• This illustrated, short story introduces the concept of Earth's atmosphere for an elementary school audience and provides instructions for an in-class demonstration.
• The storybook describes the importance of the atmosphere in supporting life on Earth and how it is threatened by pollution.
• The story ends with a quick lesson for an experiment that helps students visualize a gas, by making carbon dioxide from a reaction between vinegar and baking soda.

Positives

• Excellent illustrations are provided in this storybook to assist in students understanding complex topics.
  
• The book is concise and sticks closely to the topic of Earth's atmosphere and the air humans breathe.
• The experiment at the end is easily done in a classroom with limited materials and can help students visualize the topic.

Additional Prerequisites

• Students should be familiar with terms like air, gases, Earth, and oxygen.
• You may want to pre-teach terms such as atmosphere, molecules, gases, and ozone.
  

Differentiation

• Consider printing the book on large paper for students to have space to annotate in the margins.
• Physical models of an oxygen molecule and the Earth may be helpful in explaining science topics in the storybook.
• After reading the story as a class, have students partner up and review the story together to identify any questions they may still have.

This resource addresses the listed standards. To fully meet standards, search for more related resources.