This document outlines a WebQuest activity where students research hurricanes. The task is to discover the conditions needed to create tropical storms and hurricanes, learn the parts of hurricanes and how they form. Students will answer questions about hurricanes and create a multimedia scrapbook and safety plan. Resources on hurricanes are provided, and 1.5 class periods are allotted for research, answering questions, and creating the scrapbook to demonstrate what was learned.

1. A WebQuest Hurricanes

2. Introduction Suppose you live in a small coastal town in Florida. On the evening news, you hear about a tropical storm in the Atlantic that appears to be heading towards Florida. Although this disturbance is not yet classified as a hurricane, your parents wonder if they should start to board up windows and bring in outdoor furniture to prepare for high winds and rain. When does a tropical storm become a hurricane? What is the definition of a hurricane? How does a hurricane form? What are the parts of a hurricane? When and where have the most destructive hurricanes hit? In this WebQuest you will explore the weather phenomena called hurricanes and find the answers to these and other questions.

3. Task Your job in this WebQuest is to discover the conditions that create tropical storms and hurricanes, and to identify the differences among these storms. You will learn about the component parts of hurricanes and about the source of energy for all tropical storms. You will find out about the scale used to classify hurricanes, and about the most destructive hurricanes ever recorded. You will also create a safety plan. Finally, you will answer a set of questions to and demonstrate what you have learned about hurricanes by creating a multimedia scrapbook using Glogster.

4. Resources Click on the link below to find the information that will enable you to answer questions about hurricanes and create your own safety plan. Hurricane Resources

5. Time 1.5 class periods for research, answering the set of questions, and creating your multimedia scrapbook.

6. Process Read through the following set of questions before you begin your Internet research. As you explore each site, look for answers to the questions What direction do hurricanes rotate? When and where was the worst hurricane in the United States? A hurricane was described as a category 4. What does this mean? If you hear there is a Hurricane Warning what does that mean? What is the diameter of a typical hurricane? Are hurricanes predictable and logical? How do you know? What are some of the effects of hurricanes in Florida? How do hurricanes form? After reading all about hurricanes, describe your hurricane disaster plan before the hurricane, during the hurricane and after the hurricane.

7. Process Continued Once you have answered all of the questions, create a poster using Glogster to illustrate what you have learned. After everyone has completed the posters will be uploaded onto our class website for everyone to see!

8. Conclusion In the process of completing this WebQuest, you’ve become informed about the phenomena called hurricanes, the conditions required to generate hurricanes, and the scale used to classify hurricanes. You have come up with a detailed safety plan in case of an emergency. You have developed research skills as you explored the web sites given and identified the relevant information to answer the set of questions above.