Natural Disasters and Students

When natural disasters strike, there is much teachers and students can do to learn about the natural disaster and get involved. This assignment reminds me of the 2004 Sumatra Earthquake and Tsunami. The elementary school I was teaching at had fundraisers to help raise money that was donated to the Red Cross to help with the recovering and clean up effort. Many students gave up their snack money to the cause. They have done this for families in the area who lost their homes to fires as well. When the Sumatra, Haiti, and Japan earthquakes hit, I showed students where these places were on the map. With the Japan earthquake, we skipped to the Earthquake chapter and tied the chapter into what was going on in the news. We learned the science behind the event. We watched video clips of what had happened. I found websites with interactive explanations of what caused the earthquake and tsunami. With the string of tornadoes in the last few years, many have been in nearby counties. Again, money and even food can be donated, but also there were opportunities for families to volunteer and help with the clean up. I could have made these opportunities known to my students.