STEM Tuesday

STEM Tuesday — Natural Disasters– Writing Tips & Resources

STEM Tuesday

Disasters

Hmm…

How is one supposed to write a Writing Tips & Resources post tied into natural disasters? Besides being an apt descriptor of 99.9999% of my writing drafts, the tragedy of a natural disaster has very little to do with writing, right?

Well, my work here is done. Stay safe everyone, take care, and I’ll see you for my next STEM Tuesday post in three months!

(STEM Tuesday Voice-Over Narrator: Hays went back to watching college basketball. Again, he’s taken the easy way out and shirked his duties as a STEM Tuesday “expert”. All in favor of banishing him from ever taking another step onto the STEM Tuesday stage, say—)

Wait! Don’t banish me yet. I’ve just had a revelation, albeit a revelation triggered by my favorite team’s upset loss in the tournament and a completely busted bracket. Nevertheless, it’s still officially classified as a revelation.

Natural disasters actually can tie into a Writing Tips & Resources post. How? Let’s pull back and have a look at the big picture.

This image is created from eight images shot in two sequences as a tornado formed north of Minneola, Kansas on May 24, 2016. Photo by Jason Weingart Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International

Natural disasters affect everyone. They can come without warning or they can come as forecast. They come by land, sea, and air. They come in all shapes and sizes, just like writers. There is one thing, however, common to natural disasters. They wreak havoc. Take another look at the excellent book list for Natural Disaster Month. Havoc. Havoc. And more havoc.

Three things a writer of any age can learn from natural disasters.

Modeling & Predicting

There was a news blip from the time period after the worst of Hurricane Katrina had passed and before the 2008 financial crisis. It was the usual politics vs science funding BS that is so frustrating for a basic research scientist. A politician went on a rant about the “wasteful” funding in an appropriations bill about a grant awarded to a scientist at a major Texas university to study using GPS to determine and map exact heights on the earth’s surface. As you can probably imagine, the politician ranted on and on about the sheer stupidity of such an endeavor. If the scientist wanted to know how far something was off the ground, why don’t they just go outside and look at it instead of bloating their budgets with tax dollars? 

When the reporter tracked down the research scientist, he explained his research was focused on developing this aspect of GPS technology to better map elevation data. The ultimate goal was to be able to model geographical regions most susceptible to dangerous flooding with specific rainfall patterns. (I wish I could find the source reference but I can’t. I will continue to search for it, though, and post it here if I find it.)

Establishing models by establishing the science. That’s the goal. Better models help explain the world around us. Better models help us to predict the natural world, including natural disasters. The ability to model and predict allows us to stay safer and survive when Mother Nature strikes.

A writer does something similar. They experiment to find out what processes work for them and what doesn’t work. Their individual writing process becomes the model and the model allows them to tell whatever story they want to tell. That’s kind of like a prediction for creating stories that accomplish what the writer wants to accomplish. Janet Slingerland did an exceptional STEM Tuesday In the Classroom post last week that highlights mapping, which is a form of modeling, as a tool.

Planning & Preparation

Being a lifelong resident of tornado alley, we are brought up to plan and prepare for the tornado season. Tornado drills, safe havens indoors and out, supply boxes, and many other preparations are part of everyday life from March to November. We learn to pay attention to the weather report. We learn to know what to do in case of a tornado watch and a tornado warning so when these situations arise, we can be ready.

Planning helps a writer by providing a course of action and a direction. Preparation through practice and learning gives the writer the tools needed to successfully reach that destination. Through planning and preparation, a writer knows what to do when situations arise and is ready to tackle those hurdles.

React & Recover

The cost to humanity from natural disasters is beyond measure. There is no price tag to the emotional, physical, and mental toll a disaster leaves in its wake. However, there is often a sliver of hope that arises from the destruction and chaos. People help each other. Families, households, neighborhoods, communities, nations come together to help each other recover. Out of the rubble springs a new future. Rebuilt and, hopefully, rebuilt better.

Writing is similar. The first draft, and in some of our cases, the second, third, and fourth drafts are often chaos. Havoc on the page. We recover through revision. We revise through community. Writing groups, critique partners, beta readers, etc. all help our writing spring anew from the rubble of an early draft. Just as one would rely on the kindness of a community to recover from a natural disaster, rely on the kindness of the writing community to lift your words.

Tree ridge in flames during the 2018 Woolsey Fire, California, US. Photo courtesy of Peter Buschmann, United States Forest Service. https://www.flickr.com/photos/usforestservice/45923164272 We’re All In This Together

There you have it. A few ways to learn from natural disasters ways to improve your writing. Never forget, however, no matter how much havoc and chaos exist internally and externally, there’s a great community of writers there for support and encouragement.  

Just write. 

Start with one word and then follow with the next word. Repeat.

Just write. 

This is perhaps the best of the whole list of STEM Tuesday Writing Tips & Resources.

Just write.

The world needs your story.

Typhoon Molave on October 27, 2020. Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International

Mike Hays has worked hard from a young age to be a well-rounded individual. A well-rounded, equal opportunity sports enthusiasts, that is. If they keep a score, he’ll either watch it, play it, or coach it. A molecular microbiologist by day, middle-grade author, sports coach, and general good citizen by night, he blogs about sports/training-related topics at  www.coachhays.com and writer stuff at www.mikehaysbooks.comTwo of his science essays, The Science of Jurassic Park and Zombie Microbiology 101,  are included in the Putting the Science in Fiction collection from Writer’s Digest Books. He can be found roaming around the Twitter-sphere under the guise of @coachhays64.


The O.O.L.F Files

Natural disasters are serious business to which a serious amount of STEM both contributes and is advanced. The drive to learn more about natural disasters continues with the ultimate goal of protecting life and limb. This month’s O.O.L.F. Files explores some of these entities and how they work to advance the knowledge base to keep us all as safe as possible.

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)

  • From the NOAA About web page:
    • NOAA is an agency that enriches life through science. Our reach goes from the surface of the sun to the depths of the ocean floor as we work to keep the public informed of the changing environment around them.
    • From daily weather forecasts, severe storm warnings, and climate monitoring to fisheries management, coastal restoration and supporting marine commerce, NOAA’s products and services support economic vitality and affect more than one-third of America’s gross domestic product. NOAA’s dedicated scientists use cutting-edge research and high-tech instrumentation to provide citizens, planners, emergency managers and other decision makers with reliable information they need when they need it.
  • That first line just about says it all! Enriching life through science!

Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)

  • Due to the increase in the sheer number and severity of disasters and emergencies, FEMA has catapulted to one of the most important federal agencies in coordinating disaster response.

National Weather Service Storm Chaser Info Page

  • Uh…where has this site been all my life? I need to jump down this rabbit hole and find out what’s down there. 

Managing Fire by the U.S. Forest Service (USDA)

Japan Tsunami 2011

  • This month brings the ten-year anniversary of the Japanese earthquake and tsunami. The tragedy is an example of the multi-layered effects of a natural disaster at its worst.

Chaos Theory

  • Chaos by James Gleick
    • I recently checked this book out and started reading it. Chaos Theory has been a mind worm since the time I first read Jurassic Park. So far, so good!

Chaos: Making a New Science Cover

Mathematician Edward Lorenz

“When a butterfly flutters its wings in one part of the world, it can eventually cause a hurricane in another.” – Edward Norton Lorenz

  • One of the key figures in the development of chaos theory and its application in meteorology.

Popular Science: How Science Has Battled Natural Disasters

  • This is a pretty cool article about several historical methods scientists used to fight natural disasters.

STEM Tuesday — Natural Disasters — In the Classroom

STEM Tuesday
This month, we’re exploring natural disasters. In my reading, I explored a few different types of disasters.

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The Science of an Avalanche (21st Century Skills Library: Disaster Science)
by Carol Hand (2015)

This book does a good job of covering the science behind avalanches. This is a rather traditional NF book that looks at different kinds of avalanches, ways to prevent them, and how people are rescued from them.

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Extreme Earthquakes and Tsunamis (When Nature Attacks)
by John Farndon (2018)

This is a browseable book with lots of images to explain where and why earthquakes and tsunamis happen.

 

Support Independent Bookstores - Visit IndieBound.orgHurricane Harvey: Disaster in Texas and Beyond
by Rebecca Felix (2018)

This book introduces readers to hurricanes through the lens of one devastating hurricane: 2017’s Hurricane Harvey.

 

While there are many ways these books can tie into other lessons, I found myself focusing on data analysis and communication. I also wondered about science experiments related to the topics and found a few that are easy to explore either at home or at school.

Map It Out

Each book includes a list of the most extreme occurrences of the natural disasters it covers. Map out these locations on a national or global map.

To take this even further, think about how to convey more than just a location. How would you represent different types of disasters, when they happened, and the severity of each event?

Sometimes, an area is hit with multiple disasters at the same time. How do you communicate data on multiple disasters in the same place at the same time? This happened in 2020. To read about the issue and how communicators dealt with it, check out this write-up: https://www.census.gov/library/stories/2021/01/challenge-of-mapping-disaster-areas-during-national-emergency.html

You don’t need to restrict yourself to the information contained in the books. There are lots of other resources out there for exploring natural disaster data, predictions, and mapping. This site covers many different types of hazards: https://www.ngdc.noaa.gov/hazard/hazards.shtml. Links to specific types of natural disasters are listed below.

Pick an idea you want to convey with the data. Would you like to show the most severe events in a specific state, region, or country? How many events do you want to show? What time period do you want to cover? Are you focusing on one specific location or type of event? Do you want to see trends over time?

The information you want to convey should drive how you will show the data. Make sure to include a key and whatever other information a reader will need to interpret the data you are showing.

Earthquake Mapping

The U.S. Geological Survey has this website, dedicated to data and information related to earthquakes: https://earthquake.usgs.gov.

Map out the largest earthquake events logged in the past month. Practice searching for and looking at data by finding the earthquake nearest your home/school or in your state in the past year. (https://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/search)
Investigate earthquake hazard maps. What are they and what to they tell you? Here are a few places to look for answers.
https://www.usgs.gov/natural-hazards/earthquake-hazards/hazards
https://www.fema.gov/emergency-managers/risk-management/earthquake/hazard-maps

Avalanche Mapping

Here are a few resources where you can explore avalanche data/mapping.
http://avalanchemapping.org
https://avalanche.state.co.us
https://www.jhavalanche.org
https://utahavalanchecenter.org/avalanches/map

Hurricane Mapping

To explore information and mapping for both current and historic hurricanes.
https://www.nhc.noaa.gov
https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/news/historical-hurricanes
https://www.nesdis.noaa.gov/hurricane-imagery

Tsunami Mapping

For information on tsunami mapping, check out these sites.
https://www.tsunami.noaa.gov
https://www.conservation.ca.gov/cgs/tsunami/maps
https://dggs.alaska.gov/pubs/tsunami

Explore The Science

Each book talks about the science behind the natural disasters. Explore this further by conducting a science experiment. Practice science communication skills by documenting the experiment. Make sure enough information is included so that another scientist could replicate it.

To explore liquefaction, which can happen during earthquakes, check out this experiment.
https://www.exploratorium.edu/video/shaky-sediments-science-snack-activity

This activity recreates a tsunami in a 2-liter bottle.
https://www.shakeout.org/downloads/ShakeOut_ES1_TsunamiBottle.pdf

Make a Seismograph

Scientists detect earthquakes using sophisticated seismographs. There are lots of different ideas for making a basic seismograph at home or in the classroom. Here are a few:
https://www.sciencebuddies.org/stem-activities/make-a-seismograph
https://www.iris.edu/hq/files/programs/education_and_outreach/aotm/8/1.SeismographModel-Lahr.pdf
https://www.scienceworld.ca/resource/make-your-own-seismograph

Bonus Ideas

Make Artistic Waves

Woodcut print of a giant wave above several small ships, by Japanese artist Hokusai

The Great Wave is a famous woodcut print by Japanese artist Hokusai. While not necessarily depicting a tsunami, it does show a giant wave. There are lots of different ways to explore the art of the great wave. Here are a few:
https://www.deepspacesparkle.com/the-great-wave-art-project
https://www.crayola.com/lesson-plans/the-great-wave-lesson-plan
https://createdreno.blogspot.com/2013/04/a-hokusai-study-elementary-art-lesson.html

Learn About Mr. Tornado

PBS’s American Experience has a program about Ted Fujita, aka Mr. Tornado. It is a very interesting show about the man behind the F-scale used to classify tornadoes.
https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/films/mr-tornado

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author Janet SlingerlandJanet Slingerland loves learning about science, history, nature, and (well) everything, which she then turns into a book. To find out more about Janet and her books, check out her website: janetsbooks.com

STEM Tuesday — Natural Disasters — Book List

STEM Tuesday

 

Natural Disasters occur all around the world. Knowing how to prepare for them is important. But learning the science behind them is fun! So many books exist on natural disasters – this list is just a small piece of the iceberg.

Disaster Strikes

Five Epic Disasters (I Survived True Stories #1), by Lauren Tarshis – These are stories about the resilience of ordinary people who survived disasters. Experience the Children’s Blizzard of 1888, the Titanic, the Boston molasses flood, the 2011 Japanese tsunami, and a tornado. At the end of each story is a “disaster file” filled with facts and author’s notes.

 

 

 

Extreme Weather: Surviving Tornadoes, Sandstorms, Hailstorms, Blizzards, Hurricanes, and More! by Thomas M. Kostigen – What makes this book more than a catalog of disasters are the sidebars and activities. Each section contains a list of how to prepare and what to do during the weather emergency. Hands-on activities highlight how to make a rain shelter, collect rain in water barrels, ride a mudslide, and more.

 

 

Earth, Wind, Fire, and Rain: Real Tales of Temperamental Elements by Judy Dodge Cummings This narrative evaluation of five of the deadliest natural disasters in the U.S., (1) 1871 Fire Tornado in Peshtigo, Wisconsin, (2) 1888 Great Blizzard in New York, (3) 1889 Flood in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, (4) 1906 Earthquake/Fire in San Francisco, California, and (5) 1935 Dust Storms, also examines the human actions and reactions that made them worse.

 

FLOODS

 

 

Hurricane Harvey: Disaster in Texas and Beyond, by Rebecca Felix – Hurricane Harvey hit the Gulf Coast in August 2017. Between the wind and rain, it was one of the costliest disasters in US history. Chapters detail the storm’s impact, daring rescues, and the aftermath. Photos, maps, and sidebars accompany text, and back matter includes a “what to do” section.

 

 

Rising Seas: Flooding, Climate Change and Our New World, by Keltie Thomas; illus. by Belle Wuthrich and Kath Boake W. – From sunny-day flooding in Florida to Hurricane Sandy, cities are seeing more seawater in their streets. Sections highlight coastal areas around the world, keeping the focus on climate change.

 

 

AVALANCHE!

 

 

The Science of an Avalanche (Disaster Science), by Carol Hand – The first chapter tells the story of a historic avalanche. Following chapters go into what causes avalanches, what happens inside an avalanche, affects of a changing climate, and avalanche prevention.

 

 

 

Avalanches (Earth in Action), by Wendy Lanier – You expect avalanches in ski resorts, but not in your backyard. And yet snow slides happen in places where people live. This book opens with the story of the Cordova, Alaska avalanche in 2000. Other chapters discuss where avalanches happen, forecasting them, and strategies for living with them.

 

 

WIND

 

The Tornado Scientist: Seeing Inside Severe Storms by Mary Kay Carson – This engaging book, loaded with captivating science, photos, and illustrations, follows scientist Robin Tanamachi and her storm chasing meteorology team as they track tornados, have harrowing misses, and ultimately seek an earlier way to identify tornados and save lives. Includes detailed information on the current status of the science, the study of raindrops, and the devastation of historic tornados.

 

 

When the Sky Breaks: Hurricanes, Tornadoes, and the Worst Weather in the World by Simon Winchester  – A fascinating evaluation of the history, formation, development of the categorization standards, and devastating effects of tropical storms and tornadoes. As well as nature’s “continued upper hand” when it comes to the weather.

 

Eye of the Storm: NASA, Drones, and the Race to Crack the Hurricane Code by Amy E. Cherrix  – Opening with the devastation of Hurricane Sandy in 2012, it evaluates hurricane formation, NASA’s efforts to decode & predict hurricanes, the creation and use of the Global Hawk drone, the political and physical costs of hurricanes and cyclones, and what it takes to be a successful scientist. It includes remarkable photographs, practical suggestions, and resources.

 

EARTHQUAKES & WILDFIRE

 

 

Extreme Earthquakes and Tsunamis (When Nature Attacks) by John Farndon – In a browsable format, stunning photographs of the science and effects of earthquakes and tsunamis combine with maps, diagrams, and charts to explore some of history’s worst earthquakes and tsunamis. As well as a look at the science behind predicting them.

 

 

Preparing For Disaster, Engineering Solutions . . . Series (Rosen) – What is the role of engineering in natural disasters? Earthquakes: After exploring the science of earthquakes and subsequent soil liquification, this book examines the engineering elements of software, structural design, materials, and location necessary to construct and create earthquake resistant buildings. Includes a preparedness section and numerous additional resources. Wildfires: includes the engineering behind predicting, preventing, and using technology in dealing with fires. [Other titles include: Hurricanes, Floods and Tsunamis, & Droughts].

 

Extreme Wildfire: Smoke Jumpers, High-tech Gear, Survival Tactics, and the Extraordinary Science of Fire by Mark Thiessen  – This is packed with stunning photographs of wildfires around the globe and the firefighters who battle them from the ground and the air. It also contains accounts of the training and harrowing experiences of firefighters, the science between the different types of wildfire, the ecology and need for fires, suggestions for living (adapting) to wildfires, a glossary, and fun “how to” sidebars.

 

 

HANDS ON

 

 

Earth Science Experiments (Experiments for Future Scientists) by Aviva Ebner  – Using household materials, 20 fun & interesting experiments explore natural disasters, climate, and geology. Each includes an introduction, list of supplies, safety notice, procedure, observation/recording graphs, and real life connections. A chart of the NCSC alignment is included.

 


STEM Tuesday book list prepared by:

Sue Heavenrich writes about science for children and their families, from space to backyard ecology. Bees, flies, squirrel behavior—things she observes in her neighborhood and around her home—inspire her writing. Her most recent book is 13 Ways to Eat a Fly. Visit her at www.sueheavenrich.com

 

Maria is a children’s author, blogger, and poet passionate about making nature and reading fun for children. She’s been a judge for the Cybils Awards from 2017 to present. And a judge for the #50PreciousWords competition since its inception. Her poems are published in The Best Of Today’s Little Ditty 2017-2018, 2016, and 2014-2015 anthologies. When not writing, critiquing, or reading, she bird watches, travels the world, bakes, and hikes. Visit her at www.mariacmarshall.com