Understanding Tornadoes: An Engaging Lesson for 4th-6th Graders

1. Extreme Weather forStudents Luke Bremer

2. Audience • 4th-6th graders • In a public or private school or home schooled • Lesson plan for two class periods • Must have a general idea of what a tornado is

3. Environment • Students can work individually or in groups of 2 • Perform majority of lesson in computer lab • Can do the project at the end in the classroom

4. Objective • Students will be able to identify signs of incoming tornadoes, safety tips, and different levels of tornadoes by passing the final quiz at the end with an 80%.

5. Orientation • In the United States, tornadoes can happen anywhere at anytime. Let’s learn more about this extreme weather and its power! Pay attention… there will be a quiz at the end!!! Picture from http://biblia.com/tornados-36g.jpg

6. Instructions • I am a first time user • Start at the beginning • I have already read the directions • Take me to the menu

7. Directions • Go to menu slide • Once there, study the different information and vocab • Take the final quiz at the end and pass with an 80 percent

8. Practice Question Directions • Read the material before answering question. • Pick an answer. • If wrong, click on the review material at bottom corner of the slide. • Review material again and select a different answer until you choose the correct one.

9. Menu for Tornadoes • Safety tips • Interesting facts • Final Quiz!!! • Information • Vocab • References

10. Picture from http://www.weatherpix.com/Tornadoes.jpg Information Tornado is a strong rotation of air extending from a thunderstorm.

11. How tornadoes form • Thunderstorms occur in warm moist air in front of cold fronts coming from the east • They can also form sometimes because of hurricanes coming on land from the water

12. Formation of Tornadoes • Different wind speeds at different heights can contribute. • The tornado gets caught in the super cell, thunderstorm updraft • The rain and the hail helps the super cell to touch the ground to form a tornado

13. Levels of Tornadoes • The fujita scale is used to help rank the intensity of a tornado. The scale ranks it by measuring the damage after it passes through buildings that are made by man. Picture from http://icons.wunderground.com/data/wximagenew/a/ABMPHOTOLOVER/0.jpg

14. Fujita Scale Chart from http://www.tornadoproject.com/

15. Types of Tornadoes • Weak • 69% of all tornadoes • Winds are less than 110 mph (miles per hour) • Lifetime of tornado • 1-10 minutes Picture from http://home.grandecom.net/~claire/images/tl723952.jpg

16. Types of Tornadoes II • Strong • 29% of all tornadoes • Wind speed between 110-205 mph • Can last 20 minutes or longer Picture from http://images.usatoday.com/weather/_photos/2006/09/12/nssl0068.jpg

17. Types of Tornadoes III • Violent • 2% of all tornadoes • Can last up to one hour or longer • They are responsible for 70% of all tornado deaths Picture from http://apollo.lsc.vsc.edu/classes/met130/notes/chapter14/graphics/keller.gif

18. Fujita Scale • Guess what the following tornadoes were ranked on the Fujita scale and compare it to the actual ranking.

19. Tornado #1 Picture from http://www.astro.umd.edu/~white/images/tornado/laplata.jpg

20. Tornado #1 • If you guessed that tornado to be an F4, then you are correct!

21. Tornado #2 Picture from http://www.stormchasing.ca/db4/00350/stormchasing.ca/_uimages/MildmayTornadozoom.jpg

22. Tornado #2 • If you thought that this was an F3 tornado, you were wrong. This is an F1 tornado.

23. Tornado #3 Picture from http://content.answers.com/main/content/wp/en/thumb/c/cb/240px-Tornado-Leseur-24.jpg

24. Tornado #3 • This is tornado was classified as an F3 tornado on the Fujita scale.

25. Practice Question • What tornado is classified as the most powerful? • A. F1 • B. F3 • C. F6

26. Try Again • F1 is not the most powerful tornado. • Return to information

27. Sorry • F3 is not classified as the strongest tornado. • Return to information

28. Good Choice • F6 is the strongest classified tornado. • Go back to menu

29. Vocab associated with Tornadoes • Tornado is a twisting column of air in a funnel cloud • Windstorm is a storm with strong wind but with little rain • Storm is made of wind with rain, snow, or thunder

30. VocabII • Damage Path is the area where the tornado touches the ground

31. You’re doing good. Keep Going! Picture from http://www.dkimages.com/discover/previews/781/568661.JPG Return to menu

32. Signs of incoming tornadoes • Green or black color in the sky • Hail coming down • A eerie, strange silence during or after thunderstorm • Clouds moving fast and rotating in one area of the sky

33. Signs of incoming tornadoes II • The sound of trains or jets • Debris falling from the sky • Objects being pulled upwards into a funnel cloud

34. Practice Question • What is one signal of an incoming tornado? • A. Blue Clouds • B. Rainbow • C. Greenish or greenish blackish color in the sky

35. Good Try • A. is not the correct answer • Return to signs of incoming tornadoes

36. Sorry • Rainbow is not the right answer. • Return to signs of incoming tornadoes

37. Great Job • Greenish or greenish blackish skies tend to appear before tornadoes.

38. When tornadoes happen • In the South • Peak time March through May • North • During the summer • Happen most often between 3-9 pm

39. Where tornadoes occur • Tornado Alley • West Texas to North Dakota • Area about 1600 kilometers north to south • 950 kilometers east to west • Watch a movie a variety of tornadoes http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hbDZkPJG-XE

40. Tornado Alley • Reasons for why so many tornadoes in this area • Terrain is flat • Warm air coming north from Mexico • Cool dry air coming south from Canada • Creates large super cells Picture from http://www.nssl.noaa.gov/primer/tornado/images/tor_alley_lg.gif

41. Practice Question • What is one reason for tornado alley being such a good place for tornadoes to form? • A. Rocky land • B. Small thunderstorms • C. Flat land

42. Incorrect • Rocky land is not a reason why tornadoes are so frequent in tornado alley. • Return to when tornadoes happen

43. Try Again • Small thunderstorms is not a reason for tornadoes appearing so much in tornado alley. • Return to when tornadoes happen

44. Great Job • Flat land is just one of the reasons that tornado alley is a prime place for tornadoes to develop. • Return to menu

45. Safety Tips • Tornado “watch” means that there is a chance for a tornado • Tornado “warning” means that a tornado has been seen or one is strongly shown on a radar.

46. Safety Tips II • Watch weather channel • Listen to the “NOAA” weather radio

47. Safety Tips III • Develop a safety plan if you are in school, home, work, or outside. • Practice these safety plans often • If you are outside when a tornado occurs, do not try to outrun or outrace the twister in your car.

48. Safe Areas • Storm shelters • Basements • If you do not have one • Small place on first floor • Closet • Bathroom, bathtub Picture from http://www.protectionshelters.com/photos/walkingdownstairs.jpg

49. Safe Areas in Schools • Inside the rooms and halls on lowest floor • No halls that open to the outside • Crouch to make a small target • If on your walk home • Lay down in a ditch

50. Safe Areas in Mobile Homes • No real secure place in the home • Ask the manager if there is a storm shelter in the mobile home park • If not try to find a secure place nearby