Lesson Plan - The Race Against the Sea

Build Knowledge and Vocabulary 

Before reading the article, direct students to close their eyes and imagine the following scene: Picture your hometown—your house, neighborhood, and school. Now imagine it 100 years from now, underwater. Direct students to open their eyes. Explain that this is a real fear for many island nation residents because of rising sea levels. Invite students to share what they know about climate change and rising sea levels. Then use the skill builder Words to Know to preteach domain-specific terms from the article. 

Read the Article

Read the article aloud or have students read it independently or in pairs. As students read, direct them to circle or highlight any words whose meanings they are unsure of.

Answer Close-Reading Questions

Have students write their responses, or use the Close-Reading Questions to guide a discussion.

• How is climate change threatening small island nations? (Cause and Effect)
Climate change is threatening small island nations by warming oceans and causing sea ice and glaciers to melt. Those changes are raising sea levels. As a result, many small island nations are facing challenges including having shorelines washed away, having homes and roads damaged by floods, and having sources of drinking water become contaminated.

• Summarize a concern some people have about the efforts to save the Maldives. (Summarizing)
Possible answer: A concern some people have about the efforts to save the Maldives is whether new land can be built quickly enough and high enough to make a difference, since sea levels are projected to continue rising. Another concern is that the efforts are more focused on supporting tourism than on keeping the islands livable for residents. People also worry that the process could be harmful to ocean ecosystems. 

• What additional text feature(s) could aid readers’ understanding of the article? (Text Features)
Possible answer: One text feature that could help readers further understand the article would be a few satellite photos showing how the Maldivian archipelago has changed over time because of rising sea levels.

Map Skills 

Direct students to the “Your Turn” activity at the end of the article. Guide students in identifying the small-scale map and the large-scale map. Then have students work independently or in pairs to respond to the questions. For extra practice, use the skill builder Scale Maps.

Assess Comprehension

Assign the 10-question Know the News quiz, available in PDF and interactive forms. You can also use the skill builder Quiz Wizard to assess comprehension of this article and three others from the issue.