Semester-Long: Fascinating Severe Weather Occurrences & Natural Disasters (Flex)

Get $10 off this class with coupon code ATWOOHKFLP10 until Jul 31, 2023. Includes all of my eight-week courses, semester-long classes, and summer camps. 

     Have you ever wondered what causes an avalanche or how hurricanes become stronger over time? In the first 4 weeks of this course, students will have the opportunity to learn about the science behind natural disasters and how they have impacted the world around us. Students will explore different severe weather occurrences such as the 2011 tsunami earthquake that struck Japan, suggested to be the most powerful earthquake to ever hit Japan. Or Hurricane Irma, the 2017 storm that was considered to be the strongest hurricane observed in the Atlantic with speeds as high as 185 miles per hour. Or the famous volcanic eruption of Mount Vesuvius on August 24th AD 79, which buried the town of Pompeii. Students will be provided a background of each event and then explore real-world occurrences and the damage they did. 
      In weeks 4-8 of this course, students will look into the science behind volcanic eruptions, what happens beneath the earth's surface, and how the environment is affected following an event. We will also explore what we can learn about our environment from past eruptions and explore how other processes such as climate change affect the probability of timing of eruptions as well as contribute to the initiation of other severe weather occurrences such as tsunamis and earthquakes. Students will also have the opportunity to explore past eruptions such as Mount St. Helens and look into what scientists predict in the future. In addition, students will look at different types of volcanoes such as stratovolcanoes, which are believed to have the most violent eruptions. 
    In the last 4 weeks of this course, children will learn about the theories surrounding the disappearance of many ships and airplanes lost to the mysterious area known as the Bermuda Triangle. Children will investigate possible explanations such as the Methane Gas Theory, Compass Variation theories, and many others. During this course, we will also look into some of the famous aircraft or ships that have mysteriously entered this area and never returned.  There will be many opportunities for children to openly discuss class topics as well as utilize an interactive whiteboard in nearpod that allows students to express their ideas, answer questions, and contribute to the discussion. The class will be made up of PowerPoint presentations on the topic shared by the teacher as well as short videos pertaining to the topic that children will have a chance to comment on and discuss. 

Week 1: Hurricanes
Week 2: Tornadoes & Tsunamis
Week 3: Earthquakes & Blizzards
Week 4: Sink Holes, Landslides, and Floods
Week 5: Types of Volcanoes
Week 6: Most Famous Past Eruptions
Week 7: Volcanoes in the United States
Week 8: Volcanoes in the Hawaiian Islands
Week 9: Theories Surrounding Bermuda Triangle Disappearances 
Week 10: Most Famous Bermuda Triangle Disappearances
Week 11: Ship Disappearances in the Bermuda Triangle
Week 12: Plane Disappearances in the Bermuda Triangle 

     Students will work with Nearpod, an interactive software program that allows students to participate in discussion boards, answer short quizzes, and watch interactive videos that pertain to course material.  
     Students will also work with Gimkit, a website that allows students to participate in interactive quizzes that will reemphasize the material presented to them in the recordings. 
In this 12-week course, students will have one recording per week and receive assignments and activities corresponding to those recordings. The recordings will be posted by the date the class is scheduled, so for example, if your class is on a Saturday the recordings will be posted by the end of the day on Saturday therefore the students can choose when they would like to view them. The length of the class can be extended if needed to allow students to have time to view recordings and access materials.