Rebuild Joplin MO

The Weather Chanel has several things posted about the rebuilding of Joplin MO after the tornado last spring. I know for most of us this is out of our minds but to the people in Joplin this is the norm right now.

Images: Joplin Builds a New Hospital

Rebuilding in the Tornado Zone

Demolition Begins At Joplin Hospital 

Emotional reaction to pure devastation

The Impact of Weather

 If you have watched the news at all in the last several days you know that the Mid-West has had a lot to deal with including thunderstorms, 9 in or more of rain, tornado, and major flooding.  All of this is hard to think about some times. The Missouri Department Of Transportation (like many other stats) has an interactive map that shows the roads closed due to flooding (or snow in the winter). When I looked at the MO map today I was shocked to see how much of the southern part of the state is under water. The MO.gov web page has several maps showing the river levels and the river level forecast. There is also a slide show of some of the MO flooding. All of these sights help show what is going on and are a good tool to help students see how weather affects are day to day life other then having indoor recess.

Tsunami

With the earth quake in Japan that has set off a tsunami waring for the entire west cost of North and South America and Hawaii there may be some students that have questions.  Below are some pages will you explain what a tsunami is.  The pages would also work well for an Earth Science or weather lesson.

FEMA for KIDS - Tsunami

NOAA - Tsunami for Kids - This page has links to several activities including games, coloring pages, and a video.  The video is very good and gives a lot of good information.  I know more about tsunamis after watching it. 

Tsunami - Derby Ridge Elementary Columbia, MO - This page also has several kinks to more information about Tsunamis.

Free Scholastic Resources

Every time I go to the Scholastic webpage I find something new to use in the classroom.  Along with lesson plans there are interactive white board activities, computer lab favorites, and much more. There are also several student activities. There are activities for all of the core subjects.  Below is a list of some of my favorites!

FREE online resources for all of the Scholastic publications - Power Points, digital issues, videos, printables, and more that support the Scholastic Publications. The best part is, you can use them even if you do not subscribe to the publications.

Weather Watch - This is a fun interactive white board activity to help students learn about weather. 

The First Thanksgiving - This is a wonderful activity for Thanksgiving.  It is like taking your kids on a field trip to the 1600s.  This would be a good recourse for any lesson covering that time in American History.

All the Social Studies interactive white board activities - I could have spent all night playing the white board games!  The are fun and you learn a lot.