v    Daily Forecast

     "Experiencing life on a farm with Max was fascinating, as was traveling across the U.S.A.; so many states, so little time.  Now we are going to find out about weather in our country.  Did you know that Florida is the lightning capital of the United States?  Read on and find out more."

Volume Four

The Wonderful World of Weather

v     What causes weather?  Miami Max will help you explore weather wonders and interesting facts about the weather in our country.

Our Wacky Weather

Did you know that:

v      Lightning can strike as far as 10 miles away from a storm?

v      You can tell how far lightning struck by counting seconds between the flash and thunder.  Every 5 seconds equals 1 mile.

v      Both women’s and men’s names are used when naming a hurricane. One name for each letter of the alphabet is selected, except Q, U and Z.

v      Swimming is not cool when there is a thunderstorm around.

Let’s find out more about the weather…

Do you know what causes thunderstorms? 

If you want to find out, go to Web Weather for Kids.

Do you know that the weather is different all over the United States?  To read more, visit Web Weather for Kids, too.  

Hurricane Knowledge

If you want to read more about hurricanes, go to Hurricanes.

Or go play some games at weather watch.  Weather Watch.

Once you know it all try taking a hurricane quiz, go to Quiz.

Weather Safety Tips From Max

Boys and girls remember that lightning can be very dangerous.  Visit this site to learn more about how to stay safe during lightning storms.

Lightning and Lightning, Too.

Featured Author – Jack Prelutsky

Jack Prelutsky was born in Brooklyn, New York.  He is the author of many poetry books for children. As a child, he enjoyed books about Robin Hood and King Arthur.  Some of his favorite pastimes include photography, carpentry and creating games and collages.  If you want to find more information about this author, visit Jack Prelutsky.

Featured book: The New Kid on the Block by Jack Prelutsky

Featured Poem: Louder than a Clap of Thunder

This book contains more than 100 poems with awesome illustrations about strange creatures and people such as the Gloopy Gloopers and Baloney Belly Billy. If you want to read his feature poem go to Jack's Poem.

If you want to read other poems by Jack Prelutsky, go to More Poems by Jack.  

Now that you know about the weather, why don’t you try writing your own poem about the weather?  Our featured poet has a site that will help you write your own poem.  Go to Write my own poem. 

If you enjoy reading funny poems, go to Funny Poems.

Project: A Hurricane of a Project

Now you have learned about all types of storms. Since you know that hurricane season started June 1 and continues until November 30, your project for this volume is to get your family ready.  You will write a preparedness packet. It should include:

·         Where should your family go, available shelter

·         What to do with your pet

·         List of items you should have at home

·         Escape route

·         How to secure your home

Remember, you will be working on this project for several days and you will share it during the final celebration.

Enjoy reading other books about weather:

v     Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs by Judi Barrett

v     Magic School Bus Kicks up a Storm by Joanna Cole & Bruce Degen

v     The kids book of weather forecasting and build a weather station, “read” the sky, and make predictions by Mark Breen

v     Simple weather experiments with everyday materials by Madell Muriel

A Whirlwind of Phonics

Now that you are an expert in phonics, why don’t you try some activities with r-controlled and soft and hard c? Go to Practice. 

Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs

Now that you have read the book, how about doing some activities. Try answering the following questions about clouds. Go to Clouds.  

How about alphabetizing some words found in the book? Go to Alphabet.

You may even do some word problems with this book.  Go to Word Problems.

If you have time, maybe your teacher will let you try some more activities, go to Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs.

Focus on the FCAT

Answer the following questions based on the poem Louder than a Clap of Thunder.

1.        What is the main idea of this poem?

2.       What is the meaning of the word clap in the following sentence?

Louder Than a Clap of Thunder,

3.       According to the author, how does a snore compare to a dozen football teams? Use details and information from the poem to support your answer.

Also, don’t forget to check out this site:

www.fcatexplorer.com