Guided Reading Level H - Snow, Sleet, and Hail

Book Snapshot
• Title: Snow, Sleet, and Hail
• Genre: Nonfiction (informational)
• Subject: Life Science / Earth Science
• Primary Topic: Types of frozen water from the sky
• Estimated Guided Reading Level (A–Z): H

What This Book Teaches Best
• Introduces three kinds of frozen water that fall from the sky: snow, sleet, and hail.
• Explains simple conditions and traits: snow falls when air is cold and feels “soft and light.”
• Builds science vocabulary using clear examples (snowflakes as “tiny crystal,” sleet as rain that “freezes as it falls”).
• Describes how hail forms and changes size (“grows inside a tall cloud” and “gets bigger and bigger”).

Learning Goals
• Identify snow, sleet, and hail as kinds of frozen water.
• Describe what the text says snow is like and when it falls.
• Explain what a snowflake is, using the book’s words.
• Explain how the book says sleet forms as it falls.
• Describe how the book says hail forms and grows before it falls.
• Tell how frozen water affects Earth in the book (it “covers the earth,” and cold weather “changes the land”).

Key Vocabulary From the Text
• crystal — a hard, shiny shape.
• sleet — rain that freezes as it falls.
• freezes — turns from water into ice when very cold.
• bounces — jumps back up after it hits something.
• hail — hard ice that falls during a big storm.
Discussion Prompts
• Pre-reading question: What kinds of frozen water have you seen fall from the sky?
• Comprehension questions: What does the book say snow is like when it falls?
• Comprehension questions: What does the book say sleet is made from as it falls?
• Comprehension questions: Where does the book say hail grows before it falls?

Printing Tips

1. Best Printing Method (Recommended)
   “Booklet” Printing (Best if Available)
   If your printer or PDF viewer supports Booklet Printing, use this.
   Settings to use:
   • Print mode: Booklet
   • Paper size: Letter or A4 (either works)
   • Orientation: Landscape
   • Print on both sides: Yes
   • Flip on: Short edge
   • Scaling: Fit to printable area
   • Booklet subset:
   o First test: Front sides only
   o Then: Back sides only
   This will automatically:
   • Pair pages correctly
   • Put the cover on the outside
   • Align everything for folding
   After printing, fold in half and staple along the spine.

2. If “Booklet” Printing Is NOT Available
   You can still print this correctly with manual duplex printing.
   Step-by-step:

3. Open the PDF.

4. Choose Print.

5. Set:
   o Orientation: Landscape
   o Pages per sheet: 1
   o Print on both sides: Yes
   o Flip on: Short edge

6. Print all pages.
   Because each PDF page already contains two facing book pages, the result will still fold cleanly into a book.