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Natural Disasters – Learning Activities

Subjects:

Art, Language Arts, Science, Social Studies

Grades:

5, 6

Title – Natural Disasters
By – Helen Whitechurch – Argot Library of Educational Resources
Subject – Science, Social Studies, Art, Language Arts
Grade Level – 5 and 6
Natural Disasters Unit Overview
KLAs: English, Human Society, Science and Information Skills
Timeframe: 10 weeks
Literary Text Types: Personal Response
Factual Text Types: Information Report; Procedural Recount; and Explanation
This unit focuses on the natural and community effects of natural disasters.

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Codes used for teaching focus:
F = Field Knowledge; D = Deconstruction; J = Joint Construction; I = Independent Construction

Learning Activities
F:	1. Explain the tasks required by the end of the unit: writing a narrative on the impact of a natural disaster on a community writing information report on one type of natural disaster jointly designing and producing a poster to support aid to communities suffering from a natural disaster giving an oral information report on one type of natural disaster giving an oral personal response to a news account of a natural disaster jointly writing an explanation of one type of natural disaster writing a procedural explanation about how to make a working model of a volcano Explain that the students learn how to do these things by: Reading and talking about different types of natural disasters Examining and deconstructing examples of the different text types As a whole class, jointly constructing different types of text In pairs or groups, producing different text types Writing their own independent texts
F:	2. Negotiating the Field Brainstorm: write “Natural Disasters” on the board. List on cards Natural disasters usually cause great harm to people and damage the land.
F:	3. Building the field Ask students to suggest other ways to categorize the different disasters eg. Air, Water, Land or Weather, Earth. Jointly organize cards on board under those headings. Mix the cards up again and have the students group and record them individually under their headings.
F: D:	4. Building the Field Definition match worksheet Review the purpose of information reports Introduce headings for information report (See worksheet: What, where, how p. 129?) Review the purpose of information reports Discuss who might read this information – parents, other Year 5 and 6 students, younger students. Write with the audience in mind. Revisit the structure of information reports, using sample reports. Highlight and revise topic sentences Explain that the information will also presented orally to the class Provide criteria for the information report, including the use of diagrams, headings, etc.
D:	5. Locating information about natural disasters D: Shared reading – Natural Disasters Big book The teacher demonstrates how to use a table of contents, index and how to read a diagram Notetaking activity Students vote on what natural disaster they would like to research Students work in Guided Reading Groups One student reads to the group a text on the natural disaster that they have chosen. Other students make notes onto Seven Strips (See worksheet)
F:	6. Group Activity – Accessing information Students work in groups of 4 – 6, researching a chosen disaster. Students negotiate form and style of presentation or use GRASP report scaffold. (See proforma) Students begin to draft an information report about their chosen type of disaster Work on the information report continues throughout the unit	Assessment Task: Independently construct a written information report The information report is due in the second last week of the unit Go to Assessment Rubric
D: & I	7. Introduce explanations: What are they used for? Who would be able to explain how a volcano or tornado occurs? Why would you need to know? Note down the answers Show the difference between information report, explanation and procedure using sample texts Discuss the purpose and structural differences noticed Review earthquake terminology Read Earthquake chapter in big book As groups the students begin to draft written explanation of one type of natural disaster
F:	8. Recording information about natural disasters Before and after viewing worksheet. (See proforma) Notetaking from volcanoes video Students record what they already know about volcanoes in the Before and After section of the worksheet. Whole class views video Rewind and on the same day view a small section of the video Students record what they recall of the video on the After section of the worksheet
F:	9. Jigsaw activity Students prepare material for jigsaw activity where they share in groups information about the topic Teacher models presentation of information to groups Students prepare information to share with a new group
I:	10. Students form new groups with all topics represented in each group Regroup class after discussion and report on activity information style availability of material use of graphics use of other visual aids
J:	11. Topic groups plan presentation for whole class Points to consider: presentation style accuracy information presented use of graphical aids manner of presentation
J: & I:	12. Presentations over one or maybe two weeks	Assessment Task: Presentations assesses individual Oral Presentation rubric Go to Assessment Rubric
F:	13. Whole class matrix After student presentations, whole class adds information to the matrix
D:	14. Earthquake Deconstruction Show large version of How Do Earthquakes Happen? Use tables to show how the plates collide Model the stages of the explanation using two desks Label the stages title phenomenon sequence Mix the paragraphs up and have students sort Point out the structure that makes the explanation flow and the use of when and as conjunctions Students cut and paste individual worksheets Students highlight the structure on their sheets – circle the conjunctions Other deconstruction activities: Close passage with topic words and conjunctions removed Read another explanation and highlight the structure. (See stapler explanation)
F:	15. Building the field: Cyclones Shared reading big books other print and screen-based material on cyclones Class notes down main information on how cyclones occur Define new terms View the cyclone segment from Weather video by Mike Bailey Conduct simple experiments to demonstrate warm air rising and cool air sinking Label cyclone worksheet
J:	16. Jointly construct an explanation of how a cyclone occurs Focus on the use of sequence and appropriate conjunctions Discuss how a diagram helps make an explanation clearer and more explicit	Assessment Task: Jointly construct written explanation of one type of natural disaster The explanation is due in the third last week of the unit Go to Assessment Rubric
F & I	17. Volcano Model Students jointly read the procedure about how to construct a model volcano In groups of three or four the students construct the model Groups of students demonstrate their models to the whole class Students independently write a procedural explanation about how to make a working model of a volcano which could be used by younger students to actually make the model Students demonstrate their own working models to a class of younger students Students then read their procedural explanations to the younger children	Assessment Task: Independently written procedural explanation about how to make a working model of a volcano Go to Assessment Rubric
F:	18. Discuss why it might be important to have instruments to measure the wind List the reasons What sort of organizations do we have to cope with serious wind storms? List them and what each one does State Emergency Services Fire Police Ambulance Air rescue Coast Guard What would happen without these services?
F & I	19. How do natural disaster affect people? Read a variety of recounts of disasters Pompei Mt St Helens San Fransico Earthquake Sydney bushfires PNG Tsunami Discuss the structural differences between factual recounts, information reports and narratives Students independently write a narrative about the impact of a natural disaster on a community	Assessment Task: Narrative on the impact of a natural disaster on a community Go to Assessment Rubric
F:	20. Communicative Crossword In pairs the students design a communicative crossword using topic words and field knowledge of natural disasters
F: & I	21. How do natural disasters affect people Students complete the activity sheet Students independently draft an oral personal response to a news account of a natural disaster Presentation of oral personal responses	Assessment Task: Oral personal response to a news account of a natural disaster Go to Assessment Rubric
F: & J	22. Oral discussion Should we send aid to disaster victims in other countries? What is our country’s responsibility? What is the individual’s responsibility? How is money raised? Examine posters used to persuade people to give money Jointly deconstruct an example poster examining layout text graphics Use the visual proforma as a guide
I:	23. Design brief: an appeal poster Discuss the techniques used by designers of posters to persuade In pairs students design and produce a poster to support aid to communities suffering from a natural disaster Students may use real or fictitious disasters	Assessment Task: Assess poster on its information, layout and persuasive qualities Go to Assessment Rubric
F:	24. Consolidation – Question and answer game Students write down a question and the answer on separate pieces of paper about the topic Papers distributed to other students Students read their question / answer and then move about the room to find the person with the matching paper
F:	25. Information Reports Students read one another’s information reports Students discuss and critique these reports	Assessment Task: Independently constructed written information report on one type of natural disaster. These information reports have been worked on during the whole unit Information reports are assessed using task sheet criteria and information report structure paragraphs grouping of information topic sentences punctuation and spelling Go to Assessment Rubric
D:	26. Text type recognition activity Students individually read a text Students place the text into the pile for: Narrative Literary Recount Observation Literary Description Personal Response Review Factual Description Information Report Procedure Procedural Recount Factual Recount Explanation Exposition Discussion	Assessment Task: Recognition of text types Go to Assessment Rubric

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