NEVADA STATE COLLEGE TEACHER PREPARATION PROGRAM LESSON PLAN FORMAT

Tornados By: Stacy Wald Description of Classroom: This is a 5th grade science class, co-ed with 24 students. There is one hearing impaired student in the class and three behavioral students in the class, two of which are English language learners. Background: Students are familiar with:
y y y y y The United States Map Low/High Pressure Cold/Warm Fronts Jet Stream Weather in different states

Today students will learn about tornadoes. They will learn how they are developed, where tornadoes most commonly occur, tornado alley, and will have the opportunity to create a tornado model. Content Objective(s): Students will be able to: y Complete the KWL chart y Learn how Tornadoes form y Identify on a map where Tornado Alley is by coloring a map y Create a Tornado in a jar y Add to our Tornado Schema Suitcase Language Objective(s): Students will be able to: y Listen to the teacher explain how tornado s happen and how they affect us. y Speak/work with their groups during creating a Tornado in a jar . y Write in the KWL chart before and after learning about tornados. y Read what they have learned to the class.

Nevada Standards: E.5.A.4- Students know the role of water in may phenomena related to weather (e.g. thunderstorms, snowstorms, flooding, and drought).

E.5.A.5- Students know air is a substance that surrounds us, takes up space, and moves around us as wind. I/S N.2.A Students understand that science is an active process of systematically examining the natural world. N.2.A.1- Students know how to make observations and give descriptions using words, numbers, and drawings. E/S N.2.A.3 Students know observable patterns can be used to predict future events of sort items. Key Vocabulary: Tornado: A Tornado is a violent Rotating column of air extending from a thunderstorm to the
ground.

Fujita Scale: A scale to that shows the damage and speed of different types of tornadoes. Tornado Alley: Where most tornadoes occur in the United States. Best Practices: (put an X next to those that you address in your lesson)
Preparation X Adaptation of content X Links to background X Links to past learning _Strategies incorporated Integration of Processes X Listening X Speaking X Reading X Writing Scaffolding X Modeling _Guided practice X Independent practice _Verbal scaffolds _Procedural scaffolds Application X Hands-on X Authentic (Meaningful) X Linked to objectives X Promotes engagement Grouping Options X Whole Class X Small groups _Partners X Independent Assessment X Individual _Group X Written X Oral

Teaching Strategies: Teaching Science through modeling (showing the students how to fill out the charts, and make predictions based on prior knowledge), exploring(making a tornado), cooperative learning(as a class working gathering things to build on our schema), and guided discussion (discuss why storms like tornadoes happen, and how they affect us). Warm Up Activity: I will start of the class with a little video clip from a movie we will be watching on our free day; The Wizard of Oz. This video clip is only 2 minutes long. It will show Dorthy on her way home as the twister is on its way toward her. It will end when the window breaks and knocks her out onto the bed. Right after the video clip, they will fill out the first two columns in the KWL chart. The first column, What I know - K and then the second column, What I want to know - W. Lesson Sequence:

1. The students will be asked to share what they already know about Tornadoes. These things will be added to our Tornado Schema Suitcase. (This suitcase is a piece of paper hung on the white board where the teacher will write facts about tornadoes for the whole class to see) The teacher will then explain: y What a Tornado is:
A Tornado is a violent Rotating column of air extending from a thunderstorm to the ground. The most violent tornadoes are capable of tremendous destruction with wind speeds of up to 300mph. They can destroy large buildings, uproot trees, and hurl vehicles hundreds of yards. They can also drive straw into trees. Damage paths can be in excess of one mile wide to 50 miles long. (www.weatherwizkids.com) y Fujita Scale:

Go over this scale, and ask the students what they think would happen to our community of a F4 Tornado would hit.

y How a Tornado is formed:

Most Tornadoes are formed from thunderstorms. You need warm water, moist air from the Gulf of Mexico and cool, dry air from Canada. When these two air masses meet, they create instability in the atmosphere. A change in wind direction and an increase in wind speed with increasing height create an invisible, horizontal spinning effect in the lower atmosphere. Rising air within the updraft tilts the rotating air from horizontal to vertical. An area of rotation, 2-6 miles wide, now extends through much of this storm. Most strong and violent tornadoes from within this area of strong rotation. (www.weatherwizkids.com) y Tornado Alley Where tornadoes most commonly occur. (www.weatherwizkids.com)

2. After you have explained what a tornado is and how it is formed the students will then be given a blank sheet of the United States and will be asked to form a hypothesis on where they think Tornado Alley (Where most of the tornadoes in the United States occur) by using what they already know and coloring a map. They will be asked to label the following terms on the map independently: y Cold Dry Air (the direction from where it is coming from) y Warm Dry Air (the direction from where it is coming from) y Tornado Alley (Color it in your favorite color) y Warm Moist Air (the direction from where it is coming from) Give the students about 5 minutes to come up with their own map idea. After they have attempted to complete their map, show them this map:

Then go over why Tornado Alley is where it is and why the warm moist air, cold/ warm dry air contribute to the formation of tornadoes. 3. Then the students will be grouped off into 6 groups of 4. The students will be given instructions on how to create a Tornado in a jar
MATERIALS:
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mayonnaise jar or a canning jar clear liquid soap vinegar water

PROCESS: Fill the jar about three-quarters full of water. Put a teaspoon of the liquid soap into the jar. Also, add a teaspoon of vinegar into the jar. Tighten the lid and shake the jar to mix

up the ingredients. Now, swirl the jar in a circular motion. The liquid will form a small tornado. *If you want to get creative, you can also use food coloring to make the tornado have a color and glitter to represent debris. EXPLANATION: The swirling motion you give the bottle forms a vortex and is a easy way to create your own tornado.

4. The student will then finish filling out the KWL Chart. They will fill out What I Learned - L. After the students have had a few minutes filling out what they have learned the teacher will then ask students to share one thing that they learned. These things can be added to the Tornado Schema Suitcase. Accommodations: I will accommodate to the hearing impaired child by setting him close to the projector so that he can hear the clip more clearly. He will also be already up front in the classroom so that he can hear me well and have a clear view what is going on. As for the behavioral students, I will separate these three students into groups with well behaved students so that they can stay on task during the making of the tornado. Supplementary Materials:
y y y y y y y y y y y

Video Projector- for Wizard of Oz clip KWL Chart Paper for suitcase Markers Crayons Blank United States Map Tornado Alley print out Mayonnaise jar or a canning jar Clear liquid soap Vinegar Water

Review/Assessment: The students will turn in their KWL Chart and be graded on completion on this chart. This will allow me to make sure which students learned something about tornadoes. I will also ask the students to turn in their Tornado Alley Hypothesis Map. This will be graded on effort/terms. Reflection: I think that this assignment will be very engaging to the students. In Nevada we never really think about Tornadoes and the affects that they have on places. This lesson is

hands on, articulate, and will help the students build on their schema of tornadoes as a class.