Coastal Heritage Curriculum Connection
Explore Curriculum Connection guides, which are written to accompany each issue of Coastal Heritage, a quarterly publication of the S.C. Sea Grant Consortium.
Coastal Heritage, Fall 2016 issue: Communities Under Water: Lessons Learned from Extreme Floods
Focus Questions
- What two weather events happened in October 2015 and 2016? How were the impacts similar? How were the impacts different?
- Describe the type of data used in developing flood maps. Why were other areas of the state impacted by flooding that weren’t represented on these maps?
- Name two technologies used in predicting weather events.
- Define “rain event.” How is it different than a hurricane?
- What are some of the solutions proposed to mitigate the impacts of flooding damage?
Use the Curriculum Connection to address these South Carolina Standards
Standards and Performance Indicators
K.E.3A.1 Analyze and interpret local weather condition data (including precipitation, wind, temperature, and cloud cover) to describe weather patterns that occur from day to day, using simple graphs and pictorial weather symbols.
K.E.3A.2 Develop and use models to predict seasonal weather patterns and changes.
1.E.4A.2 Develop and use models (such as drawings or maps) to describe patterns in the distribution of land and water on Earth and classify bodies of water (including oceans, rivers and streams, lakes, and ponds).
2.E.2A.1 Analyze and interpret data from observations and measurements to describe local weather conditions (including temperature, wind, and forms of precipitation).
3.E.4A.2 Develop and use models to describe and classify the pattern distribution of land and water features on Earth.
4.E.2A.2 Develop and use models to explain how water changes as it moves between the atmosphere and Earth’s surface during each phase of the water cycle (including evaporation, condensation, precipitation, and runoff).
4.E.2B.1 Analyze and interpret data from observations, measurements, and weather maps to describe patterns in local weather conditions (including temperature, precipitation, wind speed/direction, relative humidity, and cloud types) and predict changes in weather over time.
4.E.2B.2 Obtain and communicate information about severe weather phenomena (including thunderstorms, hurricanes, and tornadoes) to explain steps humans can take to reduce the impact of severe weather phenomena.
5.E.3A.1 Construct explanations of how different landforms and surface features result from the location and movement of water on Earth’s surface through watersheds (drainage basins) and rivers.
5.E.3B.1 Analyze and interpret data to describe and predict how natural processes (such as weathering, erosion, deposition, earthquakes, tsunamis, hurricanes, or storms) affect Earth’s surface.
5.E.3B.2 Develop and use models to explain the effect of the movement of ocean water (including waves, currents, and tides) on the ocean shore zone (including beaches, barrier islands, estuaries, and inlets).
5.E.3B.3 Construct scientific arguments to support claims that human activities (such as conservation efforts or pollution) affect the land and oceans of Earth.
5.E.3B.4 Define problems caused by natural processes or human activities and test possible solutions to reduce the impact on landforms and the ocean shore zone.
6.E.2B.2 Develop and use models to explain how relationships between the movement and interactions of air masses, high and low pressure systems, and frontal boundaries result in weather conditions and storms (including thunderstorms, hurricanes, and tornadoes).
H.E.4A.7 Develop and use models to predict the effects of an environmental change (such as the changing life forms, tectonic change, or human activity) on global carbon cycling.
H.E.5A.5 Construct explanations for the formation of severe weather conditions (including tornadoes, hurricanes, thunderstorms, and blizzards) using evidence from temperature, pressure, and moisture conditions.
H.E.5A.8 Analyze scientific arguments regarding the nature of the relationship between human activities and climate change
H.E.6A.5 Analyze and interpret data to describe how the quality of the water in drainage basins is influenced by natural and human factors (such as land use, domestic and industrial waste, weather and climate conditions, topography of the river channel, pollution, or flooding).
Lesson Links
Where is Your Watershed “Address”?
It is important to know your “watershed address” – how your community ties into the system of creeks and rivers above and below you. To determine how your community ties into the larger watershed system, visit www.dnr.sc.gov/water/river/waterbodies.html or access a road map from your local Department of Transportation office and find your town or city on the map. Once you find your location, find the river or creek nearest your location. Trace this water body north – what rivers and creeks feed into this water body? Now travel south along your river or creek – does this feed into another creek or river? If yes, which ones? Why would it be important to know what is happening above and below you in a watershed? (4th – 12th)
Weather Data Prediction
Predicting the weather is a large part of helping to keep people safe from hurricanes or other rain events. Scientists rely on different types of data to create models that form predictions on the path of storms as well as the intensity. One type of data comes from weather buoys that are positioned around the globe and transmit information related to water temperature, air temperature, precipitation, wave height, wind speed, wind direction, and other parameters. Visit the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Buoy Data Center: www.ndbc.noaa.gov . Select a region from the right-hand menu (e.g. Southeast USA) and then choose either a yellow or red buoy. What type of data does it collect and how often? Revisit this same location over next several days or month and graph your results. What significant changes did you observe? (6th – 12th)
Test your design skills by building and deploying your own buoy! Check out the elementary basic observation buoy (eBOB) project and learn how to lead your students in constructing their own buoy by accessing: Project Based Learning (K-5th)
NOAA Sea Level Rise and Coastal Flooding Impacts Viewer
How vulnerable is your area to flooding? Check out the NOAA Sea Level Rise and Coastal Flooding Impacts Viewer: coast.noaa.gov/slr . Find your location on the map – what occurs and different heights of sea level rise? What areas are currently above sea level that will be impacted with rising seas? What solutions to adapt to rising seas would you propose for your community? (5th – 12th)