Illustration of people moving on a snowy day
Art by Joelle Dreidemy
Fiction,

The Snow Day

Elena’s family moves from chilly Ohio to hot Arizona. Will this new place ever feel like home?

By Meg Richardson | Art by Joelle Dreidemy
From the February 2023 Issue
Lexiles: 480L
Guided Reading Level: L
DRA Level: 20-24
Featured Skill: Vocabulary, Main Idea,
Vocabulary: bitter cold, scorching, sweltering, snug, frigid, wails, tarp, gushes, glistening
Topic: Social-emotional learning,
Common Core Standards
  • RL.2.1 Key details RL.2.3 Describe how characters respond to events RL.2.6 Point of view RL.2.10 Read grade-2- appropriate stories RI.2.9 Compare two versions of the same story SL.2 Participate in conversations about grade-2 texts L.2.4.a Use sentence-level context as a clue to a word’s meaning
TEKS Standards
  • Health
    (8) Influencing factors. The student understands how relationships influence personal health. The student is expected to: (A) describe how friends can influence a person’s health (10) Personal/interpersonal skills. The student understands healthy and appropriate ways to communicate consideration and respect for self, family, friends, and others. The student is expected to: (A) describe how to effectively communicate; (B) express needs, wants, and emotions in healthy ways (11) Personal/interpersonal skills. The student demonstrates critical-thinking, decision-making, goal setting and problem- solving skills for making health-promoting decisions. The student is expected to: (D) explain why obtaining help, especially from parents/trusted adults, can be helpful when making decisions about personal health.

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Think and Read

As you read, think about what Elena misses about a cold place. What does she discover about a hot place?

“I will not miss all this snow!” my dad says. He slams the door of the moving van. We are moving from Ohio to Arizona. In Ohio, the winters are bitter cold. Not in Arizona. There it’s scorching hot all year. 

“I’ll miss the snow,” says my little brother, Sam. 

I will too, I think. But I don’t say anything. I don’t want Sam to see me being sad. I’m the big sister. I want to set a good example for him. 

I pick up one last snowball and throw it at a tree. Swop!

Then I get in the moving van. We start the long drive to Arizona. 

PAUSE AND THINK: Where are Elena and Sam moving?

A New Home

In Arizona, everything is different. Our yard has spiky cactuses instead of trees. The air is so hot, it’s sweltering. On our old street, we knew everyone. There were tons of kids to play with. Here, we don’t know anybody. It’s lonely. 

One day, I’m helping Sam build a LEGO ® set. He says, “I miss Ohio, Elena.” 

“It’s going to be OK,” I say.

But I miss Ohio too. I miss my friends. I miss the whoosh of the wind in my ears when I’m sledding. I miss the feeling of holding a perfect snowball. I miss being warm and snug inside and knowing it’s frigid outside. Sam starts to cry. 

“What’s wrong?” I say.

“We’re not going to have any snow days!” Sam wails. 

I hadn’t thought of that. One more thing to miss about Ohio. I hug Sam. I try not to cry too.

PAUSE AND THINK: Why is Sam sad?

Elena’s Idea

That night, I get an idea. I want to make a snow day with no snow for Sam. But how? I talk to Dad. I tell him I want to have sledding with no snow, a snowball fight with no snow, and a snow fort with no snow. 

“That’s a great idea. Let’s do it,” Dad says. 

Together, we draw pictures of my ideas. Then we make a list of the supplies we’ll need. 

“Tomorrow we’ll go to the hardware store,” Dad says. 

“Thank you,” I say. 

“Thank you, Elena,” Dad says. 

“For what?” I say.

“For being so kind to your brother,” Dad says. 

PAUSE AND THINK: What does Elena want to do for Sam?

Getting Ready

The next day, Dad takes me to the hardware store. 

We get water balloons. We get a blanket. We get a long tarp. 

Then we go home. Sam is playing in his room. Dad and I sneak to the yard. 

First, Dad helps me fill up water balloons. We’ll pretend they are snowballs. 

Then, he helps me hang the blanket over two chairs. We’ll pretend it’s a snow fort.

Last, we unroll the tarp. We set up the hose so water gushes over the tarp and it’s slippery. We’ll slide down it and pretend we’re sledding.

PAUSE AND THINK: What three things do Elena and Dad set up?

The Surprise

I run to Sam’s room. “Come to the yard! I have a surprise for you,” I say.

“Whoa!” Sam says when he sees the setup. 

“We can do all your favorite snow day things, even with no snow,” I say. He gives me a hug.

“Elena, this is awesome,” he says. 

Pretty soon we are sliding and splashing. It’s the most fun I’ve had since we left Ohio.

THINK AND WRITE: Does Sam like what Elena did?

New Friends

I hear something. I turn around. There’s a girl about my age and a boy about Sam’s age peeking over the fence. 

“Hi,” Sam and I say. 

“Hi. I’m Rosa. This is my brother, Zac. We live next door,” the girl says.

“What are you doing?” Zac asks. 

“We’re having a snow day with no snow!” Sam says. 

“We’ve never seen real snow,” says Zac.

“Can we play with you?” Rosa says. 

“Yes!” I say. 

“Hang on!” Rosa says. 

“We have something else for your snow day.”

THINK AND WRITE: Who is peeking over the fence? 

Snow Cones

A minute later, Rosa and Zac are back holding a big box. “We brought our snow cone machine!” Rosa says. “Now it’s a snow day with real snow.”

They show us how to put ice in the machine. It makes glistening snow. Then they show us how to drip flavoring on top. The flavoring turns the snow bright colors. Sam makes his snow cone lime green. I make mine look like a rainbow. 

“That looks cool,” Rosa says.

“Thanks,” I say. I feel the sun on my face. I lick my cold, sweet snow cone. I smile. 

THINK AND WRITE: What do Rosa and Sam bring?

Rosa Understands

“So how do you like Arizona so far?” Rosa asks me.

“I’ve been kind of sad,” 

I say. I feel a little shy, but I keep talking. “But I don’t want to show it, because I want to set a good example for Sam.” 

“I get it,” Rosa says. “I feel that way about Zac. But it’s OK to be sad sometimes, even if you’re the oldest kid.” 

“You’re right,” I say. 

“And it’s also OK to have fun!” Rosa yells. She grabs a water balloon and throws it at Zac. Splash! 

Pretty soon we’re having a four-person water balloon fight. Afterward, we lie on the deck, laughing. 

“I like snow days,” Zac says. 

“And I like Arizona,” Sam says. 

“Me too,” I say, and I mean it. 

video (1)
Slideshows (1)
Activities (6)
Skills Activities
Quizzes (2)
Quizzes (2)
Answer Key (1)
video (1)
Slideshows (1)
Activities (6) Download All Quizzes and Activities
Skills Activities
Quizzes (2)
Quizzes (2)
Answer Key (1)

About the Story

Casel Social-emotional Learning Focus

Social awareness: showing concern for the feelings of others

Step-by-Step Lesson Plan
Download the Lesson Plan

ESSENTIAL QUESTION

The big question of this issue of Storyworks 2 is, What happens in cold places? The articles below connect to this theme.

  • Background Builder: “A Frozen Land,” p. 4
  • Big Read: “Escape from the Ice,” p. 6
  • Word Play: “3 Ways to Say Cold,” p. 12
  • Past to Present: “The History of Ice,” p. 23
  • Fiction: “The Snow Day,” p. 24
  • Poetry: “Snow Mail,” p. 32

Through the above texts, students will dig deep into this essential question and make text-to-text connections.

1. BEFORE READING

Show “The Big Question” Video (10 minutes)
 
Watch “The Big Question: What Happens in Cold Places?” (This video also goes with other stories in this month’s Storyworks 2.)
  • Before your students watch, ask them to think about the question “What happens in cold places?"
  • Watch the video.
  • After watching, ask the question again. Write students’ ideas on chart paper.

Preview Vocabulary (5 minutes)

  • Play the online vocabulary slideshow. This story’s featured words are bitter cold, scorching, sweltering, snug, frigid, wails, tarp, gushes, and glistening.

Text Preview Bookmarks (5-10 minutes)

  • Students can use these evergreen bookmarks to help them preview the text. Our skills page has both fiction and nonfiction options for kids to cut out. They can use the fiction bookmark for this story.

2. READ THE STORY (10-20 MINUTES)

  • Kids can read this story individually, in small groups, or as a whole class.
  • Check comprehension as you read the story with the Pause and Think questions. These help check basic comprehension as you go along.

3. AFTER READING: FOCUS ON ELA SKILLS

Assessment: Quiz (10 minutes)

  • Pass out the quiz, which will help you assess students’ reading comprehension.
  • We also offer a lower-level quiz.

ELA Focus: Word Work (15 minutes)

  • Ask students to fill out the printable “Word Work,” ask students to answer questions about the meanings of words and phrases in the story.

ELA Focus: Writing (20 minutes)

  • Using the “Elena’s Letter” printable, kids can pretend to be Elena writing a letter to her cousins about what happened in the story.

ELA Focus: Story Map

  • As a class, discuss the characters, setting, and key events in the story.
  • During or after the discussion, ask students to fill out the “Story Map” printable.

Enrich the Learning: Paired Text Opportunities (time amount varies)

Making text-to-text connections builds knowledge and comprehension. We layer Storyworks 2 with many ways for your students to make connections.

Pairable Texts the Background Builder, “A Frozen Land” (page 4); the Big Read, “Escape from the Ice” (page 6); the Word Play, “3 Ways to Say Cold” (page 12); the Past to Present feature, “The History of Ice” (page 23); and the poetry kit, “Snow Mail” (page 32).

  • These texts ask questions similar to those posed in the story.
  • Kids can compare the texts by using our “Chilly Chart” printable. How are the texts alike, and how are they different?

Whole Issue Scavenger Hunt (15 minutes)

We created a scavenger hunt for several stories in this month’s Storyworks 2, including this fiction piece. The scavenger hunt can be done by students independently at home or during class time.

  • This is a self-contained group of slides that guide your students on a scavenger hunt through the whole issue. It’s not only fun, it also helps them make text-to-text connections.

Text-to-Speech