How to Handle a Hurricane Lesson Objectives and Assignments

Unit/Theme: Tropical Storm Bertha/History Standards: Social Studies; Strand 1: American History, Concept 1: Research Skills for History Content Objective (s) _Students will explore storm Katrina and how it shaped the history of tropical storms. Students will create timeline of key events and answer questions from discussions with teacher and group activity. Language Objective (s) Students will use key vocabulary to construct their timelines and answer questions from worksheet.

Tropical Storm Bertha Sat., September 20, 2008 MIAMI- A new tropical storm is spinning just off Mexico’s Northern Yucatan Peninsula, making this one of the busiest tropical storm seasons in history. The storm’s current path would take it into Louisiana. Forecasters named the system Tropical Storm Bertha. Bertha is the 16th named storm of this busy Atlantic hurricane season. Early predictions of Bertha’s path put the storm near the Louisiana coast on Tuesday. Hurricane center forecasters caution, however that such longer tem predictions have an error rate of 300 miles either way. Some of the 1,452 year round residents of Grand Isle, Louisiana, were taking no chances. Grand Isle is a 7-mile long island 110 miles south of New Orleans, and it is near the center of the storm’s current forecast track. Mayor Andy Valencia said if the storm stays in the current path, everyone would probably leave the island by Sunday. The government of Mexico issued a tropical storm warning for the northeastern portion of the Yucatan from Cozumel and Cancun to Progreso as heavy rain caused flooding and closed ports in eastern Mexico. Forecasters predicted more than 10 inches of rain could fall in the Yucatan and western Cuba. The slow moving Bertha with top winds of 50 mph, was about 40 miles northwest of Merida, Mexico, and expected to strengthen as it moved into the Gulf of Mexico.

Example of Tropical Storm Olivia and how it started

Unit/Theme: Tropical Storm Bertha/Reading Standards: Reading; Strand 1: Reading Process. Concept 1 through 5. Content Objective (s) _Students will demonstrate understanding of tropical storm handouts. Students will read actual news reports about storms. Language Objective (s) Students will read memos from city staff members, taking various positions on the evacuation and looking for vocabulary already learned in previous lessons. Key Vocabulary Supplementary Material StreamsNews Articles, Internet DitchesHurricane Planning and Preparation Guide GulliesMovie, Charts Urban Floodingpaper Evacuation Plan Flood Watch Coastal Flood Arroyo

Science Unit/Theme: Tropical Storm Bertha/Science Standards: Science; Strand 3: Science in Personal and Social Perspectives, PO 1 and PO 2. Content Objective (s) _Students will analyze the risk factors associated with a tropical storm: hurricanes and floods. Language Objective (s) Students will analyze possible solutions to address risks with hurricanes and floods. Students will learn how to prepare for a storm and about safety rules using key vocabulary.

Lesson Sequence Teacher instructs students to look at language and content objectives on the board. Students are told they will play the role of a mayor of a city of Pensacola Beach, Florida. Tropical Storm Bertha has turned into a Hurricane and it is developing/approaching in the Gulf of Mexico. Students must decide whether or not to order a forced evacuation of the city. Teacher goes over instructions on their assignment and puts it on projector for students to see. Students are given several handouts to read which include actual news reports and memos from city staff members taking various positions on the evacuation. Students review basic information about hurricanes using their vocabulary. Students do a shared reading of articles and memos and are asked to use their decision making skills as they will need to decide whether they will evacuate residents or not. Students are to pick their groups; they need to pick someone who will be the Mayor. The Mayor will decide with the help of the other students what to do. Students are asked to do research at the library, on the internet and, in newspapers to help them decide whether they will evacuate residents and bring back information to next class.