Standards: See Appendix A.
Essential question: How have different cultures explained the onset of natural disasters throughout history?
Application
Students will offer their point of view on five different statements related to disasters.
Students will listen to some interpretations of natural disasters from various cultures and different periods.
Students will search at least two websites looking for the scientific explanation for natural disasters associated with earthquakes, volcanoes, tsunami, or severe weather.
Students will write their own myth or legend regarding the natural disaster of their choice.
Instruction, information and Resources
Instruction- The teacher will define what a myth and a legend are. Then, he/she will relate some of the myths associated with some of the natural disasters from Task I. The teacher will follow up with a brief overview of the scientific model of enquiry and explain how scientists have and continue to search for evidence and explanations of natural phenomena.
Information- Students will need to know how to locate the websites.
Resources- The student will be provided with a list of different model myths and legends, access to a computer, a list of websites, and a rubric to follow as a guideline and assessment tool (please see teacher, student, and electronic resources at the end of this unit).
Evidence- Students will write their own myths or legends of a natural disaster. Then, they will include a list of at least two separate websites visited detailing the scientific explanation regarding the natural disaster of their choice. Students will present orally their myth to the rest of the class, and will include a list of the resources used, and a copy of their self-assessment.
Procedure
The teacher begins by going over the class comparison matrix from Task I, reviewing the differences and similarities of manmade and natural disasters. Followed by an overview of this lesson on how they are going to hear some myths and legends (non-scientific explanations of natural phenomena), create their own myth, and then look for the scientific explanation of the natural disaster by searching a couple of websites.
In order to begin the activity, the teacher will give each student a copy of the Points of View activity in Appendix B. The teacher reads the statements and clarifies any questions regarding the statements. Students individually will be asked to rate each statement from strongly-disagree (1) to strongly-agree (10). After the students have rated each statement, students will be given a list of sentence starters to help them express an opinion regarding each statement, to agree or disagree, rephrase someone else's point of view, or ask a clarification question (In my opinion, I .,.; I think that. . .; Do you really agree that. . .?; As far as I'm concerned. . .; Why do you disagree with. . .? ). Next, students are asked to find a partner, and discuss their point of view in regards to one of the statements using the sentence starters, Once each individual has had an opportunity to express their point of view, they look for a different partner and repeat the activity three different times.
While the students are conversing, the teacher is listening for the most common mistakes made and write these on the board. The teacher will create different sentence starters or give examples of grammatically correct sentences based on the most common conversation mistakes. Then, as a class, go through each point and have students explain points of view.
The teacher, proceeds telling the students that they are going to listen to a couple of myths and legends from past and present cultures that try to make sense of how or why some natural disasters take place and how they might agree or disagree with them. The teacher will emphasize that these are non-scientific interpretations of natural occurring events and that it is their task to search for the scientific explanations and interpretation to a disaster of their own choosing.
In the next step, the essential investigative question is read aloud and individually students are asked to select a natural disaster to create a myth and then research. Students are then paired and are asked to help each other in creating their own myth. Finally, the students self assess their performance.