Worksheet

Winter Choices in Frostmere

Compare how people in two snowy places adapt to winter, change their surroundings, and deal with the effects of those changes.

Grade 3Social StudiesInteractive · Printable

Aligned toGEO.3.4

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Single worksheet
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1 C3 Framework standard
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15 questions
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Details

Format: Interactive · Printable
Grade: Grade 3
Subject: Social Studies
Question types: Fill in the blank, Multiple choice, Matching, Circle the answer, Sorting, Short answer

About this worksheet

What students practice

Students explain how people adapt to winter conditions in two different places.
Students identify changes people make to environments and the effects of those changes.
Students compare environmental responses using evidence from a passage.

How to use

Read the field notes aloud or have students read them independently. Ask students to point to details that show both adaptations and changes to the environment.

Curriculum

C3 Framework standard covered

GEO.3.4

Explain how people adapt to and change their environment and the effects of those changes.

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Winter Choices in Frostmere

Compare how people respond to winter in two parts of one town.

Read the field notes

Read about two parts of Frostmere. Then answer the questions.

Winter in Two Parts of Frostmere

Frostmere is a northern town where snow often covers the ground for months. The same winter storm affects different parts of town in different ways. Hilltop is on a steep, open slope. Lakeside is on flat ground beside a lake. People in each place use ideas that fit the conditions around them.

At Hilltop, west winds push snow across walking paths and against doors. Families add covered entryways so less snow blows inside. Residents also place low, slatted snow fences in open ground a short way uphill from the paths. The fences slow the wind, so snow settles beside the fence in an open field instead of on the path. This leaves the path clearer, but it creates a larger snow pile in the field. The town has also planted evergreen trees on a bare ridge. When the trees grow tall, they may slow the wind and give Hilltop more shelter.

At Lakeside, the land is flat. In spring, melting snow can collect in yards near homes. Families raise their garden beds and porches so plants and doorways stay above the wet ground. Town workers dug a shallow channel from the lowest yards toward a pond. The channel changed the shape of the ground and gave the meltwater a route to the pond. As a result, some yards dry faster, but people need to clear leaves and mud from the channel.

Both places receive snow, yet their winter problems are not the same. Hilltop choices respond mostly to moving snow and wind. Lakeside choices respond mostly to meltwater. A useful response depends on the local environment, and a change can bring both helpful effects and new work.

Which statement best compares Hilltop and Lakeside?

A. Both places use the same plan for the same winter problem.
B. Hilltop manages drifting snow, while Lakeside manages meltwater.
C. Hilltop lies beside a pond, while Lakeside is on a steep slope.
D. Both places stay dry because little snow falls there.

Match each winter problem to the response described in the field notes.

Snow blows across walking paths.
Snow is pushed against doors.
Meltwater collects in low yards.
Gardens sit in wet ground.

A. Raise garden beds.
B. Add covered entryways.
C. Dig a shallow channel.
D. Place low snow fences.

Circle the TWO details that show people adapted to blowing snow at Hilltop.

Residents placed low snow fences a short way uphill from paths.Families added covered entryways over their doors.Town workers dug a channel toward a pond.Families raised garden beds above wet ground.

Why can a snow fence help keep a Hilltop path clearer?

A. It makes the snow melt as soon as it falls.
B. It moves the snow toward nearby houses.
C. It slows the wind so snow settles away from the path.
D. It warms the doors so the snow melts.

Word bank: pond · ridge · path · roof

The Lakeside channel carries meltwater toward the .

Compare the responses

Use details from the field notes to compare the two places.

Sort each action by the place where it is described.

Place low snow fences uphill from paths.Raise garden beds above the ground.Add covered entryways over doors.Dig a shallow channel to a pond.

Hilltop	Lakeside

What is one likely effect of the channel at Lakeside?

A. It makes yards wetter by holding the meltwater in place.
B. It carries snow uphill before the snow can melt.
C. It keeps spring sunlight from reaching the ground.
D. It gives meltwater a route to the pond and can dry yards faster.

Circle the TWO responses to meltwater that the field notes describe at Lakeside.

Families raised their garden beds.Town workers dug a channel toward the pond.Families wore warm boots in wet yards.Snow melted when spring arrived.

Strong winds blow snow across a playground in another northern town. Which action is an adaptation to that environment?

A. Place a low snow fence on the windy side, a short way from the playground.
B. Dig a channel from the playground to a spring pond.
C. Move the entire town to a place with less winter.
D. Raise garden beds beside the playground.

10.

What is one likely effect after the evergreen trees on the Hilltop ridge grow tall?

A. They will make Lakeside's ground less flat.
B. They will send spring meltwater into the pond.
C. They may slow the wind and give Hilltop more shelter.
D. They will make the walking paths slope toward the lake.

Apply the ideas

Use what you learned about local conditions, adaptations, and changes to the environment.

11.

Word bank: wet · steep · windy · rocky

At Lakeside, families raised garden beds to keep plants above the ground.

12.

Which sentence best compares the effects of the snow fence and the channel?

A. The snow fence sends meltwater to the pond, while the channel slows the wind.
B. Each change helps in one way but also brings a new pile or new work.
C. Both changes solve winter problems without creating more work.
D. The channel protects doors from blowing snow, while the fence raises garden beds.

13.

Which conclusion is best supported by the field notes?

A. The steep slope at Lakeside causes drifting snow.
B. Moving homes is the main response described for both places.
C. Winter conditions stay unchanged after people build fences or channels.
D. Responses fit each place's conditions, and changes can add new work.

14.

Use the field notes to explain one way people adapted at Hilltop and one way they changed the environment at Lakeside. Tell an effect of each.

15.

A new neighborhood is flat, gets deep snow, and has puddles when snow melts. Wind does not push snow into its paths. Suggest one adaptation and one change to the environment. Explain an effect of each.