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The video linked to the article builds students' background knowledge of what hurricane damage looks like in the coastal states.
The article allows for students who don't live along the coast to understand that there are still impacts to the inland states. The article also makes a clear connection between climate change and the increase in frequency and intensity of hurricanes and tropical storms.
Prerequisites
There are some advertisements and links to other news articles that may not be appropriate for students. Teachers may want to consider printing the article for students instead of having them view the article via the webpage link.
Students should have a general idea of which states (coastal, gulf, etc.) are most affected by hurricanes and which states (inland) do not usually experience hurricanes.
Students may benefit students from understanding climate change and its impacts on extreme weather events.
Differentiation & Implementation
The video Why are Hurricanes Getting Stronger will further stress the connection between climate change and the increase in frequency and intensity of hurricanes.
Students can research the last 10 years of hurricanes and record each individual hurricane's Saffir-Simpson Scale category. Plotting the data on a graph, students can analyze if there is a trend and what the causes of that trend may be.
