The MEGALIST of Natural Disasters

Photo taken before Hurricane Sandy. ©J.Greller

We are witnessing a lot of extreme weather lately which seems to be the product of global warming. Students need to understand the difference between hurricanes, typhoons and tornadoes, as well as why they all occur in the first place. Hopefully I have covered all the resources necessary below...







THE WEATHER
Active Weather Alerts- from National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

American Meteorological Society

Build Your Own Weather Station- Discovery Education lesson plan

Commuter Forecast- just enter destination

Discovery Education Lesson Plans

EdHeads: Weather Activities






Hands-On Science and Literacy Lessons About Weather and Climate- grades K-5




How's the Weather Today?- National Geographic Education

Inside the Climatologist's Toolbox

Interactive Weather Maker

Interactives on the Weather- from Annenberg Learner

Introduction to Weather Map Symbols and Terminology

Kid Info- weather facts and weather resources

Lesson Plan Central- weather lessons

National and Local Weather- weather.com

Preschool Education Theme: Weather

Preschool Weather Arts and Crafts

The Science Spot- weather lesson plans

Stop Disasters!- disaster simulation game

Tree House Weather Kids- Interactive site is also available in Spanish

Weather Activities and Smartboard Activities- very good site with a weather game, research section and so much more

Weather Lesson Plans- from TeAchnology

Weather Lesson Plans, Themes, Printouts, Crafts- The Teacher's Guide

Weather Map- shows U.S. weather map and some streaming video from weather cams

Weather Printables, Lesson Plans, Resources- from TeacherVision; covers grades K-12

Weather Scope: Make a Weather Station





Web Weather for  Kids


CALIFORNIA EARTHQUAKES

5 Largest California Earthquakes

California Earthquake History and Catalogs- from the California Department of Conservation

Great California Shakeout Day- world's largest earthquake drill; warnings about "The Big One"

How to Survive an Earthquake- from Wikihow

May 24, 2013- 5.7 largest to hit since 2008

October 19 Earthquake- Gulf of California affected

HURRICANES

TEACHING ABOUT HURRICANES

A to Z Teacher Stuff- small list of lessons about hurricanes

Apps for Tracking Hurricanes- nice listing of apps available in the iTunes store; most $$, some free

Best Books for teaching About Hurricanes- from Education World

BrainPop- video on hurricanes (younger kids)

Editors' Choices from Education World- best books to teach about hurricanes

FEMA Site- steps to prepare for a hurricane; kids site here.

Horrific Hurricanes

How Hurricanes Work- from How Stuff Works; includes quiz, video

How Names are Chosen- includes listing of names to 2017

Hurricane Digital Memory Bank- "Launched in 2005, the Hurricane Digital Memory Bank uses electronic media to collect, preserve, and present the stories and digital record of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita." 

Hurricane Facts and Figures- from the St. Petersburg Times; includes hurricane gallery 

Hurricane Hunters Association

Hurricane Lesson Plans and Classroom Activities- from Education World

Hurricane Tracker- from weather.com

Hurricane Tracking Activity- from Enchanted Learning

Hurricanes Videos- WatchKnowLearn; filter by grade level

Hurricane Watch: Lessons and Activities- from Education World

Hurricanes- page includes graphs, maps

HURRICANE HARVEY and IRMA




 

Hurricane Harvey, Irma Teaching Resources- TeachHub







Hurricane Irma: Determining the Road to Recovery and the Role of Climate Change- video and lesson plan from PBS

Teaching Activities for Hurricane Irma- NY Times Learning Network


HURRICANE KATRINA
11 Facts About Hurricane Katrina

Facts, Damage and Aftermath- from LiveScience

History.com- article and videos on the 2005 hurricane

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HURRICANE SANDY

Fast Facts- from CNN

Lessons From the Storm- from TIME magazine

Superstorm Sandy: A Daily Diary

Superstorm Sandy: Facts About the Superstorm-from LiveScience

A Timeline of Hurricane Sandy's Path of Destruction- from National Geographic

TORNADOES
Best Books for Teaching about Tornadoes- Education World

How Do Tornadoes Form?- TED lesson with video below

Tornado Safety- Red Cross

Tornadoes Fact Sheet-from FEMA

Tornadoes!-lesson plan for grades 4-5



TSUNAMIS
How Tsunamis Work- TED lesson and video



Tsunami Activities and Lesson Plans- from Teacher Planet

Tsunami Discussion Guide- grades K-2; from Teachervision

Tsunami Lesson Plan- grades 6-8; from Discovery Education

Tsunami Lesson Plans- from TeAchnology

Tsunami Resources for Teachers- from NOAA



TYPHOON HAIYAN

Before and After Photos from CNN

CNN Resources About Typhoon Haiyan

Interactive Video from the Washington Post

While the Atlantic is Quiet, a Historic Typhoon Bears Down on the Western Pacific- from TIME

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What I Realized After Sandy Came to Town

Greetings from Bergen County, New Jersey, 12 days since Hurricane Sandy swept through this part of the United States and changed the lives of people forever. After missing 7 days of school, we are here on November 9th, which should have been the second day of the N.J. Educator's Association's yearly convention in Atlantic City. Many of my colleagues and students were directly affected by the storm; some losing their cars and some losing everything they owned. I realized how important social media was in helping us communicate with one another. If you owned a smartphone and found power to recharge, you could check email, Facebook, or Twitter. Schools which utilized social media were able to get the word out about closings, delayed openings and clothing drives for those in need. Our school does not use Twitter or Facebook, but check the links if you want to introduce social media into your school.

With so many people still living without power, I once again pondered how great it would be if we didn't have to rely on the oil and power companies the way we do.The recent gas lines in the New York metropolitan area reminded me of the '70s, waiting for the correct day (odd or even) depending on the last number on your license plate.  What about the electric companies? Alternative energies have been around for a while, yet why don't we harness them?  News reports are now saying that some may people will not see the light at the end of the tunnel until 2013, because an electrician has to inspect their home and make sure it is safe to turn on the power. (To donate to the Red Cross, click the image on the top right of this page.) How do your students feel about alternative energies? Here are 28 places to start your lesson plan:

ALTERNATIVE ENERGY
K-12 Energy Lesson Plans and Activities- U.S. government site

About Hydropower

Adventures in Energy-a look at oil and gas (interactive)

Alternative Energy- solutions for the 21st century

Alternative Energy News- news and resources

Alternative Energy Resources

The American Wind Energy Association

Department of Energy- covers all types of alternative energies, including hydrogen, solar, wind

Energy From the Sun Teacher and Student Guides- seven lessons for grades K-4

Energy Fueling the Future- this site is from the UK; take one of their quizzes and see how much you know about energy

Energy Kids- wind, solar energy


The Energy Story- read the twenty chapter story online

Geothermal Energy- from the Geothermal Education Office

Green Technology and Alternative Energy

Harness the Power of Wind- from National Geographic

National Science Digital Library Ocean Wave Energy Company

New York Times Article on Solar Energy

Solar Electric Power Association- harness the power of the sun!

Solar Energy Lesson Plans- listed by grade level

Solar Energy Videos- from NeoK12

Solar Lesson Plans- divided by grade level

Solar Energy Basics- from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory

Treehugger- archived news articles about alternative energy

U.S. Department of Energy

Wind Energy Basics- from the U.S. government

Wave Power

Wind Energy Curricula and Teaching Materials- from the U.S. Department of Energy; nice listing of links

Wind Energy Curriculum for K-12

(This listing will be added to the "Science" page)