Natural

Disasters
LESSON
DESIGNED
FOR 6th GRADE

By: Nicole Thurzo,

Amanda Bannach, &
Sarah Menich
 Illinois State Standard

 12. E. 3a.- Analyze and

explain large-scale
dynamic forces, events
and processes that
affect the Earth’s Land,
water, and atmospheric
systems (e.g.
hurricanes, tornados)
 Objectives
 Name the types of
natural disasters.

 Explain the
characteristics of each
type of natural
disaster.

 Explain some natural

disasters of the past.

 Use the vocabulary given

in a paper about natural
disasters.
 Objectives Continued
 Explain how natural
disasters affect the
people and their
community.

 Explain how we know a

natural disaster is
coming.

 Describe the importance

of weather tools.

 List the consequences of

a natural disaster.
Vocabulary
 Natural Disaster- An act of
nature that can cause terrible
consequences for living things.
 Funnel Cloud- A cloud that is
triangular in shape and spins
very fast.
 Tidal Wave- a huge destructive
wave, that is caused by
something, (i.e. earthquake)
 Advisory- A statement that is
issued by the National Weather
Service to deliver the message
of probable weather, i.e. a
snowstorm.
Vocabulary
Continued
 Wind-chill- a measurement of
how cold the air feels because
of the wind.
 Earthquake- a trembling or
shaking movement of the earth.
In severe earthquakes, the
ground can crake open.
 Hurricane- a spiral-shaped
windstorm that comes from the
tropics, (i.e. anywhere near an
ocean)
 Air Pressure- the force
produced by the weight of the
air pressing down on the earth.
Accommodations
 Mnemonic training
for students
 Organizational skills
 Pre-teach vocabulary
and other important
information in new
unit.
 Have tests read aloud
 Alternative settings
when needed
Accommodations
Continued
 Peer tutor
 Graphic organizers
 Extended time for
assignments/tests
 Highlight important
parts of text
 Give students visual
examples of the
consequences of
natural disasters
 Modifications

 Reduce the vocabulary list.

 Reduce the number of choices on
the multiple choice test.
 Provide different text that is
easier for the student to
understand.
 Require the student to explain
one cause and one consequence
for only three of the natural
disasters discussed in class.
 Have students use the vocabulary
in a fill in the blank worksheet or
write a sentence rather than
write a paper.
 Assistive Technology
 Videos that show
how to examples of
projects that are
assigned.
 Adaptive computer
equipment
 Books that are on
tape
 Computer programs
to help with writing
papers (Co-
Writer2000)
 Tips For Parents

 Watch the Weather Channel with your child.

 When reading or looking at the weather be
sure to look at the weather all over the country
and discuss the natural disasters that are likely
to occur in each area.
 Discuss potential natural disasters in your community
and brainstorm what you would do in each scenario.
 Tips for Parents Continued…
 Practice where you would go in
the case of a natural disaster.

 Complete the FEMA checklist

of safety items in the home.

 When a storm is happening

watch for the lighting and count
to see how long it takes for
thunder to strike and explain
the shorter the time the closer
the lightening is.

 Watch movies that contain

natural disasters, i.e. The Day
After Tomorrow, and discuss
the myths to the movie and
answer questions that your
child might have or if you don’t
know look them up together.
 Teacher Resources

 National Oceanic and

Atmospheric Administration
Education Resources http://
www.education.noaa.gov/

 FEMA for Kids

http://
www.fema.gov/kids/index.htm

 Risk Watch
http://
www.nfpa.org/riskwatch/home.
html
 Teacher Resources Continued

 Do Tornadoes Really
Twist? Questions and
Answers about Tornadoes
and Hurricanes.
 Written by: Melvin Berger
and Higgins Bond

 Earthquakes
 Written by: Franklyn
Mansfield Branley and
Megan Lloyd
Critiques
 National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration Education
Resources http://
www.education.noaa.gov/

 FEMA for Kids

http://www.fema.gov/kids/index.htm

 Risk Watch
http://www.nfpa.org/riskwatch/
home.html
http://www.education.noaa.gov/
 Great information for
teachers
 Lesson plan ideas for
teachers
 Great for all types of
learners
 Weather games for
students to play
 Geared toward students of
all ages
 Kid friendly language
 Many pictures for the
students
 Reliable information
http://www.nfpa.org/riskwatch/
home.html

 Geared toward all ages of students.

 Very academic based
 Gives listings of previous natural
disasters and shows pictures
 Great factual information on
different natural disasters
 Awesome visual pictures
 Section for kids, and different
sections for parents and teachers
 Kid friendly language
 Gives what to do information for
each type of natural disaster
 http://www.fema.gov/kids/
 Designed to provide
students, parents, and
teachers with information
on natural disasters.
 The parent and teacher
page has activities and
curriculum information
that can be used in the
classroom.
 Gives extensive lists of
disaster resources.
 Research Findings

 Tsuchida, Mikinori. (2003). Providing Weather Satellite

Images to a Classroom Using the World Wide Web
(WWW). The Journal of Computers in Mathematics and Science
Teaching. v. 22 no2, 141-150.

 This article is designed around bringing weather into the

classroom. It provides information based around the project of
bringing satellite images into lessons to teach students about
weather around the world in a visual way. The results of seeing
this information hands on bring a higher level of
comprehension.
 Research Findings

Shreve, Roberta; Danbom, Karen Hanhan, Sara

Carpenter, Marilyn. (2002) Children's Understandings of
Disaster. Language Arts. 80, no. 2. p. 100-108

 This article talks about how the student portrays a natural

disaster. It talks about the psychological thought processes that
the student goes through when dealing with the term Natural
Disaster. It also gives ways to change the misconception of the
student.
 Research Findings

 Franks, Leslie. (2001). Charcoal Clouds and Weather

Writing: Inviting science to a Middle School Language Arts
Classroom. National Council of Teachers of English Conference
on College Composition and Communication. p. 319-324

 This article talks about presenting a lesson on weather by

incorporating the content areas of science, writing, and art. The
article gives reasons and facts to why introducing new learning
styles tend to help students grasp big concepts and ideas. The
unit in the article is a person-centered, thematic unit and uses a
constructivist curriculum and guides us through the lesson
presented by the teacher and then gives the feedback of how the
students responded.
 Agencies
 FEMA- Federal Emergency Management
Agency

 NOAA- National Oceanic and Atmospheric

Administration (National Weather Service)