Drought Basics

Provided by: PBS |Published on: November 7, 2023

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Synopsis

In this interactive resource, students will learn about the different types of drought, the causes and effects of drought, and how scientists monitor it, examining examples from Boston, Albuquerque, and California's Lake Cachuma.
Students will read, watch videos, and analyze graphs within the interactive presentation and there are discussion questions and other supporting materials provided.

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Subjects: Biology, Earth and Space Sciences

Authors: PBS

Region: North America, USA - Northeast, USA - West, United States, Global, California, New Mexico, Massachusetts

Languages: English

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Teaching Materials

Positives

Teachers can easily assign this lesson as independent work via Google Classroom and other platforms.
Students will remain engaged with various visualizations and graphics to illustrate the concepts.

Additional Prerequisites

You may need to switch to Student View for the Launch button to work.
Students will need to know the terms precipitation, climate, aridity, hydrological, and others before beginning the lesson.
It may benefit students to understand the difference between a drought and a water shortage.

Differentiation

Geography students can look at climate zones across the United States and discuss why drought means something different in different places.
Students in math classes can practice analyzing and answering questions about the graphs in the lesson.
Students can brainstorm ways to conserve water in their homes or use a water footprint calculator to understand their water usage.
If you want to assign the lesson as independent work, a Chrome extension to read the text aloud will help any struggling readers.

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Drought Basics

Synopsis

Teaching Materials

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Scientist Reviewed