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Science lesson plan · 3rd grade (Year 4 in England) · 30 minutes

Designs that reduce damage from weather hazards

Weather and climate

CCSS NGSS.3-ESS3-1England: KS2 Geography links

Objective and success criteria

Students will: Designs that reduce damage from weather hazards.

  • I can answer questions on today's skill on my own, without help.
  • I can explain each step and say why it works.
  • I can check my answer and spot a mistake.

Before and after

Needs first: Severe weather and staying safe

Leads to: the next skill in this area.

Materials: Weather maps, Thermometers, Mini whiteboards, A diagram or short video clip of the idea, Printed student sheet (below).

Warm-up · 4 min

  • Quick retrieval from earlier learning (Severe weather and staying safe). Students answer on mini whiteboards.
  • Show answers together and note who needs support in the main task.
  1. You hear thunder while playing in a field. What should you do? (go indoors as soon as you can / stand under a tall tree / hold up a metal pole / go swimming) → go indoors as soon as you canPrompt: Lightning tends to strike tall objects and open ground.
  2. Which kind of severe weather is this: a snowstorm where you cannot see far? (flood / tornado / blizzard / heatwave) → blizzardPrompt: Is it about water, wind, snow or heat?
  3. Severe weather: which statement is NOT true? (In a heatwave you should drink water and stay in the shade. / Sheltering under a tree is safe in a thunderstorm. / Flood water can be dangerous even when it looks shallow. / Lightning can strike tall objects such as trees.) → Sheltering under a tree is safe in a thunderstorm.Prompt: One sentence is a famous myth about lightning.

Hook · 3 min

  • Show today's forecast and ask what it means for the class and how forecasters know.
  • Share the objective: Designs that reduce damage from weather hazards. Read the success criteria together.

I do: model it · 7 min

  • Work through the example out loud, saying why you do each step, not just what you do.
  • Example: Which design best reduces damage from this hazard: blizzard (heavy snow)?
  • Step 1: Ploughs clear snow and grit melts ice.
  • Step 2: So the answer is: snow ploughs and grit (salt) for roads
  • Answer: snow ploughs and grit (salt) for roads
  • Pause after each step and ask a student to say what comes next.

We do: guided practice · 6 min

  • Do these together. Students try each step on whiteboards before you reveal it.
  • Use the hints as prompts rather than giving the answer.
  1. Which design best reduces damage from this hazard: lightning? (underground storm shelters / reservoirs and rain barrels to store water / a lightning rod on top of a building / flood barriers and houses built on stilts) → a lightning rod on top of a buildingPrompt: What does the hazard do: bring water, wind, heat, cold or electricity?
  2. Why do cities plant trees and build parks that can soak up rain? (Soil and plants soak up heavy rain, so less water floods the streets. / Parks make storms smaller. / Concrete soaks up more water than soil. / Trees stop rain falling.) → Soil and plants soak up heavy rain, so less water floods the streets.Prompt: What happens to rain that lands on concrete?

You do: independent practice · 7 min

  • Students work on the student sheet. Circulate and check the first two answers of every student early.
  • Students who finish: write a question of their own for a partner, with the answer.

The 6 questions are on the student sheet below, with answers in the key.

Exit ticket · 3 min

  • Two questions on their own. Sort answers into got it / nearly / not yet to plan the next lesson.
  1. True or false? Flood barriers stop rain from falling. (True / False) → FalsePrompt: Hazards cannot be stopped. What can people do?
  2. Why are new homes in flood areas sometimes built with the living rooms upstairs? (Stairs stop water. / To see the river better. / Upstairs is warmer. / Floodwater is less likely to reach the upper floor.) → Floodwater is less likely to reach the upper floor.Prompt: Where does floodwater go first?

Watch out for

  • Everyday meanings of words getting in the way of the science meaning: define key words explicitly.
  • Remembering facts without the reason: ask "why?" and "what is the evidence?"

Support and stretch

Support

  • Review first: Severe weather and staying safe.
  • Use concrete materials: weather maps.
  • Give the first step of each question, or a partly worked example to finish.
  • Pair with a confident partner for the guided practice.

Stretch

  • Explain a common mistake in writing and how to fix it.
  • Write a word problem that uses today's skill, then solve a partner's.

Homework and more practice

Free online practice with hints and printable worksheets for this skill: eurekami.com/science/grade-3.

Free lesson plan from eurekami.com/lesson-plan-builder

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Designs that reduce damage from weather hazards

Name

Date

Score/ 6

  1. Question 1

    True or false? We cannot stop weather hazards, but we can reduce their damage.

    • A. True
    • B. False

  2. Question 2

    Why do cities plant trees and build parks that can soak up rain?

    • A. Soil and plants soak up heavy rain, so less water floods the streets.
    • B. Concrete soaks up more water than soil.
    • C. Parks make storms smaller.
    • D. Trees stop rain falling.

  3. Question 3

    Which design best reduces damage from this hazard: hurricanes (strong storms)?

    • A. storm shutters and strongly fixed roofs
    • B. a lightning rod on top of a building
    • C. reservoirs and rain barrels to store water
    • D. snow ploughs and grit (salt) for roads

  4. Question 4

    True or false? Planting trees in cities helps during heatwaves.

    • A. True
    • B. False

  5. Question 5

    A town floods every few years. Engineers suggest two plans. How should the town choose?

    • A. Compare how well each plan works, its cost and its effects on people and nature.
    • B. Pick the one with the longest name.
    • C. Do nothing and hope.
    • D. Choose at random.

  6. Question 6

    Which design best reduces damage from this hazard: blizzard (heavy snow)?

    • A. snow ploughs and grit (salt) for roads
    • B. flood barriers and houses built on stilts
    • C. reservoirs and rain barrels to store water
    • D. shade trees, light-coloured roofs and cool public spaces

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Answer key: Designs that reduce damage from weather hazards

  1. 1. A. True

  2. 2. A. Soil and plants soak up heavy rain, so less water floods the streets.

  3. 3. A. storm shutters and strongly fixed roofs

  4. 4. A. True

  5. 5. A. Compare how well each plan works, its cost and its effects on people and nature.

  6. 6. A. snow ploughs and grit (salt) for roads