Common Core State Standard L.CCS.1/2/3/4 Grades 6-12: Video of a current news event is presented for discussion to encourage student participation, but also inspire the use of evidence to support logical claims using the main ideas of the video. Students must analyze background information provided about a current event, draw out the main ideas and key details, and review different opinions on the issue. Then, students should present their own claims using facts and analysis for support.
08/13/2018
July was California's hottest month on record
California just sweltered through its hottest month ever recorded. July 2018 was the hottest of all, with an average statewide temperature of 79.7 degrees, the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration said. And, Death Valley had an average July temperature of 108.1 degrees – an all-time high temperature record for any weather station in the world. The heat was a major player in the deadly fires that have had the state under siege the past few weeks.
■Class discussion: Do the continuing reports of record-breaking heat surprise you anymore? How many of the years since 2000 have broken heat records? What do you expect the weather to be like in 20 years? A group of scientists recently said that it is probably too late to prevent a dramatic increase world temperatures over the next centuries. Do you think humanity can find a way to cope with a hotter world? Do you think we can do something to reverse the rising temperatures?