Amanda Whitehouse: educwhitehal@gmail.

com
Michaela Kemerly: educmikeme@gmail.com
Dana Alexander: educdamaalex@gmail.com

What kinds of severe weather am I at risk for, and how Commented [1]: Amanda, Michaela, Dana, Great
revision! Keep up the good work!

can I prepare for them? Commented [2]: Good job ,overall. You can try to
address my comments. See you on Thursday!

Grade: Second grade

Overall Goal: Students will work in groups, with each group given their own instance of severe
weather, in order to learn about different natural disasters and how to prepare for them. They will
use resources provided to learn about their given instance, and will create and present a Google
Slides presentation to inform the rest of the class about what they have learned. This is important
for students to learn at a young age because they can never be too prepared for natural
disasters. Especially lately, with all of the hurricanes that have been happening, it will be good for
them to understand what they are and how to prepare for them.

Standards Learning Objectives Assessment

2.ESS.2 - Investigate the severe
weather of the region and its
impact on the community,
looking at forecasting to prepare
for, and respond to, severe
weather.
Students will be able to identify what Rubric:
kinds of severe weather can impact https://www.rcampus
them. .com/rubricshowc.cf
m?code=WX9W2A7
Students will be able to describe &nocache=1506294
how to prepare for different 392653
instances of severe weather.

Students will be able to use

vocabulary words and other
resources to demonstrate their
knowledge on a subject they have
researched.

Students will be able to create a

Google Slides presentation using
information they have learned
throughout their research.
Key Terms & Definitions:
Severe weather: any kind of destructive or life-threatening weather event. Thunderstorms
can be destructive, but tornadoes, hail, lightning, etc. can be life-threatening
Hurricane: a large storm with high winds, rain, lightning, thunder, and sometimes
tornadoes
Tornado: wind that swirls around and creates a funnel cloud that often forms during a
thunderstorm
Wildfire: an uncontrolled fire often in wildland areas that can spread to houses and
destroy agricultural resources
Earthquake: shaking, rolling, or sudden shock of Earths surface
Blizzard: An intense winter storm with winds of 35 m.p.h. or higher with falling and/or
blowing snow to reduce visibility
Forecasting: prediction of what the weather will be like in an hour, tomorrow, or next
week

Lesson Introduction (Hook, Grabber):

Students will be shown videos of different instances of severe weather in order to catch their
attention and make them curious about these natural disasters. These videos will peak their
interest and allow them to become immersed in the lesson. The students should begin to
understand the severity of these instances when they watch these videos.
Some questions to ask about the videos:
What is happening in these videos?
Are these things dangerous?
Should people be outside or inside during things like this?
Would you be scared if one of these things happened near you?

Tornado video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=64covicCcIY

Hurricane video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QDFK40UMotc
Earthquake video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1kmMOHPrTsg
Wildfire video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FeHIxeKGrYY
Blizzard video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PI4D0EKo13w

Lesson Main: Commented [3]: Much better now.

 Students will be split into 5 equal groups. These can be pre-assigned or the students may
be allowed to choose their own groups, that is up to the teachers discretion. Once split into their
groups, each group will be assigned one of the following instances of severe weather: Tornado,
Blizzard, Hurricane, Wildfire, or Earthquake. It does not matter how they are assigned, as long as
each group has a different instance. The groups can choose, they can draw out of a hat, or the
teacher can assign them how they see fit.
Each group will be given access to the Trello board (linked below), which has plenty of
resources on each natural disaster. The Trello board should have everything the students need,
information-wise, but if it does not, they are free to do extra research on their topic if they want
to. While they work, the teacher will be wandering around the classroom observing the students
progress, answering questions, and making sure the groups stay on task.
When they begin creating their Google Slides presentation, they will be given access to
the example presentation (linked below). This example should act as a guide, showing the
students how many slides they should have, what should be on each slide, and what the slides
should look like. If they have questions about the Google Slides presentation, pull up the
example and use it to answer whatever questions they may have.
The students must get the project done in the time they have been given for it, and this
time will span over the course of a few days, with them have 1-1.5 hours a day to work. They
should be able to get this done in this time period, and if they are struggling the teacher should
talk to group and guide them in the right direction.

Lesson Ending:

This lesson will be wrapped up with a presentation from every group on their specified
instance of severe weather. The presentation should be 5 slides long, not including the title slide,
and should take a few minutes to present. There should be information about their natural
disaster, where it occurs, what to do before/during/after it, and what to pack in an emergency kit.
They should follow the example as a template, and include information they have researched and
vocabulary words they have learned.
They will be graded on the participation in the presentation, the quality of the information,
and how well they followed directions. Each group will present, and then afterwards the students
will talk about what the other groups talked about in order to make sure they understand.
Students can also ask questions about other groups information if they want to, after the
presentation is over.

Assessment Rubric: 20 Points Total

Great (+5 pts) Average (+3 pts) Poor (+1 pt) Bad (+0 pts)
 Information Information is true Information is true, Information is No
and is organized in but is not obviously fake information is
a way that makes organized well. or made up. given.
sense.

Google Slides Readable and Understandable Slides No Slides

matches the format and has the Presentation is presentation
of the example information, but unable to be is given.
Slides presentation. the format is understood.
wrong.

Presentation Everyone Not everyone Not everyone No

participates in the participates, but participates, presentation
presentation, they follow the and the Slides is given.
follows slides Slides presentation is
presentation well. presentation well. not followed.

Teamwork Group works Group works Group does not Group does
together well and together, but is work together, not work
stays on-task. often off-task. and is off-task. together at
Everyone is doing Some people One or two all.
something. doing more work people are
than others. doing more
work than the
others.

Resources / Artifacts:
Example Presentation (Amanda Whitehouse):
https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1eVHqXoTd1Ac0GhLb_2l3JUTzYWsfrcbn
m1SIWEtCTzI/edit?pli=1#slide=id.g265d9822bd_0_433
Trello Board (Michaela Kemerly): Commented [4]: Michaela, great resources.
severe-weather
Piktochart (Dana Alexander): Commented [5]: Dana, good job! Please also make
https://create.piktochart.com/output/24687238-natural-disasters sure that the content of the Piktochart is appropriate for
2nd grade students to read.

Differentiation:
 1. Differentiation for ability levels
High ability learners and low ability learners will be mixed together in groups so that no
group will have an advantage or disadvantage. The high ability learners will be able to
help and/or guide the low ability learners in their group, and the teacher will walk around
and make sure everyone understands the project, and the teacher will answer any
questions the students may have and point them in the right direction if they are having
trouble.

2. Differentiation for demographics

If any problems arise because of demographics, they will be handled by the teacher. This
project does not seem to cause any problems with demographics, and second graders
often do not recognize these problems, as they are too young.

3. Differentiation for languages

Students who do not have English as a first language will work in a group with students
who speak English natively so they can help translate if needed, and the teacher will pay
special attention to this group in case the student who is still learning english needs help
with anything.

4. Differentiation for access & resources

The entire project will be completed in class and the classroom will have access to
computers and these computers will have an internet connection, so it doesn't matter if
students have access to these things at home. If a student does not understand how to
use a program, the teacher or other students in the group can help them.

Anticipated Difficulties:

Some difficulties a teacher may experience are groups not working together, groups
being off-task, and students not understanding the idea of the lesson. The teacher can address
these by walking around the room and keeping an eye on the students. They will also answer
any questions the students may have and will try to keep the groups in line.