Hurricanes 

5E Lesson Plan

Engage

• VIDEO:  Commenting on photos [1:55]

• What's "wrong" with this photo?  Highlight sections of the photo and use the comment feature to write your observation.

Explore

• • Sign up to research a hurricane

  • Study these satellite photos of Hurricanes.   Enter observations in a QuickWrite and analyze with Word Cloud.  What words jump out?

  • Observe the characteristics of your chosen hurricane using the Hurricane Tracking Tool  and describe its behavior by answering questions in the survey.  (For teachers: copy the survey)

  • Examine trends in class data.  See the table. 

Explain

• • After examining your data and the class data, complete this report. See all student reports. 

  • Watch the National Geographic Video on Hurricanes and read about Hurricanes at NASA/NOAA.

  • Work as a team to develop a model that explains how and why hurricanes form.  Use a tech resource of your choice to develop your model.

Extend

• • Create a "cyclone in a bottle" by spinning it as water leaves.

  • Watch a video on the Coriolis Effect, and  use a Coriolis Effect Simulator to explain the counter-clockwise rotation of hurricanes.

  • Visit the NASA Extreme Weather Survey.

  • Create a collaborative map of recent destructive hurricanes in the appropriate layer. 

  • What is the difference between hurricanes and tornados? 

Evaluate

• • Create a collaborative assessment to assess student understanding of  hurricanes.