• 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. What is a drought? (a long period with very little rain / a snowstorm / a very windy day / a flood) → a long period with very little rainPrompt: Rivers and reservoirs dry up.
2. Which kind of severe weather is this: several days much hotter than normal? (flood / tornado / blizzard / heatwave) → heatwavePrompt: Is it about water, wind, snow or heat?
3. Severe weather: which statement is NOT true? (Sheltering under a tree is safe in a thunderstorm. / Weather forecasts help people prepare for storms. / Lightning can strike tall objects such as trees. / Flood water can be dangerous even when it looks shallow.) → Sheltering under a tree is safe in a thunderstorm.Prompt: One sentence is a famous myth about lightning.

• 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.

• 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.

• 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: hurricanes (strong storms)? (reservoirs and rain barrels to store water / storm shutters and strongly fixed roofs / underground storm shelters / shade trees, light-coloured roofs and cool public spaces) → storm shutters and strongly fixed roofsPrompt: What does the hazard do: bring water, wind, heat, cold or electricity?
2. Why do weather services send out warnings before big storms? (To change the storm's direction. / To make the storm smaller. / To stop the storm. / So people have time to prepare and get to safety.) → So people have time to prepare and get to safety.Prompt: We cannot stop a storm. What can we do?

• 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.

• Two questions on their own. Sort answers into got it / nearly / not yet to plan the next lesson.

1. Why do weather services send out warnings before big storms? (So people have time to prepare and get to safety. / To change the storm's direction. / To stop the storm. / To make the storm smaller.) → So people have time to prepare and get to safety.Prompt: We cannot stop a storm. What can we do?
2. True or false? Storing water is useless during a drought. (True / False) → FalsePrompt: Hazards cannot be stopped. What can people do?

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