There are many ways that I connect my students understanding of how the natural laws of science affect their lives everyday. Living here in Wisconsin the students have been aware of weather related events such as tornadoes, flooding, droughts, and blizzards that have caused damage and devastation. The community in which I live have been part of efforts to help storm victims as close as 20 miles away after a tornado touched down in the town of Siren. The relief effort had students help put together food packages for those affected as well as some went to help with the clean up efforts. Another situation that my students are aware of is the massive flooding that has taken place in places such as North Dakota and even parts of Minnesota. Working with the Red Cross, disaster relief organizations and other charitable organization that send volunteers to fill sandbags and stack sandbags to shore up levies and dikes are ways that I help my students understand the importance of helping others in time of need. Lead by example I always say. Some have even been apart of clean up efforts where they went into some of the damaged homes and remove items that need to discarded or refurbished.
These efforts of the communities in the mid-west are unselfish acts to help those who were less fortunate than ourselves and had to endure the effects of natural disaster that could easily have happened right here in our home town. As and educator I try to have my students analyze the most recent natural disaster and see if they can explain factors that led up to or caused this type of disaster. Through this analysis I have them think of ways they might have help to prevent this from occurring or come up with a plan to lessen the severity of the disaster in the future. They are also asked to think about how they could make a difference for others that have endured these types of disasters.
By educating the students about the natural phenomenon that cause these type of disasters the student can understand some of the planning and designs of cities and towns in different parts of the country and world. Buildings in one area of the world are designed quite a bit differently than buildings in another part of the world. The students become more aware of why it is important to take into account the weather, climate, and geological make-up of the area when designing living environments for human habitats.
