Hurricanes
Content Information/Explanation
- Ask students: “What is a hurricane?” “Have you ever been in a hurricane?” “What happens to that place after the hurricane passes?”
- Show the students a video about how hurricanes form: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zP4rgvu4xDE
- Talk about hurricane Katrina and use it as an example for the students to see what hurricanes can do.
Useful Links
Enchanted Reading (http://www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/weather/hurricane/activities.shtml)
This link provides teachers with information about hurricanes and also provides teachers with worksheets and printables for a hurricane unit. These activities are separated into two groups, Early Readers and Fluent Readers. Therefore, the teacher will be able give lessons that are appropriate for his or her children.
National Education Association (http://www.nea.org/tools/lessons/hurricane-season-grades-k-5.html)
This link provides teachers with lessons and activities for a unit about hurricanes. There are also printables, videos, and outside resources that can give the teacher more knowledge about hurricanes. The activities are divided into grades.
Weather Wiz Kids (http://www.weatherwizkids.com/?page_id=58)
This website provides the teacher with information about hurricanes easy for students to understand. It talks all about the stages and parts of hurricanes, also safety tips and activities. These are great resources for the students to use technology as a learning resource.
Hurricane and Severe Storm Sentinel (HS3) Educational video (http://www.nserc.und.edu/outreach/k-12/hurricane-and-severe-storm-sentinel-educational-video)
Weather Safety and Awareness Publications, Brochures, Booklets for Children and Adults (http://www.nws.noaa.gov/om/brochures.shtml)
This link provides teachers with information about hurricanes and also provides teachers with worksheets and printables for a hurricane unit. These activities are separated into two groups, Early Readers and Fluent Readers. Therefore, the teacher will be able give lessons that are appropriate for his or her children.
National Education Association (http://www.nea.org/tools/lessons/hurricane-season-grades-k-5.html)
This link provides teachers with lessons and activities for a unit about hurricanes. There are also printables, videos, and outside resources that can give the teacher more knowledge about hurricanes. The activities are divided into grades.
Weather Wiz Kids (http://www.weatherwizkids.com/?page_id=58)
This website provides the teacher with information about hurricanes easy for students to understand. It talks all about the stages and parts of hurricanes, also safety tips and activities. These are great resources for the students to use technology as a learning resource.
Hurricane and Severe Storm Sentinel (HS3) Educational video (http://www.nserc.und.edu/outreach/k-12/hurricane-and-severe-storm-sentinel-educational-video)
Weather Safety and Awareness Publications, Brochures, Booklets for Children and Adults (http://www.nws.noaa.gov/om/brochures.shtml)
Words to Know
- Hurricane: powerful, rotating storm that forms over warm oceans near the equator in the Atlantic Ocean, the Caribbean Sea, or the eastern Pacific Ocean. Hurricanes have strong, counterclockwise winds, a huge amount of rain, low air pressure, thunder and lightning.
- Barometer: a device that measures air (barometric) pressure.
- Counterclockwise: motion goes in a circle in the opposite direction from the way a clock moves. Hurricane winds blow in a counterclockwise direction.
- Cyclone: a closed, rotating wind.
- Degree: unit of measurement of an angle; a degree is also written °.
- Eye: Hurricane winds blow in a spiral around the calm, roughly circular center called the eye. In the eye, which is about 20 - 30 miles wide, it is relatively calm and there is little or no rain. The eye is the warmest part of the storm.
- Eyewall: Surrounding the eye is the eyewall, a band of thunder clouds. The eyewall has the most rain and the strongest winds of the storm, gusting up to 225 mph. The smaller the eye, the stronger the winds.
- Latitude: the angular distance north or south from the equator to a particular location. The Equator has a latitude of zero degrees.
- Longitude: the angular distance east or west from the north-south line that passes through Greenwich, England, to a particular location. Greenwich, England, has a longitude of zero degrees.
- Precipitation: water in all forms that falls from clouds to the earth's surface, including rain, snow, sleet, and hail.
Key Concepts
Naming Hurricanes
How Hurricanes Form
Hurricane Structure
Hurricane Classification
Preparing for a Hurricane
How Hurricanes Form
Hurricane Structure
Hurricane Classification
Preparing for a Hurricane
Children's Literature (Fiction)
Children's Literature (Non-Fiction)
Children's Literature (Teacher Resources)
NSTA Resources
Science on the Web: Exploring Hurricane Data (http://www.nsta.org/publications/news/story.aspx?id=46634)