Curriculum / ELA / 4th Grade / Unit 2: Preparing for the Worst: Natural Disasters / Lesson 8
ELA
Unit 2
4th Grade
Lesson 8 of 22
Jump To
Lesson Notes
There was an error generating your document. Please refresh the page and try again.
Generating your document. This may take a few seconds.
Are you sure you want to delete this note? This action cannot be undone.
Explain why a person living in Boston is significantly less likely to experience an earthquake than a person in California.
Unlock features to optimize your prep time, plan engaging lessons, and monitor student progress.
Tasks that represents the peak thinking of the lesson - mastery will indicate whether or not objective was achieved.
Based on evidence from the text, explain why a person living in Boston is significantly less likely to experience an earthquake than a person in California.
Upgrade to Fishtank Plus to view Sample Response.
Questions about the text that will help guide the students understanding
What causes an earthquake? Explain what happens at the focus of the earthquake.
Why does Seymour Simon start page 13 with the question, "Why do most earthquakes in the United States occur in California?" How does he answer the question?
What evidence does the author give to support the idea that it is dangerous to live along the San Andreas Fault?
Literary terms, text-based vocabulary, idioms and word parts to be taught with the text
fault
n.
(p. 8)
a break in the Earth's crust
plates
(p. 13)
a large section of the Earth's surface that can move and cause earthquakes
Bring your most engaging lessons to life with comprehensive instructional guidance, detailed pacing, supports to meet every student's needs, and resources to strengthen your lesson planning and delivery.
RI.4.3 — Explain events, procedures, ideas, or concepts in a historical, scientific, or technical text, including what happened and why, based on specific information in the text.
RI.4.5 — Describe the overall structure (e.g., chronology, comparison, cause/effect, problem/solution) of events, ideas, concepts, or information in a text or part of a text.
Standards that are practiced daily but are not priority standards of the unit
L.4.4 — Determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and multiple-meaning words and phrases based on grade 4 reading and content, choosing flexibly from a range of strategies.
L.4.4.b — Use common, grade-appropriate Greek and Latin affixes and roots as clues to the meaning of a word (e.g., telegraph, photograph, autograph).
RF.4.3 — Know and apply grade-level phonics and word analysis skills in decoding words.
RF.4.4 — Read with sufficient accuracy and fluency to support comprehension.
RI.4.1 — Refer to details and examples in a text when explaining what the text says explicitly and when drawing inferences from the text.
RI.4.4 — Determine the meaning of general academic and domain-specific words or phrases in a text relevant to a grade 4 topic or subject area.
RI.4.10 — By the end of year, read and comprehend informational texts, including history/social studies, science, and technical texts, in the grades 4—5 text complexity band proficiently, with scaffolding as needed at the high end of the range.
SL.4.1 — Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grade 4 topics and texts, building on others' ideas and expressing their own clearly.
W.4.9 — Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research.
W.4.10 — Write routinely over extended time frames (time for research, reflection, and revision) and shorter time frames (a single sitting or a day or two) for a range of discipline-specific tasks, purposes, and audiences.
Next
Describe the tools scientists use to measure earthquakes and why one form of measurement is not enough for measuring earthquakes.
Explain what a natural disaster is and why it is important to know if a natural disaster is imminent.
Standards
RI.4.3RI.4.5RI.4.7
Explain where and how volcanoes occur using the words "plates," "magma," and "erupt."
Explain what happened when Mount St. Helens erupted and the destruction it caused.
Describe what makes Hawaiian volcanoes unique.
Describe the four different types of volcanoes.
2 days
Write a well-structured paragraph that explains where and how volcanoes occur and what hazards they create.
W.4.2W.4.2.aW.4.2.bW.4.2.e
Explain where and why earthquakes occur.
RI.4.3RI.4.5
Write a well-structured paragraph that explains where and how earthquakes occur and what hazards they create.
W.4.2
Explain the type of damage and destruction caused by flooding.
Describe where and how hurricanes occur.
Describe the destruction caused by each category of hurricane.
Explain how you know when a hurricane is coming and what you should do if you are in the path of a hurricane.
Write a well-structured paragraph that explains where and how hurricanes occur and what hazards they create.
Explain what happened during the Yellowstone fires of 1988 and the impact the fires had on the park.
Analyze why wildfires are neither good nor bad.
RI.4.3
Write a well-structured paragraph that explains where and how wildfires occur and what hazards they create.
Explain other types of natural disasters and what to do to prepare for or prevent them.
4 days
Write a short narrative about a young person dealing with a natural disaster.
L.4.1.fL.4.2.aL.4.2.bSL.4.1W.4.3W.4.3.aW.4.3.bW.4.3.cW.4.5W.4.8
Gauge student understanding of unit content and skills with one of Fishtank's unit assessments.
5 days
Research and report on a recent natural disaster.
L.4.1.fW.4.2W.4.2.aW.4.2.bW.4.2.eW.4.7W.4.8
Create a free account to access thousands of lesson plans.
Already have an account? Sign In
See all of the features of Fishtank in action and begin the conversation about adoption.
Learn more about Fishtank Learning School Adoption.
Yes
No
We've got you covered with rigorous, relevant, and adaptable ELA lesson plans for free