To be used with the May 1, 2017, issue
Edition 3
Reading a Bar Graph
Common Core RI.3.7
Name: ___________________________________________
Tornado Tally
Source: www.spc.noaa.gov
*
De
c
em
be
r
*
er
mb
ve
Oc
tob
er
No
Se
pte
mb
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gu
st
Au
Jul
y
e
Jun
y
Ma
il
Ap
r
Ma
rch
ary
Jan
ua
Fe
br
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Month
*Preliminary reports
1. In which month did the most tornadoes occur? ___________________________________________
2. In which two months did the fewest tornadoes occur? ___________________________________
3.According to the graph, how many tornadoes formed in October? ___________________
4. About how many tornadoes formed in all during March, April, and May? _______________
5.When did the number of tornadoes decrease, or go down, for three months straight?
 January, February, March
C August, September, October
B March, April, May
D June, July, August
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Tornadoes in the U.S. (2016)
220
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190
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140
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90
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Number of Tornadoes
In the United States, most tornadoes strike during spring and the early summer months.
The bar graph below shows about how many tornadoes touched down in the U.S. last year.
Use the graph to answer the questions that follow it.
To be used with the May 1, 2017, issue
Edition 3
Name _______________________________________ Date ____________________________
Close-Reading Questions
Refer
to this week’s cover story, “Taking On Tornadoes,” to respond to the
questions below. Reread the article to find details that support your answers.
Remember to write in complete sentences.
1. In the article, which details describe who the title “Taking On Tornadoes” is
talking about?
2. According to the article, why are tornadoes some of nature’s most destructive
forces?
4. According to the article, how does the artificial tornado differ from a real
twister?
5.
How does the photograph on page 2 help support the description of the
tornado simulator?
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3. How does the tornado simulator create artificial twisters?
To be used with the May 1, 2017, issue
Edition 3
Name _______________________________ Date _________________________
Be a Quiz Whiz!
For each question below, fill in the circle next to the correct answer.
1.“Taking On Tornadoes” is written as a(n)
___.
A story
B how-to
C interview
D biographical profile
2.According to the article, which of the
following is an example of debris?
A tubes C sensors
B winds D fallen branches
  6.According to “Place in the News,” African
zebras and wildebeests ___.
A travel northwest to find water and
grass
B t ravel south to find water and grass
C won’t cross rivers to avoid crocodiles
D take part in an 1,800-mile-long race
  7.In “Photo Find,” the photograph of Harriet
Tubman is special because ___.
A it's the only known photo of her as a
younger woman
through houses.”
B “Tornadoes have very high winds.”
C “That wind creates a lot of flying debris,
like tree branches.”
D “There’s also suction at the center of a
tornado.”
4.Which statement would Partha Sarkar most
likely agree with?
A The only way to learn about a tornado is
to be in one.
B There are no buildings that can really
stand up to a tornado.
C Simulations can be helpful since they are
exactly like tornadoes.
D It’s important to study tornadoes to
understand how they can affect objects
on the ground.
5.Which word(s) from the article helps you
understand what suction means?
A simulator
C cylinder
B vacuum cleaner
D vortex
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B it was the first photo ever taken
C Tubman was born in the 1800s
D it was found in an old photo album
  8.Which detail from the article best supports
your answer to question 7?
A “. . . Tubman posed for it in a studio . . .”
B “Most people have never seen it!”
C “. . . recently got a lot of attention.”
D “Harriet Tubman was a leader . . .”
  9.In “Strange But True,” the cause of the
lake’s pink color in March is ___.
A salty water
C pigment from algae
B bubble gum D h
ot, dry weather
10.The map in “Top Twister States” shows that
___.
A tornadoes occur in only about 8 of the
50 states each year
B most of the tornadoes occur in the
central part of the U.S. each year
C each state has about the same number
of tornadoes each year
D tornadoes do the same amount of
damage in each state every year
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© 2017 by Scholastic Inc. Teachers may make copies of this page to distribute to their students.
3.Which detail best describes how damaging
tornadoes can be?
A “They can topple trees, flip cars, and rip
To be used with the May 1, 2017, issue
Edition 3
Name: ___________________________________________
Domain-Specific Vocabulary
Common Core RI.3.4
Tornado Terms
You learned some domain-specific words in “Taking On Tornadoes.” Choose two from the
word bank below. For each, write down the word’s definition. Then draw an illlustration
that represents the word. Finally, write your own sentence with the word.
Word Bank
• debris
• destructive
• rotating
• suction
• twister
• vortex
My word: ____________________________________________________
DefinitionIllustration
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My Sentence
My word: ____________________________________________________
DefinitionIllustration
My Sentence
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Insert Dummy Text
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