To show students how engineering design practices reduce the impacts of a natural hazard, the authors--two science educators and an elementary teacher--taught a three-day 5E lesson that focused on hurricanes. They specifically focused on hurricanes because their students are located near a coastal area and are familiar with the effects of this…

While learning about the types of weather events that occur in the local area, students in grades 4-6 were asked to consider how structures can be built to withstand extreme weather conditions. Teams of students designed, constructed, and tested buildings to withstand hurricanes and designed the tests they would use to evaluate their structures.…

According to the World Disaster Report (Walter, 2004), drought and famine have proven to be the deadliest disasters of the decade worldwide, accounting for at least 275,000 deaths since 1994. This was nearly half the total for all natural disasters. The agricultural sector has been found to experience the largest variety of economic impacts…

Problem-based learning experiences that extend at least two weeks provide an opportunity for students to investigate a real-world problem while learning science content and skills in an exciting way. In this article, students are challenged by the president of the United States to serve as employees of the Federal Emergency Management Agency to…

Suggests a four-stage framework that teachers can use to integrate creative dance into the social studies curriculum. Discusses the four stages through the use of a sample dance about tornadoes that complements a thematic social studies unit about the impact of weather and natural disasters upon people and their environments. (CMK)