Ten fact cards go into a five-column table on this 5th grade science sheet about the layers of the atmosphere. Each layer gets two facts, from clouds and the air we breathe in the troposphere to hydrogen and helium drifting off from the exosphere. Page 2 asks why weather is found only in the troposphere and why meteors burn up in the mesosphere. The third page is an answer key with the table filled in.
“Match facts to the five layers of the atmosphere: troposphere, stratosphere, mesosphere, thermosphere and exosphere.”
Page 1 gives two facts per layer to sort, including the ozone layer, the aurora and the space station.
“Explain why weather and meteor burn-up happen in particular layers.”
The two Explain Why questions on page 2 cover weather in the troposphere and meteors in the mesosphere.
Ten short cards, such as The coldest layer and We breathe this air, are written into a table headed Troposphere, Stratosphere, Mesosphere, Thermosphere and Exosphere. Every layer has two cells with five lines each.
Two written questions with five lines each. One asks why weather is found only in the troposphere, the other why meteors burn up in the mesosphere. A photo of a meteor above the clouds sits between them.
The completed table with two facts under each layer, and a model answer for each question: nearly all the water vapor for the first, friction with enough gas particles for the second.
After the diagram
Hand it out once students have seen a labeled diagram of the layers. Ask them to place the easy cards first, like clouds and the aurora, then work out the rest.
Cut and sort
Photocopy a second sheet and cut the cards into strips for students who struggle. They can move the strips around before committing anything in pen.
Check the mesosphere first
When you mark, look at the stratosphere and mesosphere columns first. The cards The coldest layer and Contains the ozone layer are where students are most likely to cross over.
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