This resource on hot-air balloons is suitable for high school students as well as strong middle school students. Tackle literacy and science by having your students read and answer questions from a scientific article. Questions include knowledge (direct from the paper), thinking, connecting, application, and open-ended varieties.
If you're interested, I'd be happy to send you a copy of this resource.
Where should I send it?
No prep, no formatting, no issues. Simply download, print (or upload to your class site), and you’re all set.
This resource covers the following topics:
– Pressure, volume, and temperature
– Early hot-air balloons
– How do hot-air balloons work?
– Balloon launch
– Balloon controls
– Balloon landing
The Problem You Face
Not having the time to properly teach scientific literacy (disciplinary literacy) or improve your students reading comprehension and analysis skills.
The Solution
This fully editable, NO PREP reading comprehension article is composed of relevant, applicable and engaging reading activities which can be used to:
• introduce your topic
• improve your students reading comprehension and scientific literacy skills
• improve your students’ analysis skills
• provide an extension activity to students who move at a faster pace
• provide extra credit to students in need
• measure your students literacy skills
Furthermore, this resource works very well as an emergency substitute plan as it will keep your students on task and focused while you are away.
This resource will take your students between 50-75 minutes to complete and includes some open-ended questions. An answer key is also included for your reference.
How this product will help your students:
– Improve their scientific and disciplinary literacy skills
– Improve their reading comprehension and scientific knowledge
– Give them insights into important scientific concepts
– Provide an extension activity for your faster moving/more gifted students
How this product will help you:
– Allow you to meet the NGSS, TEKS and Common Core Standards
– Provide you with a concise introduction to your topic
– Provide you with an engaging and easy to leave substitute plan which will keep your students engaged and on task
– Prove you a means of measuring your students’ literacy skills
We don’t spend enough time teaching scientific literacy to our students. This is either because we don’t have the resources to do so effectively or we don’t have the time. However, teaching our students to become scientifically literate is vital if we want them to succeed in life. We need them to know about the world they live in and about the issues they face. Even issues as simple as the common cold are misunderstood and can lead to the misuse of antibacterial drugs eventually rendering them ineffective.
It can be used as a tool in your teaching arsenal on a regular basis, an extension activity for your faster learners, left for a substitute in an emergency or planned absence or as an extra bit of information for a topic.
If you're interested, I'd be happy to send you a copy of this resource.

