Course Title: Advanced Plant and Soil Science

Lesson Title: Analyzing and Evaluating the Economic Significance in Natural Disasters

TEKS Addressed in Lesson: 130.21(c)(8)(F) http://www.tea.state.tx.us/index2.aspx?

id=5415#Subchapter A

Lesson Objectives: The student will be able to:

1. Use prior knowledge of natural disasters from primary source footage and documents and
government websites to analyze the impact of Hurricane Beulah on the Gulf Coast and
compare the effects and responses with Hurricane Katrina.
2. Calculate the prescribe distance of safe zones to prevent wildfires to protect their
property.

Tools and Equipment

Student worksheet entitled Natural Disaster Frayer Model.

YouTube and old news footage embedded in lesson.

Key Terms / Vocabulary

natural disasters
hurricane

Interest Approach/Anticipatory Set

Ask students to recount any experiences they have had with hurricanes or other major natural
disasters. Ask questions that elicit details, such as: What did each student do to prepare for the
event? Did the student stay in his home, or go somewhere else for shelter? How did the student
and their family decide what to do? What was the students experience before, during, and after
the event? How did the student feel?

As a class, brainstorm the ways one prepares for a hurricane or other natural disaster. After
creating the list, ask the students to think about how they know to do these things. Ask them to
think critically about who has the knowledge of impending natural disasters, and what methods
the community has for alerting and informing the population. Ideally, how should local, state,
and federal resources respond before, during, and after the event?
Teaching Plan and Strategy / Presentation of New Material

1. Present new material using the Natural Disaster Frayer Model worksheet to engage their
prior knowledge of natural disasters. http://www.texasarchive.org/lessonplans/ndfm.pdf

2. Students will watch three films showing the devastation caused by Hurricane Beulah,
Hurricane Ike and Hurricane Katrina.
a. Angry Waters - Worst Flood in Texas History
b. Floods - Hurricane Aftermath Kills 11 in Texas
c. Mexican Refugees Return Home
d. Hurricane Ike-Texas Gulf Coast http://www.youtube.com/watch?
feature=endscreen&v=hueLIykJmG8&NR=1
e. Hurricane Katrina Video http://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=kqf_1mkEXCI&feature=related

Activity/Application/ Student Engagement /Laboratory

1. Questions for discussion: have students respond to questions a and b with the teacher and
answer c-f in their science journal.
a. Why do communities commonly flood after hurricanes?
b. How can flooding be prevented?
c. After viewing the videos, what similarities do you see between this footage or
another recent natural disaster?
d. What is the reaction of the children in the video? Why is this surprising?
e. How is the government responding to the aftermath of the hurricane? How is the
community responding?
f. What is the importance and significance of emergency relief in disaster situations?

2. Have students read the following articles. The first article recounts local survivors of
Hurricane Beulah, while the second describes the experiences of a man who lived
through Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Group the student in groups of 4 and have them
divide the articles in fourths and read aloud to one another. Once each has finished their
part, they are to summarize or bring out the important points. Teacher will need to proctor
this process.

i. Nelsen, Aaron. "40 Years Later: Memories of Hurricane Beulah Still Vivid in Minds of
Survivors." Brownsville Herald 16 Sept. 2007. 2 July 2009
ii. Homan, Michael. "One of the Millions of Hurricane Katrina Stories." Weblog post.
Michael Homan. 5 Sept. 2005. 2 July 2009.
Evaluation / Summary

b. Students will answer the following questions on their own for use with small group or class
discussion:
1. What was the most devastating part of the storm for the survivors of Hurricane
Beulah?
2. How did the stories of people in Hurricane Beulah differ from one another? Who
seemed to be the most affected by it?
3. What social factors explain why some people were greatly affected, and others were
only mildly worried?
4. Provide three examples of how Hurricane Beulah and Hurricane Katrina were similar.
5. Provide three examples of how the two hurricanes were different.
6. After viewing the film and reading backgrounds about the survivors, how have
reactions towards hurricanes changed in the past 50 years?
7. How did Hurricane Beulah directly affect hurricane response in Texas?
8. Why do disaster relief and recovery seem to take such a long time? How do you think
Hurricane Katrina has affected the future of American response to a natural disaster?
9. How can the tragic aftermath of Hurricane Katrina/Ike be prevented the next time a
major storm threatens the United States?

References/Additional Materials / Extended Learning Opportunities/ Enrichment

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Website: Accessed 23 Jun 2012
from http://www.climate.noaa.gov/index.jsp?
pg=/education/edu_index.jsp&edu=literacy

National Geographic website: Accessed 23 Jun 2012 from

http://environment.nationalgeographic.com/environment/naturaldisasters/?
source=NavEnvND

College & Career Readiness Standard

Science VI G 1 & 2

Texas Education Agency, 2011