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 Shishmaref: A Tale of Global Warming

Shishmaref: A Tale of Global Warming
Reading Level
     edHelper's suggested reading level:   grades 4 to 6
     Flesch-Kincaid grade level:   5.37

Vocabulary
     challenging words:    burning, rates, subsist, vulnerable, therefore, homeland, droughts, based, caribou, conservation, collapse, mainland, satellite, village, island, fellow
     content words:    Arctic Circle, Ward Hunt Ice Shelf

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Shishmaref: A Tale of Global Warming
By Jennifer Kenny 		  
1     Shishmaref is an island village. It is part of Alaska. About 600 people, mostly Inupiaq, live there. It is approximately 125 miles from Nome, Alaska. Visitors to Shishmaref usually fly on a plane from Nome to get there.
 
2     Generations of Inupiaq have lived in Shishmaref. They've lived with the help of the water. They've depended on the water. Many still live and hunt traditionally. They hunt bearded seal, whales, and caribou. They gather berries. They pick wild greens. They would like to stay together and continue to do so.
 
3     What's the problem? This tiny island near the Arctic Circle is being swallowed by the sea around it. The Inupiaq have tried many ways to protect themselves. They've built barricades and moved farther inland. Is it working? Unfortunately, it is not.

Paragraphs 4 to 8:
For the complete story with questions: click here for printable
Extended Activities:

1.  Create a cause and effect flow chart on global warming.

2.  Pick an animal or plant that might be affected by global warming. Explain its current habitat and way of life and how that might change.

3.  Research the greenhouse effect and global warming. Compare and contrast the two.


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