Tornado Alley: A Wild Weather Web Quest

By Joan Baumgartner Brown
Lancaster Elementary School, Bluffton, Indiana

Introduction

Tasks

Process

Resources

Evaluation

Conclusion

Introduction

Indiana has a history of disastrous weather, particularly in the form of tornadoes.  Each spring a path of killer tornadoes ranges from Texas up through the Hoosier state, a path known as Tornado Alley. How safe are we, in our at home and at school, and how well prepared for the next series of these wild weather phenomena?   In this webquest your group of community activates will investigate the history and power of tornadoes, look at our school's preparedness plan and publish a safety brochure for students, parents, and community members.

Tasks

Your tasks will be to investigate formation and occurrences of tornadoes.  You will also look at the history of tornado activity in Indiana and present your findings in graph form.  If you are able to make any predictions from your data, you will do so.  You will also identify the counties in Indiana with the most severe tornado history and rank Indiana compared to other states.

You will investigate tornado safety for families - including myths about what to do in severe weather situations. You will publish your findings in a brochure designed for families and community members that will provide timely, accurate information on steps to take in the event of a tornado.

You will evaluate the tornado preparedness system in our school system and create a Hyperstudio presentation outlining current systems and making suggestions for improvements. You will present your findings to staff and parents at an upcoming PTO meeting.

Process

1.  Your group will be divided into four specialist positions, each with his/her own area of concentration.  All group members will contribute in each area of the Web Quest, but the specialist will have final responsibility for each particular area of work.

2.  Specialists should each review their own file for specific tasks and requirements.

Meteorologist -

Community Safety Engineer -

Family Safety Engineer -

Presentation Coordinator -

3.  You will combine your information, under the direction of the Presentation Coordinator, to make two presentations - a Hyperstudio school safety presentation and a printed family safety brochure.

Resources

Resources are listed in each specialist file. The following provide information that all specialists may find helpful.

http://www.disasterrelief.org/Disasters/980612indiana/index_txt.html

http://www.disasterrelief.org/Library/Prepare/tnado.html

http://www.tornadoproject.com/safety/safety.htm

http://www.fema.gov/hazards/tornadoes/

http://www.spc.noaa.gov/faq/tornado/safety.html

http://movies.warnerbros.com/twister/cmp/safety.html

Evaluation

You will receive a team grade for this project based on the Hyperstudio presentation, the brochure, and your ability to work together as a group. Go to the Evaluation site for Rubrics that will explain the evaluation for your work.

Conclusion
In this Web Quest you have accessed a great deal of information about tornadoes in the Midwest.  You have used this information to evaluate our school's tornado emergency plan and to make suggestions for needed changes.  You have prepared a brochure for our school families, instructing them about precautions and preparations during tornado season.  You have provided an important community service.  Congratulations!