Teaching sequence

Work through this resource material in the following sequence:

15 minutes

Tune In: Storm stories

25 minutes

Find Out: Cyclone power and community power

15 minutes

Take Action: Play it out

5 minutes

Reflection

Learning intentions

Students will:

learn about how cyclones are formed
understand how cyclones impact a community.

Success criteria

Students can:

explain how cyclones form
distinguish between and describe the long- and short-term impacts cyclones have on communities.

Tune In: Storm stories

Step 1

Draw a class T-chart on the board with the column titles, Cyclone and Community, and provide each student with a copy of the Student Worksheet.

Ask students the first word that comes to mind when they hear the word ‘cyclone.’ Students can record this on the T-chart in the Student Worksheet. Repeat for the word ‘community.’ Invite students to contribute their responses to the class T-chart.

Step 2

Ask students if they are aware of Cyclone Tracy.

Explain why this particular cyclone is a core piece of Australian history. You could include key facts such as:

Cyclone Tracy occurred on Christmas Day.
Wind gusts reached 217 km/h before the anemometer was destroyed.
255 mm of rain fell in 12 hours overnight, 145 mm in the 2 half-hour periods on either side of the eye of the cyclone.
66 people were killed.
145 people were seriously injured. More than 500 received minor injuries.
About 70 per cent of houses suffered serious structural failure.
The total damage bill topped $800 million – that was a lot of money in 1974.

Step 3

Invite students to view Good in the Aftermath of a Disaster (youtube.com/watch?v=J06YCnPi5E8&t=2s)) from 3min 56 secs.

This makes use of the Cool.org Hope Framework.
Use the ‘Think, Pair, Share’ thinking routine to guide students' thinking about what it might have felt like to be part of this community.

Prompt students to think about:

how the residents of Darwin prepared
how the community felt in the lead-up
what happened during the cyclone
challenges they faced after the cyclone passed
what life was like immediately afterwards
what the potential long-term effects on a community might be.

Invite students to add responses to their community column on the student worksheet. Record any shared responses on the class chart.

Find Out: Cyclone power and community power

Step 1

Invite students to watch Cyclones: how they form, how they’re rated and who comes up with the names? - (youtube.com/watch?v=3pWtF9cUPxM) (Duration 4:10)

Divide the class into 2 groups and direct them to each end of the room. Explain that each group is in a race against time. They will need 7 volunteers to represent an ingredient of a cyclone. The group must work together to order the formation sequence of a cyclone.

Set a timer for 5 minutes and invite the students to race against it.

The formation of a cyclone is: warm ocean above 26.5 °C → warm air rises→ air pressure drops (low-pressure system forms)→ cool air rushes in to replace rising air → the earth’s rotation creates wind speed → wind reaches speeds from 63km/hr → tropical cyclone forms.

Step 2

Explain to students that they will now work together to classify cyclone impacts as either short-term or long-term. Distribute the Impact Cards so that each student has 1 card (if you have more students than cards, you can print 2 copies!). Give students a few minutes to read their card silently and consider if the impact is short-term or long-term (in terms of how long they think it might take to recover).

Place the labels ‘short-term’ and ‘long-term’ at opposite sides of the room.

Impacts:

power outages
communication outages (internet and phone)
roads blocked by debris
closure of businesses
closure of public transportation
pressure on medical facilities
shortage of resources (like food and fuel)
displaced pets
damage to fences and barriers
contamination of drinking water
damage to sewerage system
loss of crops and livestock
damage to buildings
damage to roads, train tracks and bridges
damage to cultural or historical sites
reduction in tourism and visitors
relocation of families
contamination of seawater
loss of trees
loss of wildlife habitat
erosion and loss of topsoil
landslides
flooding of creeks, rivers, and low-lying areas
damage to powerlines
unemployment due to closed businesses
cost for families due to repairs and replacements
increased insurance costs
spread of waterborne diseases
mental health impacts (anxiety, trauma, grief)
challenges coordinating relief efforts
increased community awareness
changes to legislation and building codes
injury and loss of life
closure of schools and childcare
increased sense of community
increased demand for emergency housing

Instruct students to form 2 groups. Explain to the students that they are going to have to make a decision on each person’s card as a collective. Once they have decided, students will place their cards on the appropriate side of the room under either the ‘short-term’ or ‘long-term’ impact signs.

Each group will need to agree on their position as a whole. Encourage rich debate and collaborative discussions. Some groups may debate that an impact belongs in both groups. For example, if school closures continue for extended periods, this may have an impact on student achievement. These cards may be placed in the middle of the room.

Learning extension: You can refine this further with students by looking at urgency. Ask the students as a class to place the cards in order of the first impact that needs to be managed to the last impact. Ask them to justify their prioritisation.

Take Action: Resilience reports

Step 1

Place students into groups of 4 and assign each student a role:

News reporter: introduces and asks questions.
Eyewitness: describes what happened and how they felt.
Emergency Worker: explains their role in the recovery (this could be SES, paramedics, emergency shelter workers, etc.).
Community leaders: share ideas about how they can rebuild, or any cultural knowledge applicable to the area (this could be First Nations Elders, community group leaders, owners of local businesses, etc.)

Direct students to create a short 2-3 minute news report about the aftermath of a cyclone sweeping through their community, highlighting how communities can respond and rebuild after a cyclone.

Explain to students that ‘rebuild’ can have 2 meanings in this context:

rebuild the infrastructure literally
rebuild their community and appreciation for what they had through a growth mindset

Step 2

Invite students to present their news reports to the class or record them on a device to share with their learning community.

Reflection

Ask students to record their response to the following question on the Student Worksheet: How do communities stay strong and resilient after a cyclone?

This could be used as an exit ticket.

Power of a Cyclone vs the Power of a Community

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Summary

Learning intentions:

Students will:

Success criteria:

Students can:

Lesson Guides and Printables

Lesson Details

Skills

Curriculum Mapping

Resources Required

UN Sustainable Development Goals

Additional Info

Related Professional Learning

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