Natural Disasters
Natural
disasters can be a sudden and life-altering event. Over the past few years, two
major floods have hit the northeast. The effects of these floods have been
devastating in the short term while having long-lasting environmental and
economic consequences (Tillery, Enger & Ross, 2008). My students have seen
these effects firsthand and can relate to life-altering changes the flooding
has caused. Thus students could do an open inquiry study of the pre-flood
natural and social conditions of the area comparing and contrasting that with
the post-flood conditions. They could then share ideas for preventing floods
and methodologies for mitigating floods when they occur. As a part of their
study they could choose an organization that serves the area in flood
prevention and/or cleanup to interview and participate in the process. This
would culminate with a creative presentation of their findings for self, peer,
and instructor assessment. Each class would then nominate one presentation that
would be presented at a school assembly/rally on community service. Local
newspapers and TV stations would be invited to cover the presentations as well.
The school could then vote on the service presentation they would like to
participate in from the presentations. Then, depending on the logistics, a
field trip to the preferred service project could be planned for the school to
work together on rebuilding the community. This would serve to unify the
community while providing a means of learning about the causes, effects, and
prevention of natural disasters.
References:
Tillery,
B., Enger, E., & Ross, F. (2008). Integrated science (4th ed.). New York, NY:
McGraw-Hill.
I have been fortunate enough to teach at K-12 schools for the entirely of my teaching career thus far. At my previous school, high school students were required to complete a community service project as a graduation requirement. Some projects were big (one student created, published, and sold a cookbook to raise money for breast cancer awareness and research in honor of her mother who survived breast cancer) other projects were basically enough to fulfill the requirement (volunteering time to complete building maintenance projects or organizing youth sports camps for an afternoon after school). After reading your post, the thing that struck me about your idea for such a community service project is that the school community is involved. Such a great way to "pass it on" and maintain student empathy and awareness.
ReplyDeleteI don't know why it posted from my blogger account. Interesting! Always a new adventure with technology.
DeleteCarrie
Hi Carrie,
DeleteYou are right. Sometimes it is just important to be involved.
Hello!
ReplyDeleteHave you had the opportunity to do such a project with your students? I would love to know how it turned out! --Dr. Booth
Hi Mark,
ReplyDeleteInvolvement after a natural disaster is just as important to the person receiving as for the individual giving. Being invoved does and canmake a difference.
Sandra