Download Natural disasters resources and activities – Key Stage 1 This

Natural disasters resources and activities – Key Stage 1
This guidance is intended for use with the KS1 Natural Disasters lesson plan and provides theory,
case study information and further guidance on the discussions and activities.
Subjects: Geography, Global citizenship
Key skills: communication, global citizenship, PSHE/PSE
Lesson introduction
A natural disaster is an event caused by the forces of nature, over which humans have no control.
Natural disasters can take many forms and their effects can range from mild to catastrophic.
Activity: natural disasters
Divide pupils into small groups and ask them to think of types of natural disasters. Can they describe
them and offer any examples? Pupils can write their ideas on post-it notes which can then be stuck
on the whiteboard to feed back to the rest of the class.
Here are some types of natural disasters with recent or well-known examples as a guide.
Type of natural disaster
Earthquake
Tsunami
Volcano
Floods
Landslide
Avalanche
Hurricane
Tornado
Forest fire/bush fire
Drought
Examples
Haiti (January 2010), New Zealand (February 2011), Japan (March 2011)
Indian Ocean tsunami (December 2004), Japan (March 2011)
Eyjafjallajokull, Iceland (2010),
Queensland, Australia (December 2010), Pakistan (July 2011), UK (July
2007)
Brazil (January 2011)
Galtür, Austria (February 1999)
Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans, USA (August 2005)
Joplin, USA (May 2011)
California, USA (September 2008)
East Africa (present day)
Taking it further: ask pupils to pick a natural disaster to investigate (this can be done as a group or
individually) and find out information from an encyclopaedia, atlas or the internet. Can they gather
an interesting fact to feed back to their work group or class?
Earthquakes
Earthquakes can be one of the most deadly natural disasters as we cannot predict when they will
happen next and how large an earthquake will be. Earthquakes cause the ground to shake violently
and can cause tsunamis (huge waves) if they occur under the sea.
They happen because the surface of the Earth (the crust) is made up of tectonic plates. There are
many tectonic plates of various sizes but around fifteen main ones. Some plates are massive, for
example the Pacific Plate, which covers most of the Pacific Ocean, and the Eurasian Plate, which
holds all of Europe and most of Asia.
Each tectonic plate moves very slowly (some move only a few centimetres in a year) and it may
move in a different direction to the plates on either side of it. We call the area where plates meet a
plate boundary. At these boundaries, the masses of rock on either side push against each other or
past each other as they move. Over time, pressure can build up between the plates, which is
released in a series of sudden movements, causing the earth to move. This is an earthquake.
Earthquakes happen somewhere on Earth every day, although we only hear about the largest ones.
Scientists can measure earthquakes using a seismometer, which measures the movement of the
Earth. The size of an earthquake is called its magnitude. The largest measure Magnitude 8 or above
and can cause a lot of damage and loss of life.
Case study: Kashmir earthquake
At 8:50 am on 8th October 2005 a major earthquake struck near Muzaffarabad in the north of
Pakistan, which measured Magnitude 7.6. Northern Pakistan is in an area where the Eurasian Plate is
colliding with the Indian Plate, and this earthquake caused the mountains here to rise by a few
metres.
The effects of the earthquake were massive and it was felt in the neighbouring countries of India,
Afghanistan, Tajikistan and Western China. There were 147 aftershocks within 24 hours of the main
earthquake. Over 79,000 people died, more than 200,000 were injured and around 4 million people
were left homeless. Sadly, most of the buildings in the area were badly built and many people were
buried when their houses and schools collapsed. Whole towns and villages were destroyed.
A large number of children became orphans and this is why Penny Appeal chose to set up its first
school here, the Konsh Valley Education Home.
Photographs of the KonshValley Education Home can be downloaded from LINK
Case study: Pakistan floods
Heavy monsoon rains caused devastating floods across huge areas of Pakistan in July and August
2010. Around one fifth of the whole country was under water. Around 2,000 people died but it is
estimated that 20 million people were affected, who lost loved ones, their homes, crops and their
means of earning money. Whole villages were washed away and roads and railways were destroyed
as well as around 5,000 schools.
Thousands of people are living in tents until their villages can be rebuilt. There is a lack of clean
water and so they are at risk of developing diseases. There is also a shortage of food because the
floods washed their crops away.
In October 2010, Penny Appeal provided 30 tonnes of emergency aid (basic foods such as tea, lentils,
rice, wheat and oil) to people who had lost their homes in the floods. But this is not enough. In
January 2011, Penny Appeal launched its Rebuilding Pakistan Appeal, to build new homes for
families in one village.
Photographs of Penny Appeal’s distribution of aid to Pakistan’s flood victims can be downloaded
from LINK
Main activity: why are poor people most affected by natural disasters?
“When a natural disaster strikes, it is often the poorest people who are most affected.”
This statement can be proven with a fun experiment. Divide pupils into small groups and give each
group a different material (construction blocks, wooden blocks, cardboard, paper, etc) and ask them
to build a house. When made, in front of the whole class, place each one on a board or tray and ask
the pupils to shake the house to replicate an earthquake. Compare how the models withstand the
shaking. Which survives best of all?
Discussion points and conclusions (also for use during plenary section):
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Explain to pupils that, in developed countries, our homes are solid and well made. We need
planning permission to build and buildings are often inspected to make sure that they reach
a good standard. In developing countries, homes are made much more cheaply, and so
many are not strong enough to survive a natural disaster. Homes are often built on cheap
land which can be prone to flooding or landslides.
In developed countries, we pay house insurance so that if anything goes wrong, our houses
can be repaired or rebuilt. Adults can receive help from the government if they lose their
jobs or if they are injured or too ill to work. In poor countries, the government cannot afford
to help parts of country that have been affected by disaster and often need help from other
countries. The people don’t receive help from the government if they cannot work (often
they have to depend on their children to earn money) and if their houses are destroyed,
then there is no money from an insurance company to build another.