Teacher Notes
Severe Weather (45 minutes) > Print/View All Notes
Before beginning, make sure that each student has a copy of the Engineering Portfolio. After students have explored this page, have them turn to pages 1 and 2 in their portfolios. The first page asks them to complete a pre-writing graphic organizer for a personal weather narrative. The second page gives instructions for writing the narrative.
For students who have not experienced a severe weather event, have them turn to the alternative assignment on pages 3 and 4. Students will write a narrative about a real-life or imagined experience with severe weather. Remind students to use descriptive details and a clear event sequence. Students should also take care to show the actions, thoughts and feelings of any people in the narrative, including themselves. Students may voice-record their entries, use speech-to-text technology or type their entries, if possible. Allow students 15 minutes to complete the pre-writing exercise. Allow 30 minutes for students to complete the narrative.
After they are finished, allow students to share their narratives with their classmates. This activity will help students to recall prior knowledge that will help them to make personal connections with the concept of severe weather.
