Engage:
Read “Walls are Few on a Block Where Tornado Survivors Take Stock” <
http://www.nytimes.com/learning/teachers/featured_articles/19990507friday.html >.
Discuss the reading.
Have a share time about the tornado that hit the town of DeKalb on May 4, 1999. The
students were in school when the tornado hit the school. Have them talk about their
memories of that day and then focus the discussion on the effects of the tornado.
Have students bring pictures if they have them to show what the area looked like both
before and after the tornado hit.
Have students write about how the event occurred and how it affected them not only
physically but emotionally. Have them include descriptions of the weather and things
that they observed before, during, and after the storm hit. (Using Writing skills.)
Rubric for Engage Activity (25 points given automatically for turning something in)
25
20
15
10
Grammar
Essay included
Essay included
Essay included
Essay included
proper grammar and proper grammar and proper grammar and mostly proper
spelling. More than spelling. Only one
mostly correct
grammar and
one paragraph was
paragraph was used. spelling. Only one
mostly correct
used.
paragraph was used. spelling. Only one
paragraph was used.
Experiences
Essay included in
Essay included in
Essay included
Essay included only
depth descriptions
depth descriptions
some descriptions of physical or
of both physical and of either physical or both physical and
emotional
emotional
emotional
emotional
experiences, not
experiences.
experiences, and
experiences.
both.
only a small amount
about the other one.
Descriptions
Essay includes in
Essay includes brief Essay includes
Essay includes brief
depth descriptions
descriptions of
descriptions of the
descriptions of
of weather before,
weather before,
weather of during
weather of two of
during, and after the during, and after the two of the following the following
tornado hit.
tornado hit.
time periods: before, before, during, or
during, or after the
after the tornado hit.
tornado hit.
Explore:
Have the tornado groups them take the online National Geographic Weather Wizard quiz
< http://magma.nationalgeographic.com/ngexplorer/0401/games/game.cgi >. Then have
the groups make a list of things they know and don’t know about tornadoes.
Have students read through the National Severe Storms Laboratory’s
Tornadoes…Nature’s Most Violent Storms <
http://www.nssl.noaa.gov/edu/safety/tornadoguide.html > to lean more about tornadoes
and how they form, types, and myths.
Rubric for Explore Activity
50
40
Grammar
List included proper List included proper
grammar and
grammar and
spelling and the
spelling.
chart was well
organized.
Lists
More than 10 items 5 to 8 items in the
in each the known
both known and
and unknown
unknown sections.
sections.
30
20
Essay included
proper grammar and
mostly correct
spelling.
Essay included
mostly proper
grammar and
mostly correct
spelling.
At least five items
in one or the other
section.
Less than five items
in each section.
Explanation:
Do the National geographic “Tornado Brain Twisters” online <
http://www.nationalgeographic.com/ngkids/games/brainteaser/tornado/tornado.html >.
Discuss theses concepts with students:
Weather conditions that cause tornadoes
How tornadoes form and die out
Fujita scale
Tornado prediction
Problems with predicting tornados
Technologies used to predict tornadoes
Damage caused by tornados
Help provided by the government to communities hit by tornados
What we want to learn about tornadoes in general
Expansion:
Review the spheres (Atmosphere, Lithosphere, Hydrosphere, and Biosphere). Put
students in Tornado groups (name them after levels of the Fujita scale i.e. F1, F2 etc).
Have them choose Sphere groups for each individual within the Tornado groups. (Jigsaw
segment) Break students into sphere groups and have them use the online Storm Events
Database < http://www4.ncdc.noaa.gov/cgi-win/wwcgi.dll?wwevent~storms > and
construct charts of the data for Texas for the decade that the tornado hit DeKalb. Use the
criteria of F2 and Higher.
Hydrosphere group should make charts showing data involving water damage, rain fall,
and flooding during the decade of the DeKalb tornado.
Lithosphere group should make a map showing the locations and fujita of all tornados in
the state during the decade of the DeKalb tornado. (Uses Geography skills.)
Atmosphere group should create a chart showing the number of tornados per year,
number of tornados of each fujita scale ranking during the decade and by month, and time
of day.
Biosphere group should create charts showing casualties and property damage of
tornadoes during the decade. (Social studies overlap)
Rubric for Expansion Activity (25 points given automatically for turning something in)
25
20
15
10
Grammar
Chart included
Chart included
Chart included
Chart included
proper grammar and proper grammar and proper grammar and mostly proper
spelling. More than spelling. Only one
mostly correct
grammar and
one paragraph was
paragraph was used. spelling. Only one
mostly correct
used.
paragraph was used. spelling. Only one
paragraph was used.
Charts
Chart is correctly
Chart is correctly
Chart is correctly
Chart is correctly
labeled with keys,
labeled with keys,
labeled with keys,
labeled.
titles, and is
titles, and is
titles.
constructed in a
constructed in a
manner easily
manner easily
understood. Color
understood.
is used to help show
information.
Team work
Each person in the
All but one person
Fifty percent of the
Under fifty percent
group actively
worked actively on
group actively
of the group actively
participated.
creating the chart
participated.
participated
Evaluation/Assessment
(This should occur at all stages of this process but the big one would be as follows)
Have each group share these results with their Tornado groups then look at the DeKalb
tornado and create a presentation discussing how it compared to other tornados that hit
the state during that decade. Focus should be on the spheres and how the tornado
impacted the area. (Speech overlap).
Rubric for Evaluation Activity (25 points given automatically for turning something in)
25
20
15
10
Grammar
Presentation
Presentation
Presentation
Presentation
included proper
included proper
included proper
included mostly
grammar and
grammar and
grammar and
proper grammar and
spelling. More than spelling. Only one
mostly correct
mostly correct
one paragraph was
paragraph was used. spelling. Only one
spelling. Only one
used.
paragraph was used. paragraph was used.
Presentation
Presentation was in Presentation was in Presentation
Presentation
depth and included
depth, all group
included some event included either
visuals, all group
members taking part and sphere
event and sphere
members taking part in the presentation
interactions and
interactions or
in the presentation
and some event and causal chains.
causal chains.
and some event and sphere interactions
sphere interactions
and causal chains.
and causal chains.
Team work
Each person in the
All but one person
Fifty percent of the
Under fifty percent
group actively
worked actively on
group actively
of the group actively
participated.
creating the
participated.
participated
presentation
Personal Reflection on what I learned:
I have learned more about how hurricanes affect the earth and especially the impact on
the coastal regions. However, I am more aware of the weather impacts on into the
mainland as well. I did not know about the algal blooms that come after a hurricane or
the fact that the islands that line the coast were wearing away due to such storms. This
was quite an eye opener.
I learned more about how to use a jigsaw technique in my classes and how it can be
implemented for various subjects for greater interaction within the student group.