Today in Minnesota, we’re having some weather. “Yeah, yeah,” you say, “we all have weather every day. Whatevs. And also I have heard enough from you Lerner people about your cold and your snow.”

And you’re right, of course. Ten inches of snow in one day is par for the course in a Minnesota winter. So let me draw your attention to some people who have dealt with even cruddier winters.

Our book Surviving in Cold Places, part of the ShockZone: True Survival series, tells the stories of people who made it through some seriously lousy (and cold!) situations.

This is a high-interest series that will draw in your reluctant readers, and if you’re looking for some extra CCSS materials to help you use the books in your classroom, we can certainly help. The CCSS Lost and Rescued Journal Assignment invites students to write a journal entry from the point of view of one of the survivors described in the books. In the CCSS Article Assignment, students write a news article from the point of view of one of the books’ survivors. Both assignments address Common Core State Standards for writing.

Check back in two weeks for more FREE downloadable teaching tools!