Lesson Plan

Preparing for Natural Disasters: Tornado

Subject Area

Digital Literacy and Computer Science
English Language Arts
Social Studies

Grade(s)

3

Overview

The lesson will begin by students performing a think-aloud as they consider the similarities of five words:  tornado, shelter, basement, underground, and safe room. Students will use a pros and cons graphic organizer as they read articles on three different types of tornado shelters: underground shelters, part of the house shelters, and prebuilt shelters. The students will find the advantages and disadvantages of each type of structure. At the end of the lesson, the teacher will create a table that lists all the shelters and the pros and cons of each. Students will then determine which shelter they feel is most efficient in an "exit slip" response. 

This unit was created as part of the ALEX Interdisciplinary Resource Development Summit.

Social Studies (2010) Grade(s): 3

SS10.3.9

Identify ways to prepare for natural disasters.

Unpacked Content

UP:SS10.3.9

Vocabulary

  • flood-prone areas
  • earthquake insurance
  • flood insurance
  • hurricane shelters
  • tornado shelters
  • emergency
  • evacuation routes

Knowledge

Students know:
  • Appropriate ways to prepare for natural disasters in order to minimize negative effects.
  • Vocabulary: flood prone areas, earthquake insurance, flood insurance, hurricane shelters, tornado shelters

Skills

Students are able to:
  • Establish an emergency plan.

Understanding

Students understand that:
  • There are appropriate ways to prepare for natural disasters in order to minimize negative effects.
English Language Arts (2021) Grade(s): 3

ELA21.3.19

Determine the explicit or implied main idea and supporting details of a text.

Unpacked Content

UP:ELA21.3.19

Vocabulary

  • Explicit main idea
  • Implied main idea
  • Supporting details

Knowledge

Students know:
  • The main idea is the most important idea presented in the text.
  • Sometimes an author will clearly state the main idea, while other times an author will merely suggest the main idea.
  • The supporting details explain the main idea or provide more information about the main idea.

Skills

Students are able to:
  • Identify the main idea in of a text.
  • Determine if the main idea is explicitly stated or implies.
  • Identify the supporting details of a text.

Understanding

Students understand that:
  • Literary and informational texts have a main idea, or most important message, and supporting details, which provide more information about the main idea.
  • An author can choose to state the main idea in the text or provide clues to imply the main idea.
  • A text usually just has one main idea, but multiple supporting details.
English Language Arts (2021) Grade(s): 3

ELA21.3.23

Identify and use text features in informational passages to locate information.

Unpacked Content

UP:ELA21.3.23

Vocabulary

  • Text features
  • Locate
  • Informational passage
  • Identify

Knowledge

Students know:
  • Informational passages often include text features that can be used to locate information within the text.

Skills

Students are able to:
  • Identify text features in informational passages, such as headings, photographs, illustrations, labels, charts, graphs, legends.
  • Use text features to locate information within an informational passage.

Understanding

Students understand that:
  • Informational passages have predictable features that can be used to locate important information within the text.
  • Text features that are often used in informational text include headings, photographs, illustrations, labels, charts, graphs, and legends.
  • Using text features helps support their overall comprehension.
Digital Literacy and Computer Science (2018) Grade(s): 3

DLCS18.3.16

Conduct basic keyword searches to produce valid, appropriate results, and evaluate results for accuracy, relevance, and appropriateness.

Unpacked Content

UP:DLCS18.3.16

Vocabulary

  • keyword
  • search
  • valid
  • true
  • accuracy/accurate
  • relevance/relevant

Knowledge

Students know:
  • strategies to conduct keyword searches.
  • strategies evaluate the accuracy of information.
  • not all information online is valid or true.

Skills

Students are able to:
  • conduct basic keyword searches using basic words and phrases.
  • explain how they know information located online is valid or true.

Understanding

Students understand that:
  • using specific keywords while searching will deliver best results.
  • not all information online is valid or true.
Digital Literacy and Computer Science (2018) Grade(s): 3

DLCS18.3.R5

Locate and curate information from digital sources to answer research questions.

Unpacked Content

UP:DLCS18.3.R5

Vocabulary

  • curate
  • keyword
  • search engine
  • database

Knowledge

Students know:
  • that information to research questions can be obtained from digital sources.
  • how to use resources to organize information.
  • how to use resources to present or share with others.

Skills

Students are able to:
  • create a list of keywords or phrases to enter into a search engine and/or database such as the Alabama Virtual Library.
  • use additional words or punctuation to narrow search such as AND (+), OR, NOT (
  • ), and quotation marks.
  • organize information.
  • share information by creating a digital resource.

Understanding

Students understand that:
  • information can be located from a digital source to answer research questions.
  • information can be organzied and shared by creating a digital resource.

Primary Learning Objectives

  • Students will collect information from various websites on constructing tornado shelters.
  • Students will arrange the information on the different types of tornado shelters from non-fiction text passages in a graphic organizer. 
  • Students will analyze the structures and determine which structure they feel has the most potential to remain intact during a tornado.

Procedures/Activities

Before Strategy/Engage: 10 minutes

1. The teacher will write the following words on the board: tornado, shelter, basement, underground, and safe room. Ask students to brainstorm on paper how they think these words are connected. Allow students 5 minutes to brainstorm and write their thoughts on paper.

2. The teacher should call on various students. The teacher can guide students, if needed, to how the words are connected to safety for civilians and how shelters are a way for people to prepare for national disasters like a tornado.

During Strategy/Explore & Explain: 70 minutes

1. Pass out the Pros and Cons Graphic Organizer. Each student should receive three graphic organizers. Show students how to write each type of tornado shelter at the top of the page: Underground Shelter, Part of the House Shelter, and Prebuilt Shelter. 

2. Model for students how to find pros and cons of an underground shelter by using the article "Tornado Shelters & Safe Rooms: Choosing The Best Storm Shelter For Your Home" from Weather Tips Guide. Put a copy of the article under a document camera in order to highlight the pros in yellow and the cons in green. The teacher should highlight the pros of an underground shelter from the article (ex. cost). Then ask students to find the cons in the article (ex. flooding). Have students call them out as the teacher highlights them in green. Transfer the highlighted information into the graphic organizer. (15 minutes)

3. Ask the students to read the other articles while looking for pros and cons to each type of shelter and writing the information on their graphic organizer as modeled before.  (40 minutes)

4. After forty minutes has elapsed, call on students to share their findings. On chart paper or the board, create a large table that lays out the pros and cons of each of the three tornado shelter designs the students researched: underground shelters, part of the house shelter, and prebuilt shelters. The teacher should write the pros and cons of each on the chart paper or board to reflect the student answers. (15 minutes)

After Strategy/Explain & Elaborate: 10 minutes

 1. Ask students the following question as an "exit slip" writing prompt: Which design of a tornado shelter do you think is the best to assist citizens with public safety? Do you think there is an alternative design that could be made or a hybrid of the ones already available? Remind students that they may look at their notes of the pros and cons of each design.

2. Students will write the answers on the paper by using both writing and drawings. The teacher should circulate the room as students write, reminding students to reference their graphic organizer.

Assessment Strategies

Formative Assessment: The teacher should informally assess students by questioning in the before strategy and during modeling of how to find the pros and cons of an article. The teacher should circulate the room and give guidance to students as they work on their graphic organizers while reading. 

Summative Assessment: The teacher should formally assess students by reviewing each student's three Pros and Cons Graphic Organizers of each type of shelter at the conclusion of the lesson. The teacher should review each student's "exit slip" to ensure the students have achieved the stated objectives of the lesson.

Acceleration

Students can expand their knowledge of storm shelters by reading about local companies that provide shelters in the Tennessee Valley including Valley Storm Shelters.

Intervention

If students struggle finding information on devices, the teacher can make copies of the articles and allow the students to use green and yellow highlighters to find the information as the teacher modeled. 

Approximate Duration

Total Duration

61 to 90 Minutes

Background and Preparation

Background/Preparation

Student Background Information: Prior to this lesson, students have read nonfiction texts on how climates impact weather which can, in turn, produce different natural disasters due to the geographic location. Students then read texts on tornadoes specifically, focusing on the cause and effect of tornadoes. If students need to review this lesson, students can watch the video Tornadoes 101 from National Geographic.

Teacher Background Information: In the south, tornado shelters are often recommended because of the likelihood of tornadoes in the area due to the warm, humid air in the Gulf of Mexico often meeting the cool air from Canada. In turn, many different options for tornado shelters exist including underground shelters, a shelter that is part of the house, and a premade shelter. Each type of shelter has its own pros and cons. 

The teacher should make all required copies prior to teaching the lesson. Each student will need three copies of the graphic organizer. 

Materials and Resources

Materials and Resources

Student Materials (per student):

Notebook paper

Pencil or pen

 Articles/Websites:

"Taking Cover: A Guide to Tornado Shelters" from National Geographic

"Tornado Shelters & Safe Rooms: Choosing The Best Storm Shelter For Your Home" from Weather Tips Guide

"The Safest Place to Be During a Tornado" from Shelter Insurance

"Safe Rooms" brochure from the National Weather Service

Teacher Materials:

Copies made for Pros and Cons Graphic Organizer

Document camera

Green and yellow highlighters

Technology Resources Needed

Internet-capable technology devices (iPads, Chromebooks, laptops, etc.)

The teacher will need a document camera (ELMO).

Approved Date

2017-04-05

Owner (Author)

stephroden

Owner2

elisagh
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