Grades 3–5 Daily Reading Activities: Natural Wonders

Welcome to Natural Wonders. In honor of Earth Week, we'll provide five days of reading lessons designed to engage your child in an exploration of Earth's ecosystems.

Day 1 Activity

Let’s Watch: Amazing Planet Earth Watch the video Amazing Planet Earth to learn more about our planet’s natural wonders.

Day 2 Activity

Let’s Reread: Seven Natural Wonders of the World We love making lists! And there's just something about the number seven. Read all about seven places in the world that take everyone's breath away. Download Seven Natural Wonders of the World

Take It Further

Choose an activity to extend the fun.

Response Writing: Write a Radio Announcement

• Write a radio announcement that encourages tourists to visit one of the natural wonders. Explain what people would see and why it would be exciting to visit.

Research Connection: Learn About Other Natural Wonders

• Other natural wonders include the Northern Lights, the Harbor at Rio de Janeiro, and the volcano at Paricutín.
• Use print or online sources to find out about one of these wonders.
• Share your findings on a poster or in a brief report.

Family Support Use this learning guide to walk your child through the lesson. Explore additional Review & Extend activities together.

Day 3 Activity

Let’s Read: Extreme Environments Where are the coolest places on Earth? Where are the driest deserts? Learn the answers to these questions, and discover the world's most extreme environments. Download Extreme Environments

Quiz How much do you know about Extreme Environments? Take the quiz. Then, check your answers to the quiz. How did you do?

Family Support Use this learning guide to walk your child through the lesson. Explore additional Review & Extend activities together.

Day 4 Activity

Let’s Reread: Extreme Environments Where are the coolest places on Earth? Where are the driest deserts? Learn the answers to these questions, and discover the world's most extreme environments. Download Extreme Environments

Take It Further

Choose an activity to extend the fun.

Project: Make a Collage

• Make a collage of Earth’s extreme environments.
• Use photos from the book to help you plan your collage.
• Draw pictures or use photos and illustrations from magazines or the Internet.
• Write captions for your images and give your collage a catchy title.

Response Writing: Write a Travel Blog

• Imagine you have visited one of the extreme environments described in the book. Use details from the text to write about what you did and saw.

Family Support Use this learning guide to walk your child through the lesson. Explore additional Review & Extend activities together.

Day 5 Activity

Let's Review

This week you've learned about some of the most amazing natural places on our planet. Now read about a crystal-filled cave that is hidden 1,000 feet below the Earth’s surface in Chihuahua, Mexico.

Let’s Read: Cave of the Crystals When two miners drilled through a rock wall, they never imagined the breathtaking sight on the other side. Read to find out what they discovered. Download Cave of the Crystals

Take It Further

Extend the fun with an activity.

Response Writing: Sensing the Cave

• Imagine a hike to the Cave of the Crystals or another kind of cave. Think about the details your five senses would give you. On a separate sheet of paper, make a word web. Fill in each oval with sensory details for that sense.
• Use your web to write a description of your hike. A description can include an idiom, a phrase whose meaning is different from the meanings of its words. Think about the idiom “takes your breath away” in the first paragraph of “Cave of the Crystals.” Discuss with a partner what that phrase means.

Download "Sensing the Cave" Activity

Family Support Play 20 questions. Ask children to think of a natural place that they read about this week, such as the crystal cave or one of the natural wonders. Ask yes or no questions about the natural place. Try to guess the natural place your child is thinking of in fewer than 20 questions. Then switch roles.