Guiding Comprehension

Compare/Contrast • Critical

Text to World What is the
hottest temperature ever
recorded in your home state? What is the coldest? How
does this compare or contrast
to the places you read about
on pp. 46–47?

Responses will vary.

Ask Questions • Critical

Ask yourself one question about what you have read so far. Look for the answers in the text or in outside sources if necessary.

Questions will vary. Allow students to look for answers outside the selection, such as on the Internet or in school textbooks.

Summarize • Inferential

What is the selection about so far?

The selection compares and contrasts how things are in different parts of the world. We have learned about the longest rivers, biggest lakes, and hottest and coldest places.

STRATEGY SELF-CHECK

Ask Questions

Good readers ask questions as they read. They know that this helps them better understand what they are reading.

As you read, ask yourself questions
that compare and contrast the
information in the text, such as "How
are these things alike? How are they different?" You should also ask yourself how what you are reading compares or contrasts to what you already know about the topic.

SELF-CHECK

Students can ask themselves these questions to assess their ability to use the skill and strategy.

What questions do I have about
the selection?
Are my questions about
similarities and differences?
What did I already know about
the topic?
How does what I already know
compare to what I read?

then… revisit
the skill lesson
on pp. 36–37. Reteach as necessary.

If… students are unable to compare and contrast information,

Compare and Contrast

Check Prediction Check your predictions from p. 40. Was your prediction accurate? Revise your old prediction or make a new prediction about the rest of the selection.

If you want to teach this selection in two sessions, stop here.

"Hottest, Coldest, Highest, Deepest"
by Steve Jenkins

Student Edition
Unit 4, pp. 40–53

Expository nonfiction gives information about the real world. Look for numbers that help you understand the facts in this Snapshot.

Earth has a lot of places that are record holders. You can find the driest deserts or wettest rain forests. You can find the highest mountain peak or the deepest ocean trench. Take a look at some of Earth's extremes!
Russia boasts the deepest lake. In one place, its Lake Baikal goes down 5,134 feet. At about 25 million years old, Baikal is also the oldest lake on Earth. Lake Superior is the largest of the five Great Lakes in North America. At nearly 32,000 square miles, it is Earth's largest freshwater lake. Though Lake Superior is about six times bigger than Lake Baikal, Lake Baikal holds a lot more water. In fact, Lake Baikal holds more water than all of the Great Lakes put together!
At 4,145 miles long, the Nile in Africa is Earth's longest river. But it doesn't hold the most river water. That honor goes to the second-longest river. South America's Amazon is 4,007 miles long and carries about 50 percent of all the river water on Earth. (The Yangtze River in Asia is the third-longest river, and the Mississippi-Missouri is the fourth.)
The peak of Mount Everest reaches 29,028 feet above sea level. It is Earth's highest mountain completely above the sea. Mauna Kea in Hawaii is really taller. But most of this mountain is under the sea. Only 13,796 feet of its 33,476 feet are above water. The deepest place on Earth is far below the Pacific Ocean. The Mariana Trench reaches a depth of 36,202 feet. The lowest spot on dry land is the shore of the Dead Sea, where it is 1,100 feet below sea level.
The very hottest place on Earth is in the Sahara Desert in Libya, North Africa. A temperature of over 136°F has been recorded there. The coldest place is in Vostok, Antarctica. It dipped down to a freezing -129°F there. The windiest place is at the top of Mount Washington in New Hampshire, where wind has reached 231 miles an hour. It is also very windy near the tops of the Himalayas, the world's tallest mountains.
South America has both the wettest and the driest places. Tutunendo, in Colombia, is really wet. It gets an average rainfall of 463 inches every year. Chile's Atacama Desert is the driest. It hasn't had any rain for 400 years!
Of all the waterfalls, Angel Falls in Venezuela is the highest. At 3,212 feet, it is almost eighteen times higher than the well-known Niagara Falls. Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe, Africa, has the most water.
If you want to watch the tides, go to Canada's Bay of Fundy. Four times a day, the water rises and falls more than 50 feet. The tide there is really fast. Have a little fun when you visit--try to race the tide. Can you outrun it?
These are just a few of Earth's record holders. There are a lot more on our amazing planet!



	Close
	PRACTICE LESSON VOCABULARY Read the sentences below aloud. Elicit a vocabulary word from students to complete each sentence. Some of the hottest temperatures have been recorded in the (desert). Another way to say rain or snowfall is (precipitation). BUILD CONCEPT VOCABULARY Review previous concept words with students. Ask if students have met any words today in their reading or elsewhere that they would like to add to the Concept Web.

"Hottest, Coldest, Highest, Deepest" by Steve Jenkins

"Hottest, Coldest, Highest, Deepest"
by Steve Jenkins