Lesson Plan - Disaster Strikes

Activate Prior Knowledge

Discuss what students already know about the recent earthquakes in Turkey and Syria.

Preview Words to Know

Project the online vocabulary slideshow and introduce the Words to Know.

• magnitude 
• debris

Set a Purpose for Reading

As students read, have them think about how groups have helped people in Turkey and Syria since the earthquakes.

1. How have groups like USAID helped in the aftermath of the earthquake? These groups have brought equipment, dug through ruins looking for survivors, provided shelter for survivors, and distributed supplies like food, medicine, and blankets.

^{(RI.4.2 KEY DETAILS)}

2. Why do you think the article says that search-and-rescue teams “raced against the clock”? You can infer that search-and- rescue teams raced against the clock because people trapped in the rubble could survive only for a limited amount of time.

^{(RI.4.5 INFERENCE)}

3. How does the author support the claim that the earthquake made a bad situation worse in Syria? The author supports this claim by explaining that a civil war has been raging in Syria for more than a decade and that much of the country was already damaged before the quake.

^{(RI.4.8 REASONS AND EVIDENCE)}

FEATURED SKILL: Reading a Chart

Use the Skill Builder “Measuring Quakes” to have students learn about the scale scientists use to describe earthquake magnitude. 

^{(RI.4.7 TEXT FEATURES)}