My Room is NOT a Disaster
Chris Bohne & Julie Dawson
Stevenson Elementary
Summer 2006
Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division,
FSA-OWI Collection, [reproduction number,
LC-USF34-040290-D DLC (b&w film neg.)
In this lesson students will view primary sources related to disasters. Students will
identify 4 different disasters and select a primary source that best represents the disaster.
With each primary source chosen students will list the name, date, and location of each of
the disasters.
Overview/ Materials/LOC Resources/Standards/ Procedures/Evaluation/Rubric/Handouts/Extension
Overview
Objectives
Recommended time frame
Grade level
Curriculum fit
Materials
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Students will:
 use primary sources
 explain what a disaster is and isn’t
 determine what all disasters have in common
3 One hour lessons
Third grade
Language Arts, Technology
 Copy of the Book The Berenstain Bears and the
Messy Room (see resource page)
 Copy of the Book If You Lived at the Time of the
Great San Francisco Earthquake (see resource page)
 Copy of the Book Tornadoes: Disaster & Survival
(see resource page)
 Power Point
 Comparing Disasters Worksheet
 Comparing Disasters Student Checklist
 Rubric
Illinois State Learning Standards
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STATE GOAL 5: Use the language arts to acquire, assess
and communicate information.

5B. Analyze and evaluate information acquired from various
An Adventure of the American Mind
Illinois State University

Procedures
sources.
5.B.1a Select and organize information from
various sources for a specific purpose.
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Day One:
 Media Specialist will read the book The Berenstein
Bears and the Messy Room.
 Students will be shown the Power Point presentation
on what is and is not a disaster in the computer lab.
 Students and teacher will come up with a definition
of disaster including the following key points:
 Causes severe damage, injury, and possible loss
of life.
 Very costly to repair damage.
 Known world wide.
Introduce the concept of Primary Sources. Model how
to access the Library of Congress website. Model how
to search for Primary Sources in the American Memory
section of the LOC.
Day Two:
Read selected portions of If You Lived at the Time of
the Great San Francisco Earthquake .
 Review definition of a disaster.
 Review the concept of Primary Sources.
 Model how to access the Library of Congress
website.
 Model how to search for Primary Sources in the
American Memory section of the LOC.
 Model how to copy and paste images into the
Comparing Disasters worksheet.
 Explain directions for completing Comparing
Disasters Worksheet.
 Begin working on Comparing Disasters worksheet.
Day Three:
 Read selections from Tornadoes: Disaster &
Survival.
 Introduce Comparing Disasters Student Checklist.
Continue work on Comparing Disasters Worksheet.
Allow students to share disaster Primary Sources.
Discuss student responses to the “How are all
disasters alike?” section of the Comparing Disasters
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Illinois State University
Worksheet.
Evaluation
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
To assess student understanding of Primary Sources
the teacher will give examples and non examples of
Primary Sources and ask students to give a “Thumbs
up” if the example is a Primary Source, and a
“Thumbs down” if the example is not a Primary
Source.

Students will be given a post it note and asked to
write one example of a Primary Source and their
name on the post it. As students exit Learning
Center they will stick their note to the Learning
Center marker board.
Student Comparing Disasters Checklist
Rubric for Comparing Disasters Worksheet


Extension
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


Create a Venn Diagram comparing two/three
disasters
Choose one disaster and design a poster showing
facts and information about the disaster using
Primary Sources.
Do a KWL worksheet about a disaster. Read a
nonfiction book about the disaster and complete the
KWL sheet.
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Illinois State University
Primary Resources from the Library of Congress
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Image/Resource
Description
Headline describing
the Titanic disaster
in the New York
Herald newspaper.
New England
hurricane. Barn in
Connecticut.
Panoramic picture
of ruins of Pompeii
Soothing her kitten,
a girl of Hickman
Mills,
Missouri, sits in the
ruins of her home
destroyed by a
tornado, 1957
Copyprint of gelatin
silver print
Citation
New York Herald,
April 15, 1912
Serial &
Government
Publications
Division (53.1),
Library of Congress
Exhibitions
Library of
Congress, Prints &
Photographs
Division, FSA-OWI
Collection,
[reproduction
number, e.g., LCUSF35-1326
URL
http://www.loc.gov/
exhibits/treasures/tr
m096.html
http://memory.loc.g
ov/cgibin/query/r?ammem
/fsaall:@field(NUM
BER+@band(fsa+8
c02263))
Library of Congress,
Prints and
Photographs Division
[reproduction number,
pan 6a23839
http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.
pnp/pan.6a23839
http://memory.loc.g
ov/cgibin/query/r?ammem
/pan:@field(NUMB
ER+@band(pan+6a
23839))
LOC Prints and
Photographs
Division
LC-USZ62-114377
(49) Grey Villet
http://www.loc.gov/
exhibits/young/imag
es/y49-3c14377r.jpg
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Illinois State University
Before and After the
Great Earthquake
and Fire: Early
Films of San
Francisco, 18971916
Debris litters the
city of Meulaboh,
Sumatra,
Indonesia,
following the Dec.
2004 earthquake
and tsunami.
View of World
Trade Center
towers, New York,
New York, with
tower #2 exploding
in a ball of fire after
the September 11th
terrorist attack,
September 11,
2001.
Inkjet print
Library of
Congress, Motion
Picture,
Broadcasting, and
Recorded Sound
Division. lcmp003
03734s1 03734s2
03734s3 03734s4
http://hdl.loc.gov/lo
c.mbrsmi/lcmp003.
03734
U.S. Navy photo by
Photographer's
Mate 3rd Class
Jennifer Rivera
(RELEASED).,
Science Reference
Services, Library of
Congress
http://memory.loc.g
ov/cgibin/query/r?ammem
/papr:@field(NUM
BER+@band(lcmp0
03+03734s4))
Gift of Thomas B.
and Katherine B.
Martin LOC Prints
and Photographs
Division (157)
http://www.loc.gov/
exhibits/911/images
/01810r.jpg
http://images.google
.com/imgres?imgurl
=http://www.loc.go
v/rr/scitech/SciRefG
uides/images/debris.
jpg&imgrefurl=http:
//www.loc.gov/rr/sc
itech/SciRefGuides/
naturaldisasters.htm
l&h=165&w=250&
sz=28&hl=en&start
=1&tbnid=GtxHjhx
Pq6TpuM:&tbnh=6
9&tbnw=106&prev
=/images%3Fq%3D
tsunami%2Bsite:loc
.gov%26svnum%3
D10%26hl%3Den%
26lr%3D%26sa%3
DG
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coast line lashed by
the tropical
hurricane
of Sept. 1945
Prints &
Photographs
Division, Library of
Congress. LCUSZ62-106054
(b&w film copy
neg.)
http://memory.loc.g
ov/cgibin/query/r?pp/ils:
@filreq(@field(NU
MBER+@band(cph
+3c06054))+@field
(COLLID+cph))
An Adventure of the American Mind
Illinois State University
Rubric
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Student Name:
________________________________________
4
3
2
1
Sources
4 Primary Sources
shown.
3 Primary Sources
shown.
2 Primary Sources
shown.
1 or no Primary
Sources shown.
Requirements
All 4 Primary Source
examples have
name of disaster,
date of disaster, and
location of disaster.
Most Primary Source
examples have
name of disaster,
date of disaster, and
location of disaster.
Few Primary Source
examples have
name of disaster,
date of disaster, and
location of disaster.
None of the Primary
Source examples
have name of
disaster, date of
disaster, and
location of disaster.
Content
Disaster comparison Disaster comparison Disaster comparison Disaster comparison
section lists the three section lists two key section lists one key section lists no key
key elements.
elements.
element.
elements.
CATEGORY
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Handouts
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Student Comparing Disasters Checklist
Name _____________________________
Date ___/___/___
 Student has chosen 4 Primary Sources
 Each Primary Source has the correct name
 Each Primary Source has the correct date
 Each Primary Source has the correct location
 Student has listed at least 3 things all disasters have in common in the center
section.
Student Comparing Disasters Checklist
Name _____________________________
Date ___/___/___
 Student has chosen 4 Primary Sources
 Each Primary Source has the correct name
 Each Primary Source has the correct date
 Each Primary Source has the correct location
 Student has listed at least 3 things all disasters have in common in the center
section.
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Illinois State University
______________________ room is not a disaster!
Student Name
Insert Photo Here
Insert Photo Here
How are the
disasters
similar?
_________________________________
_________________________________
_________________________________
_________________________________
Disaster Name __________________
Date of Disaster__________________
Location of Disaster_______________
_________________________________
_________________________________
Disaster Name __________________
Date of Disaster__________________
_________________________________
_________________________________
Location of Disaster_______________
_________________________________
_________________________________
Insert Photo Here
_________________________________
Insert Photo Here
_________________________________
_________________________________
Disaster Name __________________
Date of Disaster__________________
Location of Disaster_______________
Disaster Name __________________
Date of Disaster__________________
Location of Disaster_______________
Resources