Grade 7-Geography

Natural PhenomenaLesson #1

Brain Storm:

What is the definition of natural phenomena/disaster List out as many natural phenomena/disasters as

you can Teacher to define natural phenomena and give

examples Videos about natural disasters Explain Hurricanes, Tornadoes, Earthquakes,

Volcanoes and Tsunamis Trends of natural disaster graph

Agenda

disaster caused by natural forces rather than by human

action that affects the environment, and leads to

financial, environmental and/or human losses

What is a Natural Phenomenon

Avalanches Blizzards Cyclones

Earthquakes Floods and

landslides

Heat waves Storms

Tornadoes Tsunamis Volcanoes Wildfires

List of Natural Phenomenon

Hurricanes : explains why they start and they

work http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4f45jA5UxB0

Tornadoes: explain how tornadoes form http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2GWtfb5l8iA

Earth quakes: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CtBXTvtFaCU&feature=fvw

Sinkholes http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nGkDouBVoLs

Video Clips

Hurricanes is a strong wind

with a consistent speed of 74 miles (119 kilometers) an hours –speed of a car driving on a highway

Hurricane season peaks from mid-August to late October and averages five to six hurricanes per year.

Hurricane sometimes can turn into a Tornado

What is a Hurricane?

Tornadoes: Tornadoes are vertical

funnels of rapidly spinning air. Wind my go above 250 miles (400 kilometers)

United States is a major hotspot with about a thousand tornadoes every year.

Tornadoes are classified as weak, strong, or violent storms. Violent tornadoes comprise only about two percent of all tornadoes, but they cause 70 percent of all tornado deaths and may last an hour or more

What is a Tornado?

Earthquakes

occur when two plates move suddenly against each other.

Volcanoes are also caused by the shift of the tectonic plates as it creates a break in the ground

What is an Earthquake

The name "volcano" has its origin

from the name of Vulcan, a god of fire in Roman mythology.

As pressure in the molten rock builds up it needs to escape somewhere. So it forces its way up “fissures” which are narrow cracks in the earths crust. Once the magma erupts through the earth’s surface it’s called lava.

There are around 1510 'active' volcanoes in the world. We currently know of 80 or more which are under the oceans.

What is a Volcano

The most common causes of

tsunamis are underwater earthquakes

A tsunami is a series of ocean waves that sends surges of water, sometimes reaching heights of over 100 feet (30.5 meters), onto land. Tsunamis race across the sea at up to 500 miles (805 kilometers) an hour—about as fast as a jet airplane.

What is a Tsunami

a sinkhole happens when water

erodes solid bedrock, carving an underground cavity that can then collapse.

Heavy rains from tropical storm Agatha likely triggered the collapse of a huge sinkhole in Guatemala (South America next to Mexico) on June 2010.

The sinkhole is 60 feet (18 meters) wide and about 300 feet (100 meters) deep

What is a Sinkhole?

Natural Disasters Reported between 1900-2009

Grade 7-Geography

Natural PhenomenaLesson #2

Review what is a natural disasters Finish anything left over from lesson #1 Have students work in groups reading articles

and discuss about the effect/damages of the natural disasters. –Each group will share their article with the class and talk about the damages it caused

Teacher to go over the damages caused by the natural disaster and give some statistics if there is time

Agenda

A tornadoes' funnel is like a giant vacuum cleaner. It

sucks up anything on the ground it touches. Tornadoes can lift vehicles, cut power lines and tear

off roofs. They can ruin crops and other vegetation They can destroy chimneys, roof shingles, satellite

dishes and tree branches. The worst tornadoes can flatten trees and crush

metal buildings Flying debris can cause damage Can hurt or even kill people

Effects of Tornadoes

The pounding water can strip away sand from

beaches and tear up trees and other vegetation (plants).

Tsunami can destroy costal towns and villages. People can be swept away and drowned.

Effects of Tsunami

Cause damage to

property such as homes, cars business and farms

Cost a lot of money-as homes and structures need to be rebuild

Causes injuries and death to humans and animals

Cause trauma and psychological effect

Effects of Natural Disasters