Erica M. Mentone
In my experience, children are fascinated and terrified by hurricanes. They love to learn about how these monster storms are formed and what to do if one happens upon their neighborhoods. This activity is based in reading comprehension to help children understand how hurricanes begin and develop.
Goals
Students will gain an understanding for how a hurricane if formed.
Students will visualize while listening to a text.
Students will demonstrate their understanding of hurricanes in piece of writing.
Materials
Chart paper
Markers
Writing paper
Book:
The Magic School Bus Inside a Hurricane
Procedure
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1. Prior to teaching the lesson, the teacher will record the following hurricane cycle in a circle (with illustrations if possible) on chart paper
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1
s t
Ocean water warms up during the summer.
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2
n d
The water evaporates and condenses to form clouds.
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3
r d
The clouds become bigger and taller as they collect more energy from the warm water. (tropical disturbance)
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4
t h
The winds begin to spin around the center of the storm. (tropical depression)
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5
t h
The winds reach 74 miles per hour and the storm becomes a hurricane.
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6
t h
There can be many hurricanes in a season.
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7
t h
When summer is over, the waters cool down and there are no more hurricanes again until summer.
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2. The teacher will explain this chart to the class.
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3. The teacher will read aloud
The Magic School Bus: Inside a Hurricane.
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The goal while reading will be for the students to picture themselves within the cycle of a hurricane.
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4. When the teacher has finished reading, the students will share what they had pictured.
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5. Students will write a narrative story using the following writing prompt: Pretend that you are a droplet of water in the ocean off the coast of Florida. Write a story explaining your journey through a hurricane.
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**Note: in order to accommodate for differences in writing ability, you may choose to allow some children to dictate their stories, or to create a picture book to tell their story instead. This activity is mainly about understanding the science concept and less about writing skills.
