Maggie’s
Activity Pack
Name __________________________
Date ___________________________
Compounding Our Atmosphere Troubles!
Horrible hurricanes, terrible tornadoes,
flash floods…severe storms seem to be
everywhere. Why is this? Let’s find out what is
COMPOUNDING our weather problems. These
sentences will help you to learn more about our
atmosphere. You can combine many of the
thoughts. Good writers often do this to make their
writing sound better.
1. There is a blanket of gas around the Earth. This is called the atmosphere.
Write one sentence. Start it with the word, the.
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2. There are four major layers. The troposphere is one layer. The stratosphere is another
layer. The mesosphere is a third layer. The thermosphere is the fourth layer.
Write one sentence. List the layers and be sure to add commas to the items in the series.
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3. Our atmosphere contains gases. Nitrogen, oxygen, and argon are some of these gases.
Write one sentence.
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© Maggie's Earth Adventures, LLC 2007. Teachers may reproduce for classroom use.
4. Greenhouse gases are also in our atmosphere. These are a problem.
Write one sentence.
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5. People are putting more carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. This is changing Earth’s
climate.
Put these two sentences together. Do not add or take away any words. Just remove the period
and add a comma. When you have two sentences with both a subject and verb on both sides
of a word like and, you need to put a comma before and. Words like but and or are also
conjunctions that help you combine sentences. These are called compound sentences.
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You can make compound sentences from some of these sentence pairs. For others, you
may put the sentences together by taking away the subject in the second sentence. Do NOT
use a comma then.
6. Cars burn fossil fuels. This puts more carbon dioxide into our atmosphere.
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7. Greenhouse gases surround Earth. They trap the sun’s rays in the atmosphere.
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8. Greenhouse gases trap heat. This makes our planet warmer.
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9. Most scientists believe that our changing climate is because greenhouse gases are trapping
heat on Earth. They believe there are things we can do to help.
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© Maggie's Earth Adventures, LLC 2007. Teachers may reproduce for classroom use.
Dear Colleague,
We know most of you are swamped with all the requirements of your mandated
curricula. We also know that many of you want to teach global responsibilities along with
specific skills. This activity is the perfect springboard for just that endeavor! You can work on
those specific writing skills while highlighting atmospheric layers and the science behind global
climate change. To follow-up the climate ideas in this activity, we suggest you ask children to
write sentences about all the positive ways they can help to alleviate the constant spewing of
carbon dioxide into our atmosphere. Take a peek at the National Wildlife Federation’s (did you
know our Executive Director, Mason Bryant Howard, is a member of their board?) climate
change activities found at www.ClimateClassroom.org. Here you will find many simple, yet
productive ways that even children can help the planet. Why not make a list and check in with
your class during the year to see how many of them are being addressed on a long-term
basis? You can even see if your class can take a leadership role in your school to make
changes – how many schoolchildren does it take to screw in a fluorescent light bulb? Perhaps
just one, especially if administrators find out how much the electric bill will diminish! Let us
know what your children are doing!
To extend the grammar activity, try a variation on the Word Hunt, but this time call it a
sentence hunt. Have groups of children pour through their new textbooks to find examples of
compound sentences. This serves two purposes: you’ll heighten awareness of compound
sentences and it is a wonderful way to introduce students to the text. And, we all know the
power of previewing in helping to expand comprehension skills.
For a plethora of material on fossil fuels, climate change, and the positive steps
companies are taking to ensure a cleaner world, please visit both our Archive section (feebased) and our free unit in the Teachers’ Lounge, “You Must Be Choking.”
Happy teaching,
Kathy
Suggested Answers:
1. The atmosphere is a blanket of gas around the Earth. OR There is a blanket of gas around
the earth called the atmosphere.
2. The four major layers are the troposphere, the stratosphere, the mesosphere, and the
thermosphere.
3. Our atmosphere contains nitrogen, oxygen, and argon.
4. Greenhouse gases are a problem in our atmosphere.
5. People are putting more carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, and this is changing Earth’s
climate.
6. Cars burn fossil fuels, and this puts more carbon dioxide into our atmosphere.
7. Greenhouse gases surround Earth and trap the sun’s rays in the atmosphere.
8. Greenhouse gases trap heat, and this makes our planet warmer. Or more advanced
students may write, Greenhouse gases make our planet warmer by trapping heat.
9. Most scientists believe that our changing climate is because greenhouse gases are trapping
heat on Earth, but they believe there are things we can do to help.
Goals:
Students will read sentences about Earth’s atmosphere and global climate change. They will combine
these sentences. Directions include how to write compound sentences. This activity is available on both
the primary and intermediate levels. It correlates with the IRA/NCTE Standard, “Students apply
knowledge of language structure, language conventions (e.g., spelling and punctuation), media
techniques, figurative language, and genre to create, critique, and discuss print and nonprint texts.”
© Maggie's Earth Adventures, LLC 2007. Teachers may reproduce for classroom use.