• Why do you think the title of the story is “Wind”? Why do you think the letters are so large? (author’s purpose; text features) The title is about the strong winds that come before the hurricane and the soft winds after the storm that remind her of her dad. Answers will vary; students may suggest that the letters are big because hurricanes have huge winds and cause big problems.
• In the beginning of the story, why does Annie write to her father that all is well in their new home when it’s not? Why does she do the same when they speak? (inference) Annie doesn’t want to worry her father, who is in the Army and stationed a long way from Florida.
• In “Dealing With the Damage,” what happens after a breeze blows and Annie smells her father’s scent? (plot) Annie remembers what he told her about a little bit of him being in the wind. It gives her the courage to overcome her shyness and speak to Mr. Jenson.
• Why do the neighbors come to Annie’s house first? (key details) After hurricanes, the community always helps the people whose homes are most damaged first. Annie’s home was in the worst condition.
• Why are Annie and her mother surprised when Mr. Jenson says “we”? What do they realize at this moment? (plot) They are surprised because they thought they would have to deal with the hurricane’s damage on their own. But they realize they are not alone. The community will help them.
Critical-Thinking Question (10 minutes)
• At the end of the story, Annie and her mother finally talk to their new neighbors. What happened that changed Annie and her mother? (how a character changes) Annie and her mother were all alone and in the dark as the hurricane battered their home. They were afraid. But their neighbors reach out to them. The hurricane has shown them how important it is to be part of the community, so this time when their neighbors offer help, they gratefully accept.
3. SKILL BUILDING
Plot
• Call on a volunteer to read aloud the Think and Write box at the bottom of page 15.
• Distribute our Fiction Reading Kit, which focuses on key reading skills, including our featured skill, plot. Have students work in small groups to complete it.
Differentiate and Customize
For Independent Readers
As students read each section, have them label with a sticky note the main emotion(s) the characters in the story feel. First discuss some possible emotions, including nervous, scared, relieved, sad, and happy.
For Whole Class
With the students, create a list of the things the people in Annie’s community did to help her and her mother after the hurricane. Discuss with students how they might help (or did help) those affected by storms like hurricanes Harvey and Irma.
For Struggling Readers
With students, reread the story. Ask students to point out Annie’s sensory experiences in the story. What did Annie see? What did she hear? What did she smell? What did she taste? What did she feel?
For Advanced Readers
As students read the story on their own, they can use sticky notes to mark moments in the plot where the story would have changed if the character had made a different choice. Would things have gotten better? Or worse?
For On Level Readers
Think And Write
Pretend you’re Annie. Write a one-page letter to your dad about what happened during the hurricane and how you and your mom have changed. Be sure to include details from the story in your letter.
Text-to-Speech