Groundhog Day

High school (ages 12+)
Holidays & Celebrations

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/groundhog-day

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. What is the scientific name?Marmota monax
2. What is the traditional origin?Pennsylvania German immigrants, adapting European badger lore linked to Candlemas
3. Why do people think a groundhog can predict the weather?The tradition comes from old European stories where animals were thought to tell the weather, and the groundhog’s shadow is used to decide if winter stays or spring arrives.
4. How does the groundhog’s shadow decide the weather?If the groundhog sees its shadow on a sunny day, it goes back into its burrow and winter is said to last six more weeks. If it doesn’t see a shadow, the day is cloudy and spring is expected soon.

Pennsylvania Dutch: A cultural group in the United States descended from German-speaking immigrants who settled in Pennsylvania.
Candlemas: A Christian festival celebrated on February 2nd, historically associated with weather prognostication.
Weather Lore: Traditional beliefs and sayings about predicting weather, often based on observations of nature.
Prognostication: The action of foretelling or prophesying future events.