Marisol stepped out of her small apartment in Evanston and checked the weather on her phone. The screen said 34°F (1°C). She made a face. “That’s not too bad,” she thought. “A little above freezing.” She put on her coat, hat, and gloves, but she didn’t zip the coat all the way.
When she walked outside, the air hit her face like a knife. She pulled her scarf higher and pushed her hands deep into her pockets.
“This feels colder than 34°F,” she said to herself. She could see her breath in long white clouds as she walked down the steps. The sky was clear, and the wind was very light. The city sounded quiet, as if the cold had covered every noise with a blanket.
As she walked toward the bus stop, Marisol crossed a small park. The grass near the sidewalk glittered in the morning light. When she looked more closely, she saw a thin white layer on every blade of grass. “Frost,” she thought. “But the weather app says it’s above freezing.”
She reached the bus stop and rubbed her hands together. Her phone still showed 34°F. Her face and ears felt much colder than that number.
The bus arrived with a soft roar. Marisol stepped on, showed her pass, and smiled at the driver. His name tag said Mr. Owens. She saw him almost every morning.
“Good morning,” she said, her voice sounding small in the cold air.
“Morning, Marisol,” he answered. “Cold one today.”
“Yes, but my phone says 34°F,” Marisol said. “Why does it feel like 20°F?”
Mr. Owens laughed. “You’ve just discovered decoupling,” he said.
“Decoupling?” Marisol repeated. “I don’t know that word.”
“It means that two things that used to go together don’t match so well anymore,” he explained. “In winter, it means the temperature you see on your phone and the temperature you feel on your face can be very different.”
Marisol sat down, but she kept listening. The bus rolled slowly through the quiet streets. Sunlight touched the tops of the houses, but the sidewalks and small front yards still looked icy and hard.
“On clear, calm nights, the ground loses heat quickly,” Mr. Owens continued. “The air close to the ground can get much colder than the air a little higher up. The thermometer that sends information to your phone might be at the airport or on a tall building. It’s measuring the warmer air higher up, but your skin is feeling the colder air near the ground.”
Marisol looked out the window again. She saw more frost on the grass in front yards and tiny ice crystals on parked cars.
“So the number on my phone and the feeling in my fingers are decoupled?” she asked.
“Exactly,” he said. “In the past, the number and your feeling usually matched. When it was above freezing, the ground often looked wet, not icy. But now, more often, the number might say one thing while your body feels something else.”
Marisol thought about that as the bus passed Raymond Park. She noticed a wide, open field covered with frost. It looked like sugar on cereal.
“Decoupling,” she said quietly, trying the new word. “The air near the ground and the air higher up aren’t working together the same way as before.”
“That’s right,” Mr. Owens said. “And that’s why Evanston can feel colder than the official temperature. Your cheeks, your ears, your breath — they’re measuring a different layer of air than the thermometer is.”
When the bus reached her stop, Marisol stood up and pulled on her gloves again. She felt the cold air on her face as she stepped down to the sidewalk.
“Have a good day,” Mr. Owens called. “And watch out for ice. Your phone won’t always warn you.”
Marisol smiled. “Thanks, Mr. Owens,” she said. “Today I learned a new word and a new way to read the winter.”
Note: In this story, decoupling means that the temperature near the ground and the temperature higher in the air are different. The official number and what people feel do not always match.
Instructions: Match each word with the best meaning. Choose the correct meaning from the drop-down menu.
Instructions: Match each word from the story with the best meaning.
Instructions: Read each sentence from the story. Choose the best meaning of the underlined word or phrase.
- 1. “The air hit her face like a knife.” Here, the comparison to a knife suggests:
- 2. “She saw a thin white layer on every blade of grass.” This shows that:
- 3. Marisol thinks, “This feels colder than 34°F.” This means:
- 4. Mr. Owens says, “In winter, decoupling means the temperature you see and the temperature you feel can be very different.” Here, decoupling means:
- 5. When Mr. Owens talks about “a colder layer of air near the ground” and “warmer air higher up,” he is describing:
Instructions: Choose the best answer for each question.
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1. What is Marisol’s first reaction to the temperature on her phone?
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2. What does Marisol notice in the small park on her way to the bus stop?
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3. What does Mr. Owens mean when he says Marisol has “discovered decoupling”?
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4. What is the main idea of the story?
Instructions: Complete the paragraph using the word bank. Each word is used exactly one time. Tap a word to fill the next blank, or click a blank to place the active word there. Use the magnifying glass for a first-letter hint.
On a clear winter morning in , , Marisol checks the on her . It says 34°F, which sounds almost warm for winter. But when she steps outside, the air feels much .
As she walks toward the bus stop, she sees her in long white clouds. The sky is and the air is very . When she crosses a small , every blade of is covered in .
On the bus, she learns about . On clear , the loses heat . A colder of air forms near the ground, while air stays warmer. The two layers stop .
The thermometer at the measures the warmer air above, but people in feel the colder air.
Word Bank: (tap to use)
Instructions: Choose T (true) or F (false) for each statement.
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1. Marisol feels colder than the temperature on her phone suggests.
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2. Frost on the grass shows that the ground is below freezing.
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3. The thermometer on Marisol’s phone always measures the air close to the ground near her apartment.
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4. In this story, decoupling means that the official temperature and what people feel do not always match.
Instructions: The events below are from the beginning of the story. They are in mixed order. Write the correct number (1–5) for each event. 1 = first, 5 = last.
- Marisol walks outside and feels that the air is much colder than 34°F.
- Marisol checks the weather on her phone in her apartment.
- She reaches the big field and sees frost on every blade of grass.
- She sees her breath in long white clouds as she walks.
- She thinks 34°F does not sound too bad for winter.
Instructions: Now put these events from the middle and end of the story in the correct order. 1 = first, 5 = last.
- The bus driver says the official weather report says it is not that cold.
- Mr. Owens explains that the air near the ground and the air higher up stop mixing.
- Marisol understands that she feels a colder layer of air than the thermometer at the airport measures.
- Marisol gets on the bus and talks to Mr. Owens about the weather.
- She learns the new word “decoupling” and hears how the ground loses heat on clear, calm nights.
Instructions: Write your own example sentences using the word decoupling in a climate or weather context.
- Example: “In my city, we sometimes see decoupling when there is ice on the ground but the temperature on the news is above freezing.”
Now write 2–3 of your own sentences about decoupling in winter or weather where you live.
Discuss or write short answers:
- Have you ever felt that the weather was colder or hotter than the number on your phone? Describe the situation.
- Why is it important to notice signs like frost, ice, or your breath in winter, not just the temperature number?
- How might decoupling make winter more confusing or dangerous for people who walk, bike, or drive?
- Do you think weather apps should give more information about ground conditions, like ice or frost? Why or why not?
Instructions: Practice the dialogue in pairs. Then switch roles.
Marisol: Good morning, Mr. Owens. It feels so cold today!
Mr. Owens: Good morning, Marisol. Yes, it’s a cold one. Did you check the temperature?
Marisol: Yes, my phone says 34°F. But my face and hands feel like it’s much colder.
Mr. Owens: That’s because of decoupling. The temperature near the ground can be lower than the official number.
Marisol: So the thermometer that sends information to my phone isn’t feeling what I feel?
Mr. Owens: Exactly. It might be higher up, in warmer air.
Marisol: I saw frost on the grass this morning. Does that mean the ground is below freezing?
Mr. Owens: Yes, frost is a sign that the ground and the air near it are very cold.
Marisol: So I should look at the ground and the sky, not just my phone?
Mr. Owens: That’s a great idea. Use all your senses, not only the number.
Marisol: Thanks, Mr. Owens. Now I understand decoupling a little better.
Mr. Owens: You’re welcome. Stay warm out there!
Instructions: Practice the pronunciation of words from the story and similar words. Notice the vowel sounds.
| cold | clear | ground | air | field |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| gold | near | sound | hair | feel |
| told | fear | round | pair | sealed |
| hold | cheer | bound | share | shield |
| sold | dear | found | chair | peeled |
| cold | year | mound | fair | wheeled |
Notice: cold/gold/told/hold/sold share /old/; clear/near/fear/dear/year share /eer/; ground/sound/round/bound/found share /ound/; air/hair/pair/share/chair/fair share /air/; field/feel/sealed/shield/peeled/wheeled share long-E patterns.
Matching A
1. hits her face like a knife → feels like a knife
2. frost → thin white ice on surfaces
3. the ground loses heat → losing heat
4. decoupling → break apart
5. a “colder layer of air” → a layer of air
6. “official temperature” → official temperature reading
```
Matching B
``` 1. crystals → very small pieces of ice 2. calm (air) → no wind 3. feel (the cold) → to feel with your body 4. separate layers → not mixed together 5. pattern → the way something changes from one condition to another 6. “do not match” → do not match```
Vocabulary in Context
``` 7. cold that is strong and painful 8. thin ice on every blade of grass 9. the temperature she feels is lower than the official number 10. things that used to go together do not always match 11. two layers of air that do not mix```
MCQ
```
12. C
13. B
14. A
15. D
```
True / False
```
16. T
17. T
18. F
19. T
```
Sequencing A (correct order)
```
1 → Marisol checks the weather on her phone in her apartment.
2 → She thinks 34°F does not sound too bad for winter.
3 → Marisol walks outside and feels that the air is much colder than 34°F.
4 → She sees her breath in long white clouds as she walks.
5 → She reaches the big field and sees frost on every blade of grass.
```
Sequencing B (correct order)
``` 1 → Marisol gets on the bus and talks to Mr. Owens about the weather. 2 → The bus driver says the official weather report says it is not that cold. 3 → She learns the new word “decoupling” and hears how the ground loses heat on clear, calm nights. 4 → Mr. Owens explains that the air near the ground and the air higher up stop mixing. 5 → Marisol understands that she feels a colder layer of air than the thermometer at the airport measures.