Ysmael Villegas Middle School Article of the Week 1 Lexile 820
First and Last Name: __________________________________
Teacher’s Name: _____________________________________
Course Name and Period: ______________________________
Date (Day Month Year): _______________________________
Instructions:
Annotate the article.
Write an IVF summary.
Answer the prompt with a constructed response.
The Basics:
Write legibly!
Use a blue or black pen!
Answer the prompt in the
constructed response!
Cite your evidence!
Write in complete sentences!
Pay attention to punctuation,
spelling, and capital letters!
Wildfires made worse: Ten climate change factors that
affect fires By Agence France-Presse, adapted by Newsela staff 8/14/18
This summer, wildfires have been making the news. They have scorched large areas of Europe in
Portugal and Spain. In the United States, they have also hit northern California especially hard.
Scientists are studying why recent fires have been so severe. They are also raising concerns that
climate change is making them worse.
Other factors have also contributed to the destructive fire season. They include the building of
homes in wooded areas and bad forest management. Poor planning has increased how often
wildfires start and how much damage they cause.
"The patient was already sick," said David Bowman about wildfire conditions. Bowman is a
professor of environmental change biology at Australia's University of Tasmania. He is also a
wildfire expert. Climate change, though, is making things worse, he said.
Climate Getting Hotter, Drier
Any firefighter can tell you the recipe for "fire weather": hot, dry and windy. There is no surprise,
then, where this surge in wildfires has been taking place. It is happening in tropical and temperate
regions that are seeing higher temperatures and more droughts.
Christopher Williams is the leader of environmental sciences at Clark University. He said climate
change is creating "more flammable ecosystems." In other words, drier regions and higher
temperatures are making more intense fires.
These areas include those in Europe near the Mediterranean Sea. Countries such as France and
Portugal are experiencing harsh fires. In the last 20 years, they have seen several severe droughts.
Previously, such droughts were expected to occur only once a century.
More Fuel For Fires
Dry weather means more dead trees, shrubs and grass. These dry plants create more fuel for more
fire, said Michel Vennetier. He is an engineer at France's National Research of Science and
Technology for Environment and Agriculture (IRSTEA). "That's an ideal combustible," he said.
New Plant Species
To make matters worse, new plant species are taking over these places. They include rosemary, wild
lavender, thyme and other plants that prefer dry conditions. They are also more flammable, said
Vennetier.
Thirstier Plants
My thoughts, reactions, and
questions as I read:
Rising temperatures and less rain also affect how plants behave. Thirsty trees and shrubs send roots
deeper into the soil. They suck up every drop of water they can reach. That means needed water has
been taken from the ground. Moisture that might have helped slow a wildfire is no longer there.
Longer Fire Seasons
Earth's temperate zone lies between the tropical and polar regions. In the past, fire seasons in the
northern hemisphere's temperate zone were shorter. In most places, fire seasons there were in July
and August.
In recent years, fire seasons have grown longer. Today, they might last from June to October, said
Thomas Curt. Curt is another scientist at IRSTEA. In California, a five-year drought only recently
ended. Some experts now say parts of that state no longer have a fire season at all. Wildfires can
now happen year round.
More Lightning
"The warmer it gets, the more lightning you have," said Mike Flannigan. Flannigan is a professor at
the University of Alberta, Canada. "Especially in the northern areas, that translates into more fires."
Worldwide, he notes, 95 percent of wildfires are started by humans.
Changing Wind Patterns
Normal weather patterns over North America and Eurasia depend heavily on the powerful, highaltitude air currents. The air currents are called jet streams. They are made by two air currents. One
comes from where the equator is. The other comes from the North Pole or the South Pole.
But global warming has raised temperatures in the Arctic. They are rising twice as fast as the global
average. This has weakened the wind currents.
Flannigan said the rising temperatures have led to blocked ridges. Blocked ridges are areas in the
current where the air sinks, "getting warmer and drier along the way."
More Intense Fires
Climate change increases the chances of wildfires. The drier, hotter weather also increases their
intensity as well, making them burn hotter and faster. According to Flannigan, once a fire gets too
intense it is almost impossible for firefighters to put it out. "It's like spitting on a campfire," he
said.
Beetles Killing Trees
With rising temperatures, beetles have moved northward into Canada's boreal forests. They are
killing trees along the way. "Bark beetle outbreaks temporarily increase forest flammability by
increasing the amount of dead material, such as needles," said Williams.
More Carbon, More Trapped Heat
Globally, forests hold about 45 percent of Earth's carbon on land. They soak up about 25 percent of
human greenhouse gas emissions. These gases absorb heat from the sun. They trap it in Earth's
atmosphere.
As forests die and burn, some of their carbon is released into the air. The released carbon traps even
more heat in the atmosphere. Scientists refer to this cause-and-effect loop as"positive feedback."
IVF Summary Method
Step 1: Use this three-column graphic organizer to plan your topic sentence. It should state the main idea of the
article or story.
Identify the Text (title and author)
Select a Verb
Finish the Thought
Step 2: Assemble what you have written in Step 1 into a complete sentence. This is the topic sentence of your
paragraph: ________________________________________________________________________________
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_
Step 3: Write a list of main events or details that support your topic sentence. Write four.
a. _______________________________________________________________________________________
b. _______________________________________________________________________________________
c. _______________________________________________________________________________________
d. _______________________________________________________________________________________
Step 4: Write a concluding sentence: __________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________.
Step 5: Copy everything you have written from Step 2 through Step 4 to write your paragraph, and don’t
change anything. Just assemble it all together to make it look like a regular paragraph.
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What
are two environmental factors that make fires worse?
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Cite evidence (identify who or what supplied the facts you are using) to support your answer. Refer to the article for your facts.
. _________________________________________________________________________________________
TS (Topic
Sentence) rephrases the question into a statement, and answers it:----_______________________________________________________
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Evidence
Fact #1: a cited fact that helps prove your topic sentence: (Transition), in the section “_______________________________”, the article
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states
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Explanation #1a: write one reason why you think Fact #1 helps prove your topic sentence: (Transition),
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Explanation
#1b write another reason, or explain further, why you think Fact #1 helps prove your topic sentence: (Transition), ________________
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citation here: Author and Page Number_______________________).
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Evidence Fact #2: another cited fact that helps prove your topic sentence : (Transition), in the section “_______________________________”, the
article states ________________________________________________________________________________________________________(Write
your in-text citation here: Author and Page Number_______________________).
Explanation #2a: one reason why Fact #2 helps prove your topic sentence: (Transition), _______________________________________________
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Explanation #2b: another reason, or more explanation, why Fact #2 helps prove your topic sentence: (Transition), __________________________
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CS (Concluding Sentence) tells us what is important about this paragraph and gives it a strong finish.______________________________________
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Now, assemble all of the parts of your constructed response to make a coherent paragraph. Highlight the sections of your
answer with four different colors (topic, facts, explanations, conclusion).
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