Natural Disasters

             Living in central Oregon, we are always at risk of several natural disasters especially volcanoes and earthquakes. Being a teacher it is important for students to understand what these natural disasters are, the scientific processes behind them, and how it can affect the local area and the world. The first step is getting students to understand what these disasters are. Driving around our area there are several old volcanoes within a 30 mile radius, plus when you head to the Bend Oregon area there are several volcanoes there including Bachelor, Sisters, and an old cinder cone just outside of town. There are several links that students can explore to learn more about how volcanoes and earthquakes work. One site for volcanoes is by discovery located at http://dsc.discovery.com/convergence/pompeii/interactive/interactive.html that teaches students how volcanoes work, where volcanoes are, the types of volcanoes, and then has them create their own. Weather WizKids also has information and other links to help students understand located at http://www.weatherwizkids.com/weather-volcano.htm. Earthquakes are a second big disaster that could happen in our area. Websites that can help students understand this can be found at Weather WizKids at http://www.weatherwizkids.com/weather-earthquake.htm and information on vocabulary associated with earthquakes can be found at http://earthquake.usgs.gov/learn/animations/.

Students should be aware of these natural disasters around the world. One website is found at Earth Observatory Natural Disasters, http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/. This shows current natural disasters happening around the world. Students can study the effect of these disasters, and I would have my students focus more on earthquakes and volcanoes. Students can learn how each of these disasters affects the people and the environment. I would let students pick a specific event and have students present their findings to the class.

Once students understand what these natural disasters are and how it has affected other places around the world I would have students brainstorm how a natural disaster could affect us locally. This would then lead to safety plans that students can teach their families at home and what they would need to be prepared. To contribute to our community I would have my students take their new knowledge to other classrooms in our school and teach other students about these natural disasters and what we can do to be prepared for one and how to stay safe.