Mount St. Helens: The Big Blast | 
pickMount St. Helens The Big Blast
Author: Rita Golden Gelman
Genre: Non-Fiction (NF)
Awards: None
Many of us do not know the story of Mount St. Helens, how it grew a huge mass on its north side or that despite the evacuation warning people still visited and camped in areas withing the blast zone. Mount St. Helens The Big Blast (TBB) is a short nonfiction chapter book that describes the awakening, build-up, explosion and aftermath of the
LauraLeighn Mount St.Helen eruption of 1980. The book goes into detail about everything surrounding the explosion, including the effects of the mud and ash on the ecosystem and local communities. The book vividly sets the scene on eruption day, including testimonies and eye witness accounts, as well as interviews and images from first responders “One Man, about to be rescued by a helicopter, shouted, “wait a minute” and ran back to his house. He came out with 4y
LauraLeighn his pet boa constrictor.” This book would be a great addition to any volcano based lesson. TBB would be a great book for literacy circles (LC). The book is a short easy to read novel that includes lots of images and opportunities for critical thinking. With the inclusion of a worksheet, students can discuss the novel, make a prediction about the volcano, and draw from their prior knowledge. The book is separated chronologically, so it is easy to 4y
LauraLeighn implement critical thinking questions that will help guide students' predictions and discussions among their circle. UDL 3.2 (Highlight patterns, critical features, big ideas, and relationships) can be implemented easily with this book. LC worksheets can encourage students to focus on the patterns and frequency of earthquakes, the relationship between Human vs Nature (or Nature vs nature), and the unpredictable stages of volcanos.ESOL44. Focus on 4y
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LauraLeighn thinking skills; predict, categorize, classify, observe and report (oral-written-pictorial), sequence, summarize, is a useful strategy to implement for this book since you can focus on prediction, observation, and sequence of events. This book would truly be a great way to connect science and literacy lessons. The mount St.Helen visitor website includes lessons and activities for grades k-12 https://parks.state.wa.us/245/Mount-St-Helens 4y
LauraLeighn that can be easily used and adapted for classroom use. The website is run by the Washington State Park service and even though they are originally intended for pre-visit lessons, they can be used for any volcano based class lesson. #ucflae3414SU20 4y
DrSpalding What a fabulous idea to use a park website as a resource! This book could be used to complement science but also history as well! This is quality non-fiction. Be sure to balance fiction and nonfiction in your classroom library. 4y
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