Conecting Students to Natural Disasters

I think one of the greatest ways to help connect students with natural disasters that are happening globally is to make cross-curricular connections with social studies. Students can learn about the geographic locations, the culture, the social impacts of the disaster in their social studies class while learning about the scientific aspects and potential ways to prevent such catastrophes in the future in science class.

Giving students the ability to discuss and study the people and areas affected by natural disasters would help them connect with the people and circumstances that they are going through. Starting a school or class chapter of a relief organization, or letting students organize their own releif efforts for people affected by natural disasters would help them become more compassionate citizens, while also becoming more scientifically literate about the disaster itself, how such a phenomenon occurs, and what can be done to protect human life in the future.