Morgan Davis, Kamellia Hill, Xuelli Li, Nancy Markovinovic, Trisha Nelson, Waigo Yeung

Extreme Weather: Natural Disasters

STEM Unit

LESSON 1: NATURAL DISASTERS AND TWISTED TWISTERS!

• Students will view a video about natural disasters: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QfmRf8iOBkI

• Students will then read articles from National Geographic Kids about the six natural disasters that will be covered in the unit.

• They will have to complete a graphic organizer with three important facts about each type of natural disaster.

• Students will then learn about Tornadoes by watching a video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pSajNLBH7cA (Web 2.0 tool)

• Students will be asked to construct a bar graph and pie graph based on information from the National Weather Center about the number of Tornadoes per month in the US in 2014.

http://nces.ed.gov/nceskids/createAgraph/

Month Number of

Tornadoes

Percent of Tornadoes

January 4 .38%February 44 4%

March 25 2%April 220 21%May 150 14%June 331 31%July 85 8%

August 30 3%Septembe

r45 4%

October 69 7%November 27 3%

December 

30 3%

Total 1060  Mean 88  

Median 44.5  Mode 30  

Maximum value

331  

Minimum value

4  

Range 327  

LESSON 3: WE LAVA VOLCANOES!

• Students will be divided into three groups that will move through three different stations with volcano activities:

• Station 1: Students will first read an article on volcanoes and will then get a chance to explore the Discovery Kids website on Volcanoes. http://discoverykids.com/games/volcano-explorer/ (Web 2.0 tool)

• Station 2: Students will watch the “Galapagos Volcanoes” video from the National Geographic video podcast, “Wild Chronicles.” http://www.neok12.com/video/Volcanoes/zX0152456241644c53785b63.htm. Students will then read the articles, “How Volcanoes Change the World” and “How do volcanoes affect plants and animals?” and will have to create graphic organizer with pros and cons of living near a volcano.

• Station 3: The students will then have the opportunity to make a mock volcanic eruption similar to the one that they saw at the beginning of class.

STEM ACTIVITY: EXPLOSIONS! CREATE YOUR OWN VOLCANO

Students will have he opportunity to create their own mock volcanic eruption. Students will create a mock volcano using a soda bottle. Then they will measure to create the correct proportions of vinegar, baking soda and red food dye, then combine them to create the explosion. Students will then evaluate why the explosion occurred.

LESSON 5: UNDERSTANDING FLOODS

• Students will watch a Brain Pop tutorial on Floods: https://www.brainpop.com/science/earthsystem/floods/

• In their groups students will engage in an online scavenger hunt entitled “Tracking Change Over time” @ usgs.gov. Students will examine images and identify long term and short term effects of flooding. Students will also identify patterns that may indicate that an area is flood prone.

• Students will conduct research on flooding in their local area using the laptops and the text Natural Disasters. They will compare and contrast annual data on the cost of damages from flood. Students will analyze the data, then make the choice to complete one of the following: a) Create a FYI pamphlet informing residents of flood facts b) Create a disaster preparedness kit (checklist) of important items residents should prepare in case of a flooding. c) Create a bar graph, charting changes over time in your local area. The graph should chart the last ten years flooding events and the estimated cost of damages.

SCAVENGER HUNT: FLOODS: TRACKING CHANGE OVER TIME

1. In their groups students will engage in an online scavenger hunt entitled “Tracking Change Over time”

Find the Facts

Tracking Change Over Time—River Flooding - Student PDF

http://pubs.usgs.gov/gip/133a/pdf/gip133a_student.pdf

United States Geological Survey

In the 2008 flood image, what could account for the large, nearly square-shaped area of floodwater at lat/long 39.31, .... Lesson Extension: Scavenger Hunt.

Students will examine images and identify long term and short term effects of flooding. Students will also identify patterns that may indicate that an area is flood prone.

Scavenger Hunt Questions

Analysis and Interpretation Essential Questions

1. What band combination best shows rivers

2. Identify an area of farmland that is inundated.

3. Find a flooded area that covers at least an entire section (640 acres). (See “Using MultiSpec to Interpret Satellite Imagery,” step 7, for instructions on how to calculate area.)

4. Identify at least one city/ town that was affected by this flood. Recall the list of common band combinations from the “Using MultiSpec to Interpret Satellite Imagery” section. You may also need to use Google Maps or Google Earth to identify cities.

SMARTBOARD AVTIVITY: LESSON 4 – HURRICANES SMART BOARD AVTIVITY

The lesson will cover :

• The formation of Hurricanes

• Hurricane categories (1-5).

• Creating a hurricane on the smart board (Web 2.0 tool)

• Mini experiment with model anenometer

• Other basic information about hurricanes

CREATE YOUR OWN HURRICANE

http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/outreach/games/canelab

LINE GRAPH – LESSON 2 EARTHQUAKES

• The students will be given a blank graph. The students will be asked to label the y-axis and x-axis. The teacher will have the same blank graph up on the Smartboard and together the class will calculate the average of the range and use the information to create a line graph. Students will be able to come up to the Smartboard and assist the teacher. The students will be asked to fill in their handout with the blank graph as well and discuss the highest and lowest peaks and what they mean. The teacher tells students that the San Francisco Earthquake of 1906 was 8.25 on the Richter Scale. Students are guided to add that information to the graph.

Richter Scale Level of damage4.3 none4.6 some5.2 strong5.8 possible6.4 sure6.8 severe7.2 full disaster7.8 very dangerous8.1 complete damage

BAR GRAPH – LESSON 6: WILDFIRES

• Teacher will present the data of Total Wildland Fires and Acres on the Smart Board and ask students to create a bar graph to represent the data.

• Students will share their work using the document camera.

Total of Wildland Fires and Acres Burnt (2008-2014)