Natural Disaster

7.3B Natural Disasters (Content with language)

School:

Date: ______

Teacher’s name:

Grade 7 __

Number present:

Number absent:

Theme of the lesson:

Vocabulary on the topic of “Natural disasters”

Reading task on the topic of “Natural disasters”

Learning objectives(s) that this lesson is contributing to

7.R2 understand independently specific information and detail in short, simple texts on a limited range of general and curricular topics

7.L4 understand with limited support the main points of extended talk on a range of general and curricular topics

Lesson objectives

All learners will be able to:

• Match words with definitions, solve crossword;

• Read the text and answer the questions;

Most learners will be able to:

• Explain own point of view while speaking on topic of natural disasters;

Some learners will be able to:

• Use critical thinking skills and a wide range of topical vocabulary while discussing natural disasters;

Language objective

New vocabulary on the topic of Natural disasters

Value links

Global Citizenship

Cross curricular links

Geography, Physics

Previous learning

Natural disasters introduction

Use of ICT

Projector or Smart board for showing a presentation

Intercultural awareness

Know more about different natural disasters and their effect on people

Kazakh culture

Think about natural disasters that happen in Kazakhstan

Pastoral Care

Student centered teaching: respect, support and scaffolding;

To create a friendly atmosphere for collaborative work.

Promote a sense of self-esteem and self-respect and respect for others among all the learners.

Health and Safety

Everyday classroom precautions will ensure that safety measures are provided to prevent the exposure of electrical power cords.

Planned timings

Planned activities

Resources

10 minutes

Warm-up

Labelling

(W) Teacher tells learners that they are going to describe a scene that teacher would like them to draw. Teacher reads out the following text:

“Draw three houses on the right in the middle. Each house has four windows and a door. On the roof of one of the houses there are two people and a dog. Draw two trees on the left in the middle. At the top of the picture draw some clouds. The clouds look grey and it’s raining a lot. In the sky there is a helicopter. Around the houses there is water. The water touches the top windows of the house….”

Teacher asks learners to look at their pictures. What do they think has happened in the scene? Answers may vary from flood, hurricane, tsunami. When they have suggested some answers teacher asks them to think of as many different natural disaster as they can. Drill pronunciation.

• Learners are informed about the lesson objectives

Main part

10 min.

15 min.

The main part of the lesson

• Vocabulary Task 1

1. Teacher suggests vocabulary activity to the learners. They solve crossword:

Across:

1. a very strong wind in west Atlantic

3. tidal wave

4. a large amount of water spread from a river, sea etc. that covers an area that is normally dry

6. a very bad event, causing harm or death

8. move somebody from a dangerous place

9. a long period without rain

Down:

2. a sudden violent movement of the ground

3. a strong wind that blows in a circle

5. hot liquid rock

7. (of a volcano) to explode and throw out fire, lava, smoke etc.

Answers:

1. Hurricane

2. Earthquake

3. Tsunami

4. Flood

5. Lava

6. Disaster

7. Erupt

8. Evacuate

9. Drought

• Vocabulary Task 2

Use the words from the crossword to complete the sentences

1. Last night volcano Maui ___________ and the hot ___________ poured downhill. Since there are two villages located at the foot of the volcano, the local population was ___________.

2. The devastation caused by superstorm Sandy, particularly in New York and New Jersey, is tragic, but the ___________ has at least put climate change back on the map.

3. After the harshest winter in decades, the Balkans region in the southeast of Europe is now facing its hottest summer and the worst _________ across the area in nearly 40 years.

4. A powerful ____________ off the coast of Indonesia sparked a three-metre-high ______________that killed at least 113 people.

5. A landslide caused by rains in southern China left 21 people missing today, adding to a growing death toll from China's worst _________ season in a decade.

6. This summer a dozen ____________, which are more common in the US, have hit Europe. The twister which swept through Poland yesterday flattened more than 400 hectares of woodland in the area.

7. The US navy has been deployed to help avert a looming environmental __________ in the Gulf of Mexico.

Answers:

1. erupted; lava; evacuated

2. hurricane

3. drought

4. earthquake; tsunami

5. flood

6. tornadoes

7. disaster

Teacher discusses the right answers and assesses the task asking the question: Who has 15 right answers? 14? 13? Etc. Teacher should explain the right choice in vocabulary tasks.

• Reading task

• Differentiation:

More able learners read the article “When things go wrong”. They should answer 7 multiple choice questions and 3 open-ended questions.

Read the article and choose the correct letter, A, B, C or D.

1. What natural disasters are discussed in this passage?

A rainbows, rivers, saplings, mountains, and metalwork

B volcanoes, earthquakes, tsunamis, and avalanches

C Roman mythology, Vulcan, and Mt. Etna

D Southern California, the Pacific Ocean, and Sicily

2. What does this passage describe?

A This passage describes chimneys and furnaces.

B This passage describes different natural disasters.

C This passage describes two volcanoes that have erupted within the past 10,000 years.

D This passage describes everyday life in Sicily.

3. People can take steps to prevent natural disasters.

What evidence from the passage supports this statement?

A The study of earthquakes is called seismology.

B A volcano is a vent in the earth through which magma and ash come out.

C There are three types of volcanoes: extinct, dormant, and active.

D People can plant trees to make life on earth more stable.

4. What is a natural disaster?

A an event caused by nature that harms human life

B the study of earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanoes, and avalanches

C the process by which a tiny sapling grows into a mighty tree

D a way that people can take care of their planet

5. What is this passage mostly about?

A saplings and rainbows

B avalanches and geologists

C natural disasters

D what causes tsunamis

6. Read the following sentence: “The water, soil, air and forces under the earth’s surface are all affected by our actions.” What does the word surface mean?

A a body of water where a tsunami is likely to happen

B the movement of land during an earthquake

C the outer layer or part of something

D the innermost layer or part of something

7. Choose the answer that best completes the sentence below.

There are several kinds of natural disasters, _______ earthquakes, volcanoes, and avalanches.

A in contrast

B in the end

C meanwhile

D such as

Task 2: Give full answers to the following questions

8. Where do volcanoes occur?

9. When do earthquakes occur?

10. What are some things that the natural disasters described in this passage have in common?

Answers

1. B

2. B

3. C

4. A

5. C

6. C

7. D

8. Suggested answer: Ideally, students will answer that volcanoes occur where tectonic plates come together or move apart. Another acceptable response is that volcanoes occur in the Pacific Ocean.

9. Suggested answer: Earthquakes occur when blocks of earth slide past one another and cause a fault on the earth’s surface.

10. Suggested answer: Answers may vary but should have a basis in the passage. For example, students may respond that earthquakes and volcanoes are caused by movements below the earth’s surface. They may also respond that all natural disasters defy complete prevention but that steps can be taken to make the earth more stable.

Less able learners read the article “Fighting the cyclones”.

Task 1. Match sentences (1–4) to gaps (A–D) in the article.

1 It came in 2007.

2 Not everyone in Bangladesh was so lucky.

3 It was one of the worst natural disasters of the twentieth century.

4 ‘You must come to the school now,’ they shouted

Task 2. Read the article again. Are the sentences true (T) or false (F)?

1 Because of global warming, there are more natural disasters now than there were in the past. T

2 The cyclone in 1991 was stronger than the cyclone in 1970.

3 The cyclone in 1991 killed more people than the cyclone in 1970.

4 In 1991, there was nowhere safe for women and children to go.

5 These days, emergency volunteers go to schools to warn the children about cyclones.

6 A scientist in the USA helped to save lives in Cyclone Sidr.

7 The buildings in Rupa’s village survived because of the cyclone warning.

8 Many more people survived Cyclone Sidr than the cyclones of 1970 and 1991.

Learners peer-assess each-other’s works.

Learners are allowed to use on-line dictionaries

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OmxAQZoWbqU - Listening “Talking about Hobbies in English”

Worksheet with the tasks

PPP S 4

http://isd82.narod.ru/books/32.pdf

PPT slides 4-25

Appendix 2

5 min.

Reflection

How many types of natural disaster can you name? Which is the worst?

What natural disasters are common in your country?

Have you ever been through a natural disaster? Tell your group about your experience if it isn’t too traumatic.

PPP

End

1min

Feedback: Teacher asks students what task was difficult to them and which pair worked well.

Additional information

Differentiation – how do you plan to give more support? How do you plan to challenge the more able learners?

Assessment – how are you planning to check learners’ learning?

Critical thinking

More support:

• More support:

• Provide less able learners with the names of the natural disasters

• Create mixed ability groups for discussion.

• More able learners:

Make analysis of their work and help weaker ones to arrange information.

• Monitor learners to check they can write correct words.

• Observe learners when participating in speaking. Did each learner contribute to the speaking and discussion? If not, why not?

Yes, they did.

Some questions provide critical thinking while answering to them.

Summary evaluation

What two things went really well (consider both teaching and learning)?

1: reading task

2: warming up activity

What two things would have improved the lesson (consider both teaching and learning)?

1: pay more attention to drilling

2: time management

What have I learned from the lesson about this class or individuals that will inform my next lesson?

Students know a lot about natural disasters and want to know more about surviving during natural disasters.

Unit

Natural Disasters (Content with language)

Learning Objectives

7.R2 understand independently specific information and detail in short, simple texts on a limited range of general and curricular topics

Level of thinking skills

Comprehension

Analysis

Assessment criteria

• Answer comprehension questions;

• Give full answers to open-ended questions.

When Things Go Wrong

Our planet has many wondrous things. We plant a tiny sapling and it becomes a mighty tree. Water runs in rivers. Rainbows appear in the sky. But it is not always easy to deal with nature. For instance, sometimes the earth cracks up, slides and slips. The very hot matter inside it oozes out on the surface. Strong waves of water destroy everything in their way. All these events that result from natural processes and can harm human and other life are called natural hazards, and can lead to natural disasters. Volcanoes, earthquakes, avalanches, sinkholes, tsunamis and landslides are some examples of natural disasters. Sometimes, one disaster is related to another. For example: volcanic eruptions can cause earthquakes, and earthquakes can cause landslides and tsunamis.

Vulcan and Volcanoes

Ever wonder where the word “volcano” comes from? It comes from Vulcan—the god of fire and metalwork in Roman mythology. It was believed that he worked inside Mt. Etna, one of the world’s oldest volcanoes, located in Sicily. “Etna” means chimney or furnace. Fire, metal, chimney and furnace—do you see any similarities to a volcano?

The Basic Structure of a Volcano

A volcano is a vent (rupture/crack) in the Earth through which molten (melted) magma and ash come out. Volcanoes occur at places where tectonic plates (under the Earth’s surface) come together or move apart. The “Ring of Fire” under the Pacific Ocean is one of the places where these plates converge. It is the site of 75% of the world’s volcanoes. There are about 452 volcanoes in the Pacific Ocean’s basin. Volcanoes are of three types. An active volcano is one that is erupting or has erupted in the last 10,000 years. An extinct volcano is unlikely to erupt again. A dormant or inactive volcano is between the two. There may be no record of its eruption in the recent past, but it is likely to erupt again. Some volcanoes can remain dormant for millions of years. The study of volcanoes is called volcanology.

Pulling a Tablecloth

What do you think would happen if you quickly pulled the tablecloth off a dining table? The placemats, plates, glasses and cutlery on the table would “quake.” The plates might break into pieces as they land on the surface of the table. The water in the glasses might spill. There might be a loud noise and a mess. The movement that occurs during an earthquake is similar.

An earthquake happens when blocks of earth slide past one another and cause a “fault” on the earth’s surface. The “hypocenter” is the place where the blocks of earth slide and the earthquake starts. It is below the surface. Its corresponding point on the surface is called “epicenter.” Southern California has about 10,000 earthquakes every year. Most of these, fortunately, go unnoticed. The study of earthquakes is called seismology.

Tsunamis

Does “tsunami” sound like a word from a foreign language? That’s because it is! The word is pronounced with a silent “t” and means “harbor wave” in Japanese. It refers to a series of very long ocean waves that are caused by large disturbances in/under the ocean. Volcanoes, earthquakes, landslides and meteorites are the most common causes of a tsunami.

Who looks into tsunamis? Geologists, oceanographers, and seismologists—like earthquakes, tsunamis are caused by movements below the earth’s surface.

Avalanches

We get an idea about what an avalanche is by its other names: snow slide and snow slip. It is the sliding of snow down the slope of a mountain. We know that gravity pulls things downward on earth. A mass of snow on a slope slides down when the pull of gravity is greater than its own strength. When this mass is large, it takes things in its path along with it. A person who studies avalanches is called an avalanche meteorologist.

What Can We Do?

We cannot prevent natural disasters entirely. They arise from forces which are beyond our individual control. But there are some small ways in which we can take care of our planet. When we plant or preserve trees, we make our earth more stable. It is better able to clean polluted air and keep water in balance. We can walk to our school or the market and use less electricity. This would save our fossil fuels and keep the planet’s climate in order. We can avoid products (such as some deodorants) that are harmful to the environment. We must remember that things in nature are connected to each other. The water, soil, air and forces under the earth’s surface are all affected by our actions.

Name: _____________ Date: _______________________

1. What natural disasters are discussed in this passage?

A rainbows, rivers, saplings, mountains, and metalwork

B volcanoes, earthquakes, tsunamis, and avalanches

C Roman mythology, Vulcan, and Mt. Etna

D Southern California, the Pacific Ocean, and Sicily

2. What does this passage describe?

A This passage describes chimneys and furnaces.

B This passage describes different natural disasters.

C This passage describes two volcanoes that have erupted within the past 10,000 years.

D This passage describes everyday life in Sicily.

3. People can take steps to prevent natural disasters.

What evidence from the passage supports this statement?

A The study of earthquakes is called seismology.

B A volcano is a vent in the earth through which magma and ash come out.

C There are three types of volcanoes: extinct, dormant, and active.

D People can plant trees to make life on earth more stable.

4. What is a natural disaster?

A an event caused by nature that harms human life

B the study of earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanoes, and avalanches

C the process by which a tiny sapling grows into a mighty tree

D a way that people can take care of their planet

5. What is this passage mostly about?

A saplings and rainbows

B avalanches and geologists

C natural disasters

D what causes tsunamis

6. Read the following sentence: “The water, soil, air and forces under the earth’s surface are all affected by our actions.”

What does the word surface mean?

A a body of water where a tsunami is likely to happen

B the movement of land during an earthquake

C the outer layer or part of something

D the innermost layer or part of something

7. Choose the answer that best completes the sentence below.

There are several kinds of natural disasters, _______ earthquakes, volcanoes, and avalanches.

A in contrast

B in the end

C meanwhile

D such as

8. Where do volcanoes occur?

9. When do earthquakes occur?

10. What are some things that the natural disasters described in this passage have in common?

Answers

1. B

2. B

3. C

4. A

5. C

6. C

7. D

8. Suggested answer: Ideally, students will answer that volcanoes occur where tectonic plates come together or move apart. Another acceptable response is that volcanoes occur in the Pacific Ocean.

9. Suggested answer: Earthquakes occur when blocks of earth slide past one another and cause a fault on the earth’s surface.

10. Suggested answer: Answers may vary but should have a basis in the passage. For example, students may respond that earthquakes and volcanoes are caused by movements below the earth’s surface. They may also respond that all natural disasters defy complete prevention but that steps can be taken to make the earth more stable.

Descriptor

A learner

• comprehends the task and chooses A,B,C or D;

• gives full answers for open-ended questions.

Unit

Natural Disasters (Content with language)

Learning Objectives

7.R2 understand independently specific information and detail in short, simple texts on a limited range of general and curricular topics

Level of thinking skills

Comprehension

Analysis

Assessment criteria

• Answer comprehension questions;

• Match sentences to gaps in the article.

Task 1. Match sentences (1–4) to gaps (A–D) in the article.

1 It came in 2007.

2 Not everyone in Bangladesh was so lucky.

3 It was one of the worst natural disasters of the

twentieth century.

4 ‘You must come to the school now,’ they shouted.

Fighting the cyclones

Every year, natural disasters afect about 250 million people and global warming is making droughts, loods and avalanches more common. Sadly, we can’t stop the disasters, but we can reduce the number of people who die in them.

In Bangladesh, a lot of people have to live on lat land near the sea, but the cyclones there bring terrible loods. In 1970, Cyclone Bhola killed about 500,000 people.

A In 1991, the even stronger Cyclone Gorky hit the country. This time, people could use special school buildings as emergency shelters. Unfortunately, many women and children didn’t go to them and around 140,000 people drowned. Ater this, villages set up groups of emergency volunteers and teachers had to talk to children every week about the things which they should do if there was a cyclone warning.

They didn’t have to wait many years for the next big cyclone. B 1 Twelve hours before Cyclone Sidr reached land, a Bangladeshi scientist in the USA calculated the exact areas of danger on a computer. The emergency volunteers in the villages spread the warning fast.

Ten-year-old Rupa Begum and her friends ran to all their neighbours’ homes. C ‘You won’t be safe if you stay here.’ All the buildings in the village were destroyed in the cyclone except for the school shelter. But because of the children’s warnings, everyone in the village survived.

D Four thousand people died in Cyclone Sidr. But this was a much smaller number than in the big cyclones of the twentieth century. With modern technology, planning and education, we don’t have to lose huge numbers of lives in natural disasters.

Task 2. Read the article again. Are the sentences true (T) or false (F)?

1 Because of global warming, there are more natural

disasters now than there were in the past. T

2 The cyclone in 1991 was stronger than the cyclone in 1970.

3 The cyclone in 1991 killed more people than the cyclone in 1970.

4 In 1991, there was nowhere safe for women and children to go.

5 These days, emergency volunteers go to schools to warn the children about cyclones.

6 A scientist in the USA helped to save lives in Cyclone Sidr.

7 The buildings in Rupa’s village survived because of the cyclone warning.

8 Many more people survived Cyclone Sidr than the cyclones of 1970 and 1991.

Answer keys:

Matching task:

1. B

2. A

3. D

4. C

T/F task:

1. F

2. T

3. F

4. F

5. T

6. F

7. F

8. T

Descriptor

A learner

• comprehends the task and marks sentences True or false;

• does matching task.