Coping with Natural Disasters

Updated on February 2019

The devastation and loss of life from events such as hurricanes, earthquakes or wildfires can be emotionally damaging to children. These resources and lesson plans will help you and your students understand and cope with natural disasters.

Get additional resources on helping students after a natural disaster from Colorín Colorado and after a hurricane from the American Federation of Teachers.

DonorsChoose.org also has a page to report damage or impact from Hurricane Michael and where you can donate for relief funds for Hurricane Michael and where you can find info for teachers on Hurricane Florence.

In This Collection:

Support for Students
Natural Disasters
At Home Activities for Students

Hurricane Michael Relief

Hurricane Michael is the most devastating storm to hit the Florida Panhandle since 2005 and Georgia was also greatly affected.

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Support for StudentsBack to top

A two page resource on how schools can support their communities in the aftermath of the recent disaster in Texas.

This resource from Colorín Colorado covers topics to help students after Hurricane Harvey.

Students affected by global disasters face tremendous distress and uncertainty. As an educator,...

Whenever a national tragedy occurs, such as terrorist attacks or natural disasters, children, like many people, may be confused or frightened. Most likely they will look to adults for information...

This resource from FEMA includes four sections: understanding disaster events, signs of disaster-related stress, easing stress, and helping kids cope with disaster.

This brochure provides practical information for those who are coping with the aftermath of a natural disaster, as well as those who are helping those affected.

This publication from SAMHSA helps parents and teachers recognize common reactions children of different age groups (preschool and early childhood to adolescence) experience after a disaster or...

The National Association of School Psychologist has multiple resources for helping students cope with natural disasters and trauma.Links if articles and activities

This presentation, designed for paraprofessionals, includes: advice how to support children after a crisis; symptoms of adjustment reactions; which children are likely to benefit from additional...

When a large-scale tragedy occurs, it can cause strong and deeply felt reactions in adults and children. How adults express their emotions will influence the reactions of children and youth....

#9 Top Collection of 2017

#2 Collection of 2018

Teachers, paraprofessionals, and nurses know that if a child is hungry when they come to school, learning no longer is the number one concern. Wraparound services honor the idea that students...

Natural DisastersBack to top

Essential question: What is the role of government in recovery efforts after an extreme weather event, like Hurricane Irma?

Essential question: What are the effects of extreme weather events like Hurricane Harvey on the affected area and the rest of the country?

Students watch a 9-minute film, Isle de Jean Charles by Emmanuel Vaughan-Lee, about a tiny island community off the Louisiana coast and examine how coastal areas are impacted by the...

Standards aligned

Hurricanes are one of nature's most powerful natural hazards. Jenni Evans of Pennsylvania State University and Jeff Donnelly from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution are studying how...

Natural disasters can bring death and destruction to communities in the United States and around the world, but they can also teach us about Earth's natural processes. Teams of scientists are...

This is your Social Media Editor, Maggie!

In the game titled After the Storm, students are Editor-in-Chief at the community newspaper, The Daily Byte. They manage staff, review articles, draft memos, and make critical decisions about...

Common Core

John Vidale and his team at the Pacific Northwest Seismic Network are monitoring ground motion across Washington State and Oregon to prepare residents for one of the most powerful natural hazards...

Volcanoes are one of the most powerful natural hazards on Earth, but supervolcanoes are so large that they have the ability to alter the world's climate. Michael Manga from the University of...

Flash floods can happen anywhere, but factors such as heavy precipitation, geography and soil conditions can put some areas at greater risk. Russ Schumacher at Colorado State University is...

Landslides occur when material like debris, rock, and soil become dislodged from the earth and slide downward at speeds that can approach 100 miles per hour. David Montgomery at the University of...

Tornadoes can form in minutes, making early and accurate warnings crucial to saving lives. Howard Bluestein at the University of Oklahoma and Adam Houston at the University of Nebraska are trying...

Space weather has the potential to wreak havoc on everything from satellite communications to electric power. Sarah Gibson at the National Center for Atmospheric Research is studying the behavior...

Wildfires can burn thousands of acres, devastate communities, and sometimes even claim lives. Janice Coen at the National Center for Atmospheric Research is studying how weather and fire interact...

The massive wave of a tsunami can start thousands of miles offshore, but travel quickly across the ocean and devastate coastal communities. Anne Trehu and Dan Cox of Oregon State University are...

This learning video uses a simple analog setup to explore why earthquakes are so unpredictable. The setup is simple enough that students should be able to assemble and operate it on their own with...

#7 Collection of 2018

Essential question: Why are wildfires such a significant problem?

In this activity, students will learn what to expect during an earthquake and practice the actions to take during an earthquake.

epali soldiers and police clear rubble from Durbar Square in Bhaktapur, Nepal, on April 30, 2015.

Taylor Weidman

In this lesson, students explore cultural artifacts in Nepal and discuss ways in which artifacts are used in their daily lives. Earthquakes and other natural disasters can destroy valuable...

At Home Activities for StudentsBack to top

In this rather intense hands-on activity, students make their own pinhole cameras from a pattern given in the activity article. They cut the pieces from a cardboard cereal box. All materials are...

Lesson plan for kindergarten, first and second grade students. Students will create art using the same collage technique and subject matter as the artist and illustrator Eric Carle. Students work...

In this collaborative project, students will explore the following topics:
The process of name-giving in their country, region or town; the history of this
celebration and who takes...

Students learn the difference between a fixed and growth mindset. Then they create a poster board that details -using pictures and graphics from magazines- what qualities they want to change about...

Working in teams, students construct a simple bottle rocket from two-liter soft drink bottles and other materials. The rocket is powered by air pressure and water.

Students must analyze five pieces of evidence to eliminate nine of ten suspects. Ideal as an end of topic activity; students need to perform operations with fractions; ratios and decimals and also...

The Scale of the Universe is interactive infographic created by a young science student and his twin brother. Zoom from the edge of the universe to the quantum foam of spacetime...

The Pirates of the Caribbean Activity Packet includes the following resources and activities:

Pirates Glossary
Activity 1: Create a Spyglass
Activity

This PowerPoint shows how animal masks are used in the much loved stage performance of the Lion King alongside photos from the well known cartoon movie. It also shows traditional african sculpted...

In this lesson, students watch a film about a flamenco guitarist and explore the elements of this cross-cultural art form. Set in Seville, Spain, this short film follows a day in the life of...

Common Core

In today’s society, film is a part of popular culture and is relevant to students’ everyday lives. The purpose of this article is to provide teachers with a rationale and model for teaching world...

#1 Top Lesson of 2017

Standards aligned

Objective
Increase students’ knowledge of brown bears and their habitats through interactive, interdisciplinary and inquiry-based lessons. Enhance students’ viewing of the...

Objective

This guide is designed to assist educators in creating materials to harness the educational value of earth in their own region. The activities are grouped for...

Introduction
Disneynature OCEANS is an inspiring adventure
into a liquid world few of us have ever seen before.
Yet the oceans cover more than 70 percent of our
planet. The...

The “Moana” Educator’s Guide includes 40 pages of lessons and activities targeted to grades 2 through 6. The complete Educator’s Guide and additional educational resources are now available at...

The Moana Activity Packet includes the following resources and activities:

Storytelling/Mythology
Waves
Wayfinding Using Earth's Natural Features

This post originally appeared in the American Educator Spring 2018

The struggle is real. Summer learning loss, or the “summer slide...

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Coping with Natural Disasters

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