Mother Nature Enraged: A calculated risk

Production Phase 2

Sketching a Typhoon
&
Sketching Pinatubo


2 or 3 class periods

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Sketching a Typhoon (Modeling)

30 minutes

Teacher
The students make general observations about the photo and note the important elements in their information grid, aware now that the Philippines are subject to typhoons. What explains the inhabitants’ decision to live along the coast in a country that experiences torrential downpours and typhoons?

To find out more about geographical sketches, consult “ What is a geographical sketch?” elsewhere on this site. (Source www.recitus.qc.ca)

Students

Team 1:
Image 1, introduction and text 1 in the file “tropical_cyclones” in Word or  PDF format
The students locate the following on the image: economic centre, urban settlements, industries, flood-risk areas, buildings, etc. They also identify the most vulnerable areas.

Team 2:
Image 2 and text 2 in the file “tropical_cyclones” in Word or  PDF format
The students locate on the image the economic buildings that could be affected by a typhoon. They then identify the buildings that could be used as shelters for coastal populations.

Team 3:
Image 2 and text 3 in the file “tropical_cyclones” in Word or  PDF format
The students identify the various settlements of Manila: major urban centre vs. shantytowns. The goal is to understand why people settle on the outskirts of Manila.

Sharing with the Class
15 minutes

Teacher
The students share with the class and draw a sketch. The teacher synthesizes observations to draw the sketch with the whole class:
- Illustrate the economic draw of major urban centres.
- Illustrate the elements of the city that are most at risk.
- Illustrate a solution to protect the population.

Students
The students help the teacher to draw the sketch in a whole-class setting.

See examples of sketches in the file “Tropical Cyclones in Word or  PDF format.
Consult also the document “ What is a geographical sketch?”

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Sketching Pinatubo

Sketching Pinatubo (Step 1)
30 minutes

Teacher
Using the working document about sketching Pinutabo in WORD or PDF format, the teacher presents a translated excerpt from a book chronicling Pinatubo’s eruption. The teacher then questions the students on people’s reactions to a natural disaster. Finally, the teacher goes over the elements observed with the students.

Students
The students read the translated excerpt from the book Grandir à Manille : Les 75 000 enfants du père Tritz by C. Brincourt and G. Lambert (Paris: Bayard Éditions / Centurion, 1995, p. 17–19). The teacher asks for the students’ impressions about the volcano’s eruption. The students note the consequences of the volcano’s eruption in the table provided in the document about Pinatubo.

Sketching Pinatubo (Step 2)
30 minutes

Teacher
Using the excerpt about Pinatubo and the UN fact sheet on volcanoes (excerpt from An Overview of Disaster Management), the students identify the observable consequences of the volcanic eruption on the photo. The main observable consequence is the ashfall on agricultural land. In the excerpt, they also mention water buffaloes and crops covered in ash. Grazing lands are mentioned in the UN fact sheet. The teacher asks the students which is more threatening: the eruption or its consequences?

Students
The students read the excerpt from the UN fact sheet. They note:
- the consequences of a volcanic eruption;
- its effects on human populations.

Once the issues have been identified, the students draw a sketch using the photo of Pinatubo’s eruption.

Material
The students draw a sketch using the various texts and images.

Example of a sketch:

To find out more about geographical sketches, consult “ What is a geographical sketch?”

For more information on natural hazards, consult the geography file on natural hazards.

Sketching Pinatubo (Step 3)
60 minutes

Teacher
The class draws a synthesis sketch of the consequences of a volcanic eruption and its effects on surrounding populations.

Students
Based on their reading grids for the document on volcanoes in Word or PDF format, the students use symbols to identify the consequences of a volcanic eruption and its effects on surrounding populations.

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