Helping Hands

Content Objectives

Students will:

• Learn about natural disasters that people need help protecting themselves from or recovering from.
• Access prior knowledge and build background about natural disasters and how people were affected by them.
• Explore and apply the characteristics of the different types of natural disasters and the differences between natural disasters and other dangers.

Language Objectives

Students will:

• Demonstrate an understanding of the concept of helping those affected by natural disasters.
• Orally use words that describe the different natural disasters.
• Extend oral vocabulary by speaking about how people recover from or prevent damages inflicted by natural disasters and what characteristics classify a disaster as natural.
• Use key concept words [natural disaster, hurricane, tornado, flood, blizzard, earthquake, recover, destruction].

Other

Explain

• Use the slideshow to review the key concept words.
• Explain that students are going to learn about helping people affected by natural disasters:
• What causes natural disasters.
• What kinds of natural disasters there are.
• The difference between natural disasters and other dangers.
• How natural disasters affect our world and the people in it.

Model

• After the host introduces the slideshow, point to the photo on screen. Ask students: What is a natural disaster? (an action by nature that causes great destruction).
• Ask students: What are some types of natural disasters? (tornadoes, floods, avalanches, etc.)
• Say: Natural disasters happen as a result of different forces within the atmosphere. Sometimes plates in the ground shift, thus causing an earthquake. Sometimes pressure builds up in the atmosphere causing a lot of rain. After such events, there can be a lot of destruction. How do people prevent or recover from natural disasters? (by building sandbag blockades or hurricane shelters, or the work of organizations like the Red Cross which provide natural disaster victims with shelter, food and supplies).

Guided Practice

• Guide students through the next four slides showing them different dangers that people need help dealing with. Always have the student discuss whether or not the dangers would be classified as natural disasters and, if so, what kind of natural disasters.

Apply

• Play the games that follow. Have them discuss with their partner the different topics that appear during the Talk About It feature.
• After the first game, ask students what personal experiences they have had with coping with natural disasters. After the second game, encourage them to share stories they have heard about natural disasters, fictional or non• fictional.

Close

• Ask students: What would you do to help others during a natural disaster?
• Summarize for students that natural disasters are the result of nature causing destruction. It is important to follow emergency procedures and to be prepared during these times. Encourage them to make up a story about being stuck in a town that is being struck by a hurricane.