Flying Into the Eye of a Storm
Vicki Cobb

​Vicki Cobb is a master of asking great questions.  After all, that's what it takes to be a great science writer.  She is curious about all sorts of things.  Take a look at the questions she asked the Hurricane Hunter.  Would these be your questions too?  

English/Language Arts
Explore nonfiction text structures

• Have students explore the connection between the type of information they want to present and the text structure they choose.  Look at the organization of this article.  There is a question and answer format embedded in a descriptive narrative.  Have students discuss alternative organizational structures for informational texts.  Experiment with writing about hurricanes in a sequential structure - what question(s) would drive that choice?  Try the same thing with a cause/effect structure.  What questions would make that structure a good choice?  Problem/solution?  Compare/contrast?

STEM
Explore the nature of energy

• Use the article as a jumping off point to explore the nature of energy and look at other questions surrounding the phenomenon of hurricanes.  Explore questions like
  • How do hurricanes form?
  • How can we build structures that withstand hurricanes
  • Are the strength and frequency of hurricanes changing over time?
  • Is there a connection between climate changes and hurricanes?
    

Explore measurement and scale

• Take a closer look at the Saffir-Simpson scale.  Does this scale make sense for measuring hurricanes?  Could a different scale be developed?  Are there scales for other natural disasters?  How do they compare?​

Research Skills
Explore Note Taking skills

• Work on note taking skills from visuals by having students gather information from the cut-away graphic at the bottom of the article.

Explore questioning skills

• The author asks some basic questions about hurricanes.  Generate some more in-depth questions generated from the provided answers.

Explore using search strategies and note-taking to develop research focus

• Search hurricanes and have students track their choices.  Map how following interests can result in focus [Ex: hurricanes → hurricane Irma→ cost of clean-up]

© Karen Sterling, 2017 - May be used for educational purposes without written permission