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August 23
The tropical storm that became Katrina formed over the Bahamas in 2005.
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| Grades | K – 11 |
| Calendar Activity Type | Historical Figure & Event |
Katrina was one of the costliest and most destructive hurricanes in U.S. history and was the third strongest hurricane to touch down on U.S. soil to date. Katrina devastated New Orleans and other Gulf Coast areas and is estimated to have killed over 1,800 people.
The anniversary of Katrina is a good time to plan for local weather emergencies, especially since it occurs at the beginning of the school year. Explore the weather-related and other natural disasters that your geographical area is prone to; then review your school's emergency procedures with students.
Extend the lesson to students' homes and other places they may visit (religious buildings, for instance), asking students to explore a location outside of the school for its emergency preparedness and then report their findings back to the class.
- Hurricanes/Tropical Cyclones
This NASA page includes details on hurricanes in general, with graphics that explain how hurricanes are structured.
- National Hurricane Center
NOAA offers this resource on hurricanes, including information about hurricane strength, hurricane safety, and how storms are named, as well as hurricane photos and satellite imagery.
- Hurricane Hunters Association
Visit the homepage of the Air Force squadrons who fly into the eye of hurricanes that threaten the United States' coast.
- Hurricane Digital Memory Bank
The Hurricane Digital Memory Bank uses electronic media to collect, preserve, and present the stories and digital record of Hurricanes Katrina, Rita, and Wilma.
Grades 5 – 8 | Lesson Plan | Standard Lesson
Glogging About Natural Disasters
After researching various natural disasters, students share their findings with each other using glogs, or through poster presentations.
Grades K – 2 | Lesson Plan | Unit
Weather: A Journey in Nonfiction
Questions about weather clear up when students use what they learned from their books to create a presentation to share with the rest of the class.
Grades 3 – 5 | Lesson Plan | Standard Lesson
Exploring Cause and Effect Using Expository Texts About Natural Disasters
Students explore the nature and structure of expository texts that focusing on cause and effect and apply what they learned using graphic organizers and writing paragraphs to outline cause-and-effect relationships.
Grades 3 – 5 | Lesson Plan | Standard Lesson
Weather Detectives: Questioning the Fact and Folklore of Weather Sayings
Students adopt a skeptical stance and become weather detectives who ask “Why?” and “Why not?” as they investigate the history and validity of some common weather sayings.
Grades 8 – 12 | Lesson Plan | Standard Lesson
Responding to Tragedy: Then and Now
After reading several poets’ personal responses to the September 11th terrorist attacks, students write a "then and now" poem that puts their early memories of the event in conversation with their current understanding of and response to the tragedy.
