Students will be given a list of disasters and choose the ones that they think are weather-related.
Students will analyze and interpret natural hazard maps for floods, tornadoes, hurricanes, and droughts to determine patterns in their locations, frequency and severity.
Students will use past and present data to research natural hazards, and forecast future events.
Students will use past and present data to research natural hazards, and forecast future events.
Students will create a CER explaining why some areas are more prone to natural hazards than others.
Students will create infographics that analyze past natural hazards, provide an explanation for their devastation, and research mitigating measures for those hazards.
Students will analyze patterns in data to construct explanations for the frequency and intensity of natural hazards.
Students will create a hurricane disaster plan using an online simulation.
In the previous cycle, students analyzed and interpreted surface weather maps to explain how past and current weather data is used to forecast future weather.
In this cycle, students will construct explanations to answer the guiding question: How can we predict, track, and prepare for extreme weather events? Students will answer this guiding question by analyzing and interpreting data related to the timing, location, frequency, and severity of natural hazards, including tornadoes and hurricanes. They will develop models that explain the factors that affect formation of these severe weather events, and obtain information from various resources to explain the how meteorologists utilize radar technologies to forecast future tornado and hurricane events. Students construct arguments explaining why certain locations are prone to experiencing tornadoes and hurricanes. They utilize their understanding about atmospheric and oceanic circulation from previous cycles as reasoning to support their claim. Finally, students develop an infographic that analyzes a past natural hazard, and provides includes possible technologies that can be utilized to mitigate future natural hazards.
In the next concept, students will explore the relationship between weather and climate. They will obtain information from text resources to explain the factors that affect climate.