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Canadian Disasters
Activity Overview
Subjects
English Language Arts
Geography
History
Social Studies
Summary
Using the CBC Radio and Television Archives Web site and other resources, students will research a Canadian natural disaster from the following list: the Saguenay flood, the Halifax Explosion, the Ice Storm of 1998, the Red River floods, the Ocean Ranger disaster, and Hurricane Hazel. Students will form small groups and research one Canadian disaster. Students will keep a research folder and will use their information to prepare a role-play based on being a witness to or a participant in the event. Students will then present their role-plays to the class.
Duration
1 week
Purpose
To conduct Web-based research using audio and visual resources, to conduct research from print resources, to write creatively, to present a role-play or dramatization
Line Master
Printable Worksheet
CBC Archives Topics
The Wrath of Hurricane Hazel
The Saguenay Flood
The Ice Storm of 1998
The Ocean Ranger Disaster
Red River Rising: Manitoba Floods
The Halifax Explosion
1. Before Project Launch
Consider launching this project in one of the following ways. The object is to define and develop workable definitions for “natural disaster” and to inspire interest in the subject and the associated project.
Write the word “disaster” on the board or chart paper and ask students for a definition and examples. Write the word “natural” in front of “disaster” and continue to refine the terms and examples, concentrating eventually on Canadian natural disasters. You might ask students to recount any personal experiences they have had with natural disasters or human-caused tragedies.
Start with a videoclip of a recent natural disaster or use one of the following from the CBC’s “News in Review” program:
Hurricane Andrew: Nature’s Fury Strikes Again, October 1992
Somalia: War and Starvation, October 1992
The Los Angeles Earthquake: Rude Awakening, March 1994
The Quebec Floods: A Natural Disaster?, September 1996
The Manitoba Flood: No High Ground, September 1997
The Ice Storm: Powerless Against Nature, March 1998
Hurricane Mitch: Canada’s Emergency Response, February 1999
Catastrophe in Turkey: Building Faults, October 1999
Deadly Water: The Lessons of Walkerton, September 2000
Earthquakes: The West Coast Threat, April 2001
United States Under Terrorist Attack, October 2001
Blackout: The Day the Power Went Out, September 2003
Take students to a computer room or use the computers in the classroom to log onto www.cbc.ca/archives and briefly visit the files suggested for this project: The Saguenay Flood, The Halifax Explosion, The Ice Storm of 1998, The Ocean Ranger Disaster, The Wrath of Hurricane Hazel, and Red River Rising: Manitoba Floods.
2. Outline the Project Parameters
Following the project launch, present and review the Project Outline carefully with students. Be sure that all parts of the task are clear.
This project includes the following worksheets that outline the task and provide tools for students to use as they work. You may wish to use all or only some of these sheets, which you can adapt to suit your needs and those of your students. For each sheet, be sure that students understand how to use it to support their work on this project.
For their research, students can consult the Resources link in addition to the CBC Radio and Television Archives Web site. Encourage students to find other resources as well.
- Project Outline
Hand out this sheet before beginning the project and review it carefully with students.
- Archival Research Organizer
Students can use this tool to organize their research. You may wish to collect these sheets as part of your evaluation.
- Sample Research Log Sheet
Students can use this tool to maintain focus on their work. If you require it, students will include this sheet in their final submission.
- Research Folder Checklist
One group member can maintain this in the group’s research folder. Consider having students keep the research folder, or a copy of this sheet, in the classroom.
- Role-Play Tips
Review these tips with students when they have finished their research, and encourage them to add their ideas to the list.
- Disaster Buzz Groups
Students will meet to share their research with other groups. They can use this sheet to focus their discussion.
- Role-Play Assessment Master
Review this evaluation tool with students early and often during the project. You may choose to have students use the assessment master themselves and/or in the role of peer editors.
- Group Work Checklist
Students can use this as an evaluation tool or as a guide to working successfully in a group.
3. Revisit and Reflect
After the groups have presented their role-plays, create new groups with at least one member from each original group. In the new groups, students will use the prompts on the download sheet Disaster Buzz Groups to discuss what they have learned from the role-plays. Have a volunteer from each group provide an oral summary of the group’s discussions.
4. Extension
- You might wish to have students share their role-plays with students in other classes.
- If a natural or human-caused disaster occurs while you are completing this project, have students brainstorm and carry out some good citizenship activities such as fundraising or letter-writing campaigns.
Resources
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