- Hi, readers.

Welcome to Read, Write, Roar.

Today, we're gonna be learning about the letter Z, and we're gonna be learning about blizzards.

We'll learn some new vocabulary words, and we'll practice building words.

You're gonna need something to write on, like a piece of paper or a notebook, and something to write with, like a pencil or a marker.

So go gather your tools, and then we'll start learning.

- [Narrator] This program is made possible in part by the Michigan Department of Education, the state of Michigan, and the W.K.

Kellogg Foundation.

Additional support by, and by viewers like you, thank you.

(bouncy music) - Hi, friends.

Are you ready to be letter heroes?

Great, today's letter is the letter Z.

Can you say Z?

This is an uppercase Z.

Can you say uppercase Z?

And this is a lowercase Z, say lowercase Z.

Great.

Uppercase Z, lowercase Z.

Let's mix 'em up.

Uppercase Z, lowercase Z.

Say it with me one more time.

Let's see if I can trick you.

Lowercase Z, uppercase Z.

Great job.

Z makes the sound Z.

To make that sound, put your teeth together, and blow out air to make them vibrate, like this, Z.

Say it with me, Z, Z, Z.

Nice job.

Let's look at some things, and hear some words that begin with the Z sound with the letter Z.

Our first thing is an animal.

It's a zebra.

Can you say zebra?

You might find a zebra at a zoo.

Zebra and zoo start with Z.

How about a number this time?

This number is the number zero.

Can you say zero?

Great.

Zero is when you don't have anything.

Zero.

How about zoom?

Can you say zoom?

Like my racecar can zoom around the racetrack, zoom.

Great job making the sound of Z.

Now let's search for that letter Z.

Here's our sentence today.

Let's read it together.

The breezy blizzard made Zoe zip her jacket.

Did you see the letter Z?

Did you hear the Z sound?

Let's search for it.

When I come to a letter Z, you're gonna say stop.

When you say stop, I'll highlight the letter Z.

There might be a lowercase Z, or an uppercase Z.

Search for both, let's get started.

Here's our first word, the.

Did you see a letter Z?

No, me neither.

Breezy.

I heard you say stop.

Is there a Z in breezy?

That's right, there is, it's right here.

Let's highlight it.

Breezy has a Z towards the end.

There's the Z.

Let's keep going.

Our next word is the word blizzard.

I heard you say stop again.

What?

There are two Zs in blizzard?

Do you see them?

Right here in the middle.

There are two Zs in the middle of blizzard.

Let's highlight both of them.

One.

And one more.

Two.

Blizzard has a Z sound in the middle.

Help me keep searching.

Made.

No Z there.

Zoe.

That's right.

Zoe begins with an uppercase Z.

Let's highlight it.

(marker grinding) Great work, letter heroes.

Let's keep searching.

Zip.

I heard the Z sound.

Did you say stop?

That's right.

Zip begins with the letter Z.

Let's highlight it.

That is a lowercase Z.

Two more words, let's keep searching.

Her, no.

Last word, jacket.

Did you hear the Z sound?

No, me neither.

Let's count how many letters Zs we found.

One, two, three, four, five.

We found five letter Zs in our sentence today.

Let's read it one more time.

The breezy blizzard made Zoe zip her jacket.

Great job, letter heroes.

Now, do you have something to write on, and something to write with?

Because it's time to practice writing the letter Z.

First, we'll sky write.

This is an uppercase Z.

To make an uppercase Z, we start at the top.

We do a little line back, big diagonal line down, and then a little line back.

Let's write it in the sky, ready?

Start at the top.

Little line back.

Big diagonal line down, and little line back.

Let's do it one more time.

Start at the top, little line back.

Big diagonal line down, little line back.

Okay, pick up your pencil or your marker.

Let's get ready to write.

I'll start at the top, and I'm going to do little line back, big diagonal line down, little line back.

Just like that.

Great work, let's do one more.

Start at the top, little line back, big diagonal line down, and then little line back.

I'm gonna make that a little darker, so you can see it.

Great work, letter heroes.

Now it's time to make that lowercase Z.

To make a lowercase Z, it looks similar, but it's smaller.

This time we start in the middle, and we do little line back, or excuse me, little line down, and little light back.

Let's sky write it, ready?

Start in the middle.

We're going to do little line back.

Little diagonal line down, little line back.

Great, let's sky write it one more time.

Start in the middle, little line back.

Little diagonal line down, little line back.

Pick up your marker or pencil.

It's time to write.

Start in the middle, little line back, little line diagonal down, and then little line back.

Just like that.

One more, let's do it, letter heroes.

Start in the middle, little line back.

Diagonal line down, and little line back.

Great work with lowercase Z.

Friends, we learned all about the last letter of the alphabet.

Letter Z.

Remember, it makes the Z sound.

Great job reading and writing with me.

(soft music) Friends, we've been learning so many new letters and sounds.

Now it's time to work together to put those sounds together, and build some words.

Are you ready to be word builders?

All right, let's get started.

Here's our first word.

I'll show you how it's done.

When I tap the letter, say the sound, and when I slide my hammer, blend the sounds together to read the word.

I'll show you how to do the first one.

Ready?

P, I, N. Now blend with me.

Pin.

Now say it in a snap, pin.

I use a pin to pop the balloon, pin.

Now I'm gonna change the first letter, and we'll make a new word.

Ready?

Let's say the sounds.

W, I, N. Blend with me.

Win.

Say it in a snap.

Win.

I love when I win my game, win.

Now we're gonna change another letter.

This time, we'll change the beginning letter, and the ending letter.

Here's our new word.

Say the sounds with me.

S, I, P. Now blend.

Sip.

Say it in a snap, sip.

I take a sip of my milk, sip.

This time, we'll change just the beginning letter.

Ready?

Do you see our letter of the day?

That's right, it's the letter Z.

We learned all about Z today.

Let's say the sounds.

Z, I, P. Now blend, zip.

Say it in a snap.

Zip.

I zip my coat when it's cold outside, zip.

Okay, we're gonna change two letters.

Our beginning sound, and our ending sound.

Here's our new word.

Get ready to blend.

Say the sounds.

D, I, D. Blend with me.

Did.

Say it in a snap, did.

Did you clean your room today?

Did.

Okay, our last word, we'll change just the beginning sound.

There we go.

Say the sounds.

R, I, D. Now blend, rid.

Say it in a snap, rid.

Please help me get rid of the trash, rid.

Great job saying the sounds, and blending them together.

You read a lot of words today.

(soft music) Friends, do you like to play in the snow?

Me too.

What do you think would happen if we got too much snow?

Have you ever heard of a blizzard?

Today's big question is, what happens during a blizzard?

We'll be reading a nonfiction book today.

Remember, nonfiction tells us information that's real or true.

The title of our book is called, What Is a Blizzard?

And the author is Robin Johnson.

This book is read with permission from Crabtree Publishing.

Our book begins with a table of contents.

The table of contents tells you where you can find information in the book.

Let's get started.

Our first heading today says different weather.

"Different places get different weather.

Many parts of the world have four seasons.

A season is a time of year that has a certain kind of weather.

The seasons are winter, spring, summer, and fall.

Each season has a weather pattern.

For example, it may be rainy in the spring, hot and sunny in the summer.

Cool in the fall, and cold and snowy in the winter.

Falling water.

Places with very cold winters can get snow.

Snow is a form of precipitation."

Can you say precipitation?

"Precipitation is water that falls from clouds.

Rain and hail are other kinds of precipitation."

How is snow made?

Let's find out.

"The sun heats air near the ground.

The air rises, cools, and forms tiny water droplets high in the sky.

The droplets join together to form clouds.

When the temperature is warm, water falls from the clouds as rain.

When the temperature is very cold, the water freezes, and falls as snow."

This picture is showing us a diagram of how rain and snow are formed.

Snow falls, snow melts into water, the sun heats the air, air rises and cools, forms clouds, and the process starts all over again.

Let's read about snowstorms.

"When a lot of snow falls, it's called a snowstorm.

Some snowstorms last for just a few hours.

Other snowstorms last for days.

The snow builds up over time.

It covers the ground like a giant white blanket."

Let's read this caption down here.

"What do you think?

This girl is using a thermometer to measure the temperature.

What clues in this picture tell you that it's cold outside?"

Do you notice what the girl's wearing?

She's dressed like me, with a hat and warm clothes.

Now let's find out, what is a blizzard?

"A blizzard is a huge snowstorm with very strong winds.

The wind blow snow all around.

Blizzards can cause whiteouts.

A whiteout is when blowing snow makes it very hard to see.

All you can see is white.

The temperature is very cool during blizzards.

The wind makes it feel even colder, brr!"

Let's find out about this picture.

"During blizzards, wind blows snow into tall piles called snowdrifts.

Snowdrifts can cover street signs, cars, and even parts of buildings."

Let's read about severe weather.

"A blizzard is a type of severe weather.

Severe weather is weather that can be harmful to people and animals.

Freezing temperatures and strong winds can make blizzards dangerous.

If a person becomes stuck, or lost in the blowing snow, the extreme cold can cause frostbite."

Can you say frostbite?

"Frostbite is a severe injury to the skin."

Let's find out about this picture.

"Heavy snow and strong winds can damage land and buildings."

Now let's read about weather warnings.

This is a meteorologist.

"Meteorologists warn us about blizzards, so we can stay safe.

Meteorologists are scientists who study weather.

They measure wind, snow, temperature, and other parts of weather.

They use this information to predict when blizzards might happen.

To predict means to tell what may happen in the future."

Let's find out.

"A blizzard warning is sent out when snow and winds of 35 miles per hour, or more are expected to last at least three hours.

In Canada, it is winds of 40 kilometers per hour, lasting at least four hours."

Let's find out how to be prepared.

"Meteorologists warn people when blizzards are expected in an area.

This helps people prepare for the weather, and stay safe.

People can learn about the weather reports in their area on television or online.

They can listen to the weather reports on the radio too.

What do you think?

Why is it important to know when blizzards are coming?"

What do you think?

So you can be prepared, and stay safe, right?

Readers, we learned a lot about what happens during a blizzard.

(soft music) Friends, we learned many new words in our book today.

Now it's time to learn more about three of those words.

Our first word is the word seasons.

Can you say seasons?

Great.

Seasons are a time of year with a certain type of weather.

Seasons.

We have four seasons.

Summer, spring, fall, and winter.

Seasons.

Help me clap the syllables in the word seasons.

Ready?

Seasons.

How many syllables did you hear?

Two.

There are two syllables in the word seasons.

Our movement to help us remember seasons will be time of year, and four.

Can you do that with me?

The time of year and four, because we have four seasons.

Let's do it one more time.

Time of year, and four.

Great.

Let's see what our books said about the word seasons.

In our book, it says, "Each season has a weather pattern."

Seasons.

Great.

Our next word is the word blizzard.

Can you say blizzard?

Great.

A blizzard is a huge snowstorm with a lot of wind and cold.

Let's clap the syllables in the word blizzard.

Ready?

Blizzard.

How many syllables did you hear?

Two.

There are two syllables in the word blizzard.

Our movement to help us remember the word blizzard is huge storm with wind.

Can you do that with me?

Huge wind and snowstorm.

Great.

Let's do it one more time.

Huge wind and snowstorm, blizzard.

Let's see what the book said about the word blizzard.

In our book, it says, "A blizzard is a huge snowstorm with very strong winds.

Blizzards can cause whiteouts."

Blizzard.

Our last word today is the word warning.

Can you say warning?

Great.

A warning is to tell or alert someone that danger is coming.

Warning.

Let's clap the syllables in the word warning.

Are you ready?

Warning.

How many syllables did you hear?

Two.

There are two syllables in the word warning.

Our movement for the word warning is to tell them, stop, danger.

Can you do that with me?

Stop, danger.

That is going to be our movement for warning.

Great job.

Let's see what our book said about the word warning.

In our book, it says, "A blizzard warning is sent out when snow and winds are of 35 miles per hour or more."

Warning, to tell or alert about danger.

Great job, friends.

Let's say our words, and do our movements one more time.

Season, a certain time of year with a certain type of weather.

Time of year, four seasons.

Great job.

A blizzard was a huge snowstorm with lots of snow and wind.

Huge storm, snow and wind.

Great.

And our last word was warning.

To tell or alert someone about danger.

Stop, danger.

Great job.

Try to use our new words with someone in your home today.

(soft music) Friends, now it's time to think back about our big question of the day.

Our question of the day was, what happens during a blizzard?

Do you remember from our story?

We learned a lot about blizzards today.

What happens during a blizzard?

That's right.

Do you have something to write on, and something to write with?

Great.

I already drew my picture, and I already started my sentence, but I'm going to need your help to finish it.

I have two spaces here.

I need you to help me read the words to put in the clouds, and then we'll work together to write them in our sentence.

Our sentence says, during a blizzard, there is a lot of blank and blank.

Let's see if we can figure it out together.

Here's our first word.

Our first word starts with an S. Could you help me blend these sounds?

S, N, and O, W together makes the O sound.

S, N, O, what's the word?

Snow, you're right.

Let's put snow right here.

Snow.

Now in my sentence, I'm going to copy the word snow.

You can do it at home too.

S, N, O, W. Watch me write the word snow.

S, N, O, W. Now let's look at our next word.

Here's the next word.

Can you help me sound out the sounds in this word?

W says W. I says I. N says N. And D says D. Let's blend those sounds.

Wind, wind, this word is wind.

Let's put wind in this cloud.

Great.

Now we're gonna write the word wind.

You can write it too.

W, I, N, D. Great, let's read our sentence one last time.

During a blizzard, there is a lot of snow and wind.

Thanks for helping me to answer our big question of the day, readers and writers.

Friends, today we learned all about the letter Z.

We read a book about blizzards.

We learned some new vocabulary words.

We practiced being word builders, and we learned what happens during a blizzard.

Great job today, readers and writers.

I'll see you next time on Read, Write, Roar.

- [Narrator] This program is made possible in part by the Michigan Department of Education, the state of Michigan, and the W.K.

Kellogg Foundation.

Additional support by, and by viewers like you, thank you.

(soft music)