Natural Disaster Unit Day 1 Grade: 4th Overview of Lesson: Today, students will be learning about 5 Natural Disasters.

This lesson is an overview of the week and incorporates some activities to activate prior knowledge. Standards: NV.4.4.3 Identify important information in text. RI.4.2 Determine the main idea of a text and explain how it is supported by key details; summarize the text.

RI.4.4 - Determine the meaning of general academic and domain-specific words or

phrases in a text relevant to a grade 4 topic or subject area. Language Objectives: Students will read the teacher-provided text on natural disasters and do the Know or No activity. Content Objectives: SWBAT identify and compare the five natural disasters from the text. SWBAT define terms related to natural disasters either using previous knowledge or a dictionary. Materials: Natural Disasters text Know or No worksheet Pencils/paper Smart Board/Building Background PowerPoint

Procedure: 1. TW begin lesson by telling students that we for the next week or so, we will be learning about Natural Disasters. TW ask students to do a talking chips and discuss what they know about Natural Disasters. SW have two minutes. After the two minutes, TW call on volunteers to share. 2. Next, TW explain to the class that we will be covering 5 Natural Disasters floods, fires, earthquakes, tornados, and hurricanes. TW call on volunteers to share what they know about these Natural Disasters. This will last roughly two minutes. 3. After discussions, TW will pass out a text on the 5 Natural Disasters. This text will give students a brief overview of each disaster in a way that is easy to understand. We will read this together as a class. 4. Upon completion of the reading, TW hand out the Know or No worksheet. Students will be working on this worksheet individually. There will be 14 total words for this exercise. This worksheet is to enhance the students vocabulary about Natural Disaster. This activity should take fifteen minutes or so. 5. After the worksheet, we will be doing is going through a Building Background PowerPoint (example of it will be attached). This is a teacher-made PowerPoint that goes through each of the 14 words from the Know or No activity. If student s were confused about any of the vocabulary, this PPT will simplify it for them. 6. After the PPT, the final activity will be a think-pair-share. Students will pair up with another classmate (someone NOT from their group), and discuss what they have learned from today. Teacher will call on volunteers. Modifications: Teacher will give ELL students a handout with the words in alphabetical order and definitions already written out. ELLs may work with a trusted partner if they have any troubles.

Word list teacher will be using: 1. Disaster 2. Fatality 3. Environment 4. Cataclysmic 5. Weather 6. Debris 7. Richter Scale 8. Flash Flood 9. Tectonic Plate 10. Gale 11. Tremor 12. Firebrand 13. Epicenter 14. Hazard

Know or No Dont Know Meaning Seen or heard the word, but not sure of meaning Know something about the meaning Know meaning well and can use the word

Meaning

Students will write the word in the most appropriate box. Then under Meaning, students will define the word using a dictionary.

Natural Disaster Unit Day 2

Grade: 4th Standards: W.4.7 Conduct short research projects that build knowledge through investigation of different aspects of a topic. W.4.6 - With some guidance and support from adults, use technology, including the Internet, to produce and publish writing as well as to interact and collaborate with others; demonstrate sufficient command of keyboarding skills to type a minimum of one page in a single sitting. Language Objectives: Students will write the response to teacher-generated questions on a piece of paper. They will also write about the other facts and explain why they found them interesting. Content Objectives: Students will be given five questions to answer about the natural disasters they have chosen and be asked to research as much as possible about their natural disaster. Materials: Summarizing PowerPoint Computers Internet Paper Pencils/Pens

Procedure:
1.

TW begin lesson by telling students to do a talking chips and d iscuss the things they learned from yesterday. TW give students 3 minutes to share as much as they remember. After the 3 minutes, TW call on volunteers to share.

2.

Next, TW tell the class that for the next few days, students will be researching one of the five natural disasters we have discussed (floods, fires, earthquakes, tornados, hurricanes). TW hand out a 3x5 note card and have the students write their name along with the Natural Disaster they have chosen to research. Once students have done this, SW give the card back to the teacher.

3.

Next, TW go through a PowerPoint on Summarizing. SW be summarizing the information they find when they go to the computer lab, so it is important they know what summarizing is and how to do it.

4.

After the Summarizing PPT, the class will be going to the computer lab. Here, SW be researching the Natural Disaster they have chosen. The teacher will be giving the students 5 questions they must answer. Along with the 5 questions, students must take note of enough information to be able to write a one page summary on their findings.

5.

Be sure to remind students to bring a notebook and writing utensil. Also, remind students not to just copy from the website. Encourage them to make bullet points. Remind them this research is for their summarizing paper.

6.

The teacher will be walking around the computer lab helping any students who are struggling; in particular ELLs.

7. 8.

Students will be in the lab during the remainder of the time for this day. Before the days lesson concludes, TW give the students a ticket out the door. I will be using this as a summative assessment. I want to see where my students are at with the material weve covered so far and if we are moving too fast.

Modifications: Teacher will print out the PPT for any struggling readers so they can have a hard copy as we go through it. ELLs will sit next to a trusted student in the computer lab. Teacher will simplify the 5 questions for lower-level students.