Frequently Asked Questions Thousands of web sites for educators and students. Support for long-term classroom planning and professional development. Information covering important topics for today's educators and parents. This unit uses the tornado that hit Piedmont, Alabama, in 1994 as the focus for a study of severe weather. Students begin the unit by watching television broadcasts and reading newspaper articles about how the tornado affected people's lives and the environment.
Students learn about severe weather events, radar screens, weather maps, and weather prediction.
To demonstrate their knowledge, they work in teams to prepare a three-dimensional model of the atmosphere showing conditions that accompany cold fronts. Teams then respond to a mock tornado watch that will be issued and give short-range weather forecasts for their assigned region. After the severe weather passes, students prepare written evaluations of their own performance. Science activities have students demonstrate the circulation of air and water in the atmosphere, use the weather station code to find a cold front and create a map of surface observations, and interpret weather radar images using a Radar Scope simulator. The unit also provides three interdisciplinary activities that incorporate mathematics, social studies, and technology.