THERESA BALDWIN 1

Magic School Bus: Inside a Hurricane

Cole, J., & Degen, B. (1995). Magic school bus: Inside a hurricane. New York, NY: Scholastic
Inc.

Grade Level: 3 - 5

Genre: Science Fiction

Content Area: Earth Science

Ways to Introduce the Book: Introduce this book after reading some of the other hurricane
books to students. It has very technical language and it would help if students had a general
understanding of hurricanes before delving into this scientific book.

Summary: Ms. Frizzle and her class take a field trip to the weather station, but instead, their bus
turns into a hot air balloon and they fly straight into a hurricane to learn all about weather,
storms, and hurricanes.

Extensions: Each student writes a report on a topic from the options below:

What makes wind? Do all tropical storms become hurricanes?

What makes air expand?
Why does hot air rise?
What are the three kinds of clouds?
What makes rain clouds turn dark?
What is a hurricane?
What is the equator?
Why is it hotter near the equator?
Why do hurricanes have names?
When is hurricane season and why?
What makes hurricane winds blow in a circle?
How big is a hurricane?
How fast do the winds blow inside a hurricane?
Why is it quiet in the eye of a hurricane?
Who don’t hurricane winds blow into the eye?
How do hurricanes travel?
Which part of the hurricane is strongest?
Hurricanes: Then and Now
Are tornadoes and hurricanes alike?

Students then create some form of artifact (poster, experiment, drawing, model, graphic
organizer, etc.) and share with the class. Teacher and students work together to create a
hurricane book by compiling the reports and including the artifacts. If students created a poster,
model, or experiment, then the teacher will take a photo of the object and include it in the book
with its respective report.

An example for an artifact a student could create for the prompt “what is a hurricane?” is
provided on the following page.
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Winds of at least 74 miles per hour

Frayer Model for “Inside a Hurricane” by Joanna Cole

A large rotating storm with high

speed winds that forms over Can be up to 600 miles across
warm waters in tropical areas
Gather heat and energy through
contact with warm ocean waters
HURRICANE
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Hurricanes!

Gibbons, G. (2009). Hurricanes!. New York, NY: Holiday House.

Grade Level: 4 - 7

Genre: Informational Picture Book

Content Area: Math and Meteorology

Ways to Introduce the Book: Before reading this book aloud to the class, show students several
weather reports on hurricanes, such as these:

Katrina: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E6lw-BVYM8g

Irma: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bh67tvTNaJs

Florence: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dliteAo3FUk

Summary: An informational text with vivid and colorful illustrations that provides readers with
explicit information regarding how hurricanes form, the different categories of hurricanes and
their characteristics, and some famous hurricanes from history.

Extensions: This book lends itself well to a math lesson, due to the amount of numerical data it
contains. Teacher can assign each small group a hurricane, and students act as meteorologists.
They do research to determine the maximum wind speeds, storm surges, and size of the
hurricane. Then, they use these factors to determine category of the hurricane. Groups then
present to the class in the form of a weather report. The rest of the students take notes on the
data provided. After all the weather reports, groups use the data to find the average wind speed,
storm surge, and size of all the hurricanes.

The following hurricane math lesson has many more math problems that could be completed
after this activity:

https://www.yummymath.com/wp-content/uploads/hurricane2018-update.pdf
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What was Hurricane Katrina?

Koontz, R., & Hinderliter, J. (2015). What was Hurricane Katrina?. New York, NY: Grosset &
Dunlap.

Grade Level: 3 - 7

Genre: Non-Fiction

Content Area: Social Studies (History) and Language Arts (Literacy)

Ways to Introduce the Book: This is a chapter book, so it can be assigned as homework
reading. Have students read two or three chapters a night, and take about five minutes a day to
discuss what they read.

Summary: A short chapter book detailing the events of 2005’s Hurricane Katrina, from damage
done to rescue efforts to survivors’ tales.

Extensions: Since this book has more to do with what happened on land and to the people during
a specific hurricane, rather than the science behind hurricanes, I think it is a good book for a
history lesson. After all students have read the entire book, the class will together complete the
semantic map provided on the following page. This semantic map is designed specifically for
historical events. This strategy also includes the literacy standard that students should ask and
answer such questions as who, what, when, where, and why to demonstrate their understanding of
key details in a text (CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.2.1). The whole class will complete it together to
serve as a model for the next step.

Students should then research another major hurricane. They should find the information and fill
out a semantic map on the hurricane of their choosing. The class will then work together to
create a timeline on the wall. Teacher should use yarn and mini clothespins to create the line,
and students should pin their semantic maps in the order that the hurricanes occurred. Some
major hurricanes are listed below:

Galveston 1900 Agnes 1972 Charley 2004

Atlantic-Gulf 1919 Alicia 1983 Frances 2004
Miami 1926 Gilbert 1988 Ivan 2004
New England 1938 Hugo 1989 Jeanne 2004
Great Atlantic 1944 Andrew 1992 Dennis 2005
Carol and Edna 1954 Opal 1995 Katrina 2005
Hazel 1954 Mitch 1998 Rita 2005
Connie and Diane 1955 Floyd 1999 Wilma 2005
Audrey 1957 Keith 2000 Ike 2008
Donna 1960 Iris 2001
Camille 1969 Isabel 2003
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Semantic Map for “What was Hurricane Katrina?” by Robin Koontz

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Hurricane!

London, J., & Sorensen, H. (1998). Hurricane!. New York, NY: Lothrop, Lee & Shepard
Books.

Grade Level: 2 - 5

Genre: Fiction

Content Area: Art (Watercolors)

Ways to Introduce the Book: This book will be the first introduction to hurricanes. I think this
makes a good introductory book because it is not overly detailed, but certainly portrays
hurricanes as a serious matter. Before reading the book, engage students in dialogue about
whether they know what a hurricane is or if they have ever been in one. Then, read.

Summary: A young boy describes his and his family’s experiences of the time when a hurricane
hits their home town on the island of Puerto Rico. The boy and his family leave their home and
seek shelter with their neighbors in an old navy barracks. Everyone is worried and scared, but in
a beautiful moment, neighbors begin to sing together, causing everyone to feel just a little better.
It is written in a very innocent tone and is illustrated with dark, somber watercolor paintings that
set the tone of the book.

Extensions: I chose to use this book for an art lesson because of the beautiful watercolor
illustrations in the book. The teacher can begin the lesson by showing students a Bob Ross
watercolor tutorial of a storm on the horizon (https://youtu.be/pA_2paUhBAQ). Even if the
whole video isn’t watched, it would be beneficial to show at least a couple clips of it so that
students can learn some technique.

Next, students paint their own scenes of hurricanes on 8” x 10” canvases. They can choose to
model an illustration from the book, from the video, or from their own imagination. Their
paintings will be displayed in the classroom and then taken home.
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Story of a Storm: A Book about Hurricane Katrina

Visser, R. (2006). Story of a storm: A book about Hurricane Katrina. Brandon, MS: Quail Ridge
Press.

Grade Level: 3 - 8

Genre: Collage Picture Book

Content Area: Social Studies (Anthropology)

Ways to Introduce the Book: This book would come towards the end of the unit, once students
already have a good understanding of what hurricanes are.

Summary: A very moving book written by students from the Mississippi Gulf Coast after
Hurricane Katrina. The book contains collage art drawn by the students and short, simple,
haunting messages telling of their experiences.

Extensions: At first glance this book appears colorful and happy, but the reader will quickly
discover that it is not. It is very real and intense, which is why I raised the grade level from what
was suggested. I think the only way to do this book justice is to focus on the anthropology
aspect.

After the read-aloud, the teacher should lead a discussion with the students about the book and
how they think that the students from the book felt. Students then return to their seats and
individually journal about this prompt: “How would you feel if your city was destroyed from a
hurricane? How do you think this tragedy affected the community?”
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Sergio and the Hurricane

Wallner, A. (2006). Sergio and the hurricane. New York, NY: Henry Holt and Company.

Grade Level: Pre-K - 2

Genre: Multicultural Fiction

Content Area: Language Arts

Ways to Introduce the Book: This book is geared toward younger students, who may have
never heard of a hurricane. I would introduce this book by showing the students the front cover
and asking them to predict what will happen in the story. I might flip to some of the pages if
they are having trouble making predictions.

Summary: Sergio is a young boy who lives on the island of Puerto Rico. One day, he notices
that the ocean was dark and choppy. His friend tells him a hurricane is coming, and Sergio is
very excited. His friend and his papa are much less excited and warn him that hurricanes are very
serious. The family prepares and hunkers down in their home by candlelight. Sergio realizes
that hurricanes are scary and not as fun as he had expected. The hurricane causes a lot of
damage to their town and the whole town works together for several months to repair and clean
up.

Extensions: After the story is read aloud, the teacher teaches a lesson about story elements
(characters, setting, problem, solution). Then, students complete story pyramids based on the
book. Students then compare their pyramid with an elbow partner and highlight any words that
they had in common.
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Story Pyramid for “Sergio and the Hurricane” by Alexandra Wallner

Sergio

Curious boy

Peaceful Puerto Rico

A hurricane is coming

Family prepares for the hurricane

The hurricane is wild and noisy

After the hurricane there is much damage

Everyone works together to recover from the hurricane

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Hurricane

Wiesner, D. (1990). Hurricane. New York, NY: Clarion Books.

Grade Level: Pre-K - 2

Genre: Fantasy Fiction Picture Book

Content Area: Art (Drama, Dramatic Play)

Ways to Introduce the Book: I would introduce this book by leading a discussion about
imagination. I would ask students questions such as “do you ever play pretend?” and “do you
like to pretend that a thing is something else?”

Summary: A hurricane is coming and David, George, and their parents prepare. When it hits, the
power goes out and the boys discuss what could be happening outside. The next morning, the
boys discover that a huge elm tree had fallen in the neighbors’ lawn. For many days, the boys
played in the tree, making believe that it was a jungle or a space ship or a sail boat. The tree was
a threshold of limitless voyages of the imagination.

Extensions: For an activity for preschool or kindergarten, the teacher should set up a dramatic
play station using a simple object, such as a large cardboard box or a tent. The teacher should
encourage students to use the variety of costumes and props provided to pretend the box/tent is
something new each time they play. This activity lets the children’s imaginations go wild and
kindles their creativity.

An activity that would work well for first and second grade is Readers Theater. This book is
well suited for this activity because there is a lot of dialogue and action. Students would enjoy
choosing props to retell this story and acting out each of the imagined scenarios in the book.