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Unit Plan

Reducing the Impact of a Flood

Subject Area(s)

English Language Arts
Social Studies
Science
Mathematics

Grade(s)

3

Overview

In relation to science, students will evaluate a dam design that reduces the impacts of a flood. Students will describe the relationship between scientific ideas or concepts using language that pertains to cause and effect in reference to dam design. Using technology to produce and publish writing, students will interact and collaborate with others on their dam design. In math, students will draw a scaled bar graph to represent dam and flood data over time and then use rulers marked with halves and fourths of an inch to measure lengths and construct their own dam. Students will also interpret various primary sources for reconstructing the past, including documents and photographs about dam designs.

This unit was created as a part of the ALEX Interdisciplinary Resource Development Summit.

Content Standards

Content Standard(s)

Social Studies (2010) Grade(s): 3

SS10.3.11

Interpret various primary sources for reconstructing the past, including documents, letters, diaries, maps, and photographs.

Unpacked Content

Unpacked Content

UP:SS10.3.11

Vocabulary

  • interpret
  • legends
  • stories
  • songs
  • contributed
  • development
  • cultural history
  • tall tales
  • folk heroes

Knowledge

Students know:

  • The purpose and essential elements of legends, stories, and songs.
  • Examples of legends, stories, and songs that contributed to United States' cultural history including American Indian Legends, African American Stories, Tall Tales and stories of Folk Heroes.
  • Vocabulary: legends, stories, songs, cultural history.

Skills

Students are able to:

  • Interpret legends, stories, and songs.
  • Identify the purpose and essential elements of legends, stories, and songs.
  • Identify the contribution that specific legends, stories, and songs had on the development of cultural history of the United States.

Understanding

Students understand that:

  • There are legends, stories, and songs that have contributed to the development of the cultural history of the United States.
Science (2015) Grade(s): 3

SC15.3.15

Evaluate a design solution (e.g., flood barriers, wind resistant roofs, lightning rods) that reduces the impact of a weather-related hazard.*

Unpacked Content

Unpacked Content

UP:SC15.3.15

Vocabulary

  • Merit
  • Claim
  • Problem/solution
  • Design solution
  • Impact
  • Reduce
  • Weather-related hazard

Knowledge

Students know:
  • Engineers design solutions to reduce the impact of weather related hazards.
  • Problems caused by weather related problems.
  • Humans can not eliminate natural hazards but can take steps to reduce their impacts.
  • Some design solutions are more effective than others.

Skills

Students are able to:
  • Identify impacts of a weather related hazard.
  • Identify the effects of solutions to a problem that reduces the impact of a weather related hazard.
  • Make a claim about a designed solution that reduces the impact of a weather related hazard.
  • Communicate evidence to support the claim about a designed solution that reduces the impact of a weather related hazard.

Understanding

Students understand that:
  • There are cause and effect relationships between weather-related hazards and design solutions created to reduce their impact.
  • There are benefits and risks to given solutions created when responding to the societal demand to reduce the impact of a hazard.

Scientific and Engineering Practices

Engaging in Argument from Evidence

Crosscutting Concepts

Cause and Effect
Mathematics (2019) Grade(s): 3

MA19.3.17

Measure lengths using rulers marked with halves and fourths of an inch to generate data and create a line plot marked off in appropriate units to display the data.

Unpacked Content

Unpacked Content

UP:MA19.3.17

Vocabulary

  • Halves
  • Fourths
  • Data
  • Line plot
  • Unit
  • Quarter inch
  • Horizontal
  • Partition

Knowledge

Students know:
  • Nearest half and nearest quarter inch on a ruler.
  • A ruler is a type of number line and shows fraction of 1/2 and 1/4.

Skills

Students are able to:
  • Measure objects to the nearest half and fourth of an inch.
  • Create a line plot to display the data of the objects measured.

Understanding

Students understand that:
  • A line plot is a graph that displays a distribution of data values, including whole numbers, halves and quarters, such that each data value is marked above a horizontal line with an X or dot.
  • A ruler is a type of number line partitioned equally and shows halves and fourths.
Essential Question
Reducing the Impact of a Flood
Dam Engineering
Engineered Solution Dam Evaluation Journal and Presentation
Cause and Effect of Dams
Evaluating the Design of a Dam

Unit Assessment

Assessments Formative

 

Journal/Learning Log, Rough Drafts, Practice Presentations, Notes, Concept Maps, Project(s)

 

Assessments Summative

Written Product(s), with rubric, Oral Presentation, with rubric, Other Product(s) or Performance(s), with rubric:, Peer Evaluation, Self-Evaluation

Approximate Duration

Owner (Author)

aimeebrooke

Owner2

mjackson

Owner3

mnichols

Owner4

cjenkins
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