Hill Of Fire
From Reading Rainbow · 1985
28 min1st2nd3rd4thReading & Writing (ELA)ScienceSocial Studies
Summary
Thomas P. Lewis's true story follows a Mexican farmer whose field suddenly splits open in 1943 — the birth of the Parícutin volcano. LeVar Burton takes viewers inside a volcano to learn how these dramatic landforms form and affect communities.
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All ages
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Teaching resources
Discussion questions
Discussion
A Mexican farmer watches a volcano grow in his cornfield.
- How did the farmer and his family react when the volcano appeared?
- What caused the village to be destroyed, and where did the people go?
- What are two signs that a volcano might be about to erupt?
- How do volcanoes both destroy and create land?
Quick work-a-long
Vocabulary: volcano, eruption, lava, crater, magma.
Try it: Draw a cross-section diagram of a volcano and label: crater, magma chamber, and lava flow. Write one sentence describing what happens during an eruption.