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Extreme Weather Events

CONCEPTUAL
Science›Weather & Climate|Ages 9—11|ID: mt_6EfevRyeFW

Know about extreme weather events — hurricanes (spinning storms over warm ocean), tornadoes (violent rotating columns of air), floods, droughts, and blizzards — how they form, where they typically occur, and their effects on people and the environment

Mastery Evidence

  • Describe how at least two types of extreme weather form
  • Explain where hurricanes and tornadoes typically occur and why
  • Describe the effects of extreme weather on communities and landscapes

Assessment Prompt

“If [child] saw news about a hurricane, could they explain how it forms over warm ocean water, why it spins, and what makes it so destructive when it reaches land?”

Prerequisites3

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  • Thunder & Lightning hard

    Extreme weather builds on thunderstorm understanding

    • Storm Safety hard

      Thunder/lightning science builds on basic storm safety awareness

    • Cloud Types hard

      Lightning forms in clouds; requires understanding cloud formation

      • Rain & Puddles hard

        Cloud types build on knowing rain comes from clouds

        • Types of Weather soft

          Rain concept benefits from knowing rain as a weather type

  • The Water Cycle soft

    Extreme weather involves the water cycle (floods, droughts)

    • Cloud Types hard

      Water cycle requires understanding cloud formation (condensation)

      • Rain & Puddles hard

        Cloud types build on knowing rain comes from clouds

        • Types of Weather soft

          Rain concept benefits from knowing rain as a weather type

    • Where water is found on Earth soft

      Water cycle benefits from knowing where water is found on Earth

      • Shapes of land and water hard

        Must know land and water features before learning where water is found on Earth

        • Seasonal changes soft

          Seasonal observation supports understanding land and water features

      • Heating & Cooling Changes soft

        Understanding state changes supports knowing water as solid (ice) and liquid

        • States of Matter Vocabulary hard

          Describing and measuring changes of state requires solid/liquid/gas vocabulary and the term 'change of state'

        • Drawing Particle Diagrams hard

          Observing and describing change of state requires reading particle diagrams showing how arrangement changes on heating or cooling

    • Heating & Cooling Changes soft

      Water cycle benefits from curriculum states of matter (heating/cooling changes state)

      • States of Matter Vocabulary hard

        Describing and measuring changes of state requires solid/liquid/gas vocabulary and the term 'change of state'

      • Drawing Particle Diagrams hard

        Observing and describing change of state requires reading particle diagrams showing how arrangement changes on heating or cooling

    • Temperature & Thermometers soft

      Water cycle evaporation relates to temperature (heat drives evaporation)

    • Rain & Puddles hard

      Full water cycle builds on basic rain/puddle/evaporation concept

      • Types of Weather soft

        Rain concept benefits from knowing rain as a weather type

  • What Causes Wind hard

    Hurricanes and tornadoes require understanding what causes wind

    • What Is Wind? hard

      Understanding wind causes requires knowing what wind is

Unlocks2