Natural Disasters

Name: _____________________
** Read every page BEFORE you start. **

Natural disasters are naturally occurring events that negatively affect a large population of
people. Natural disasters can unfortunately cause loss of life, as well as property, economic
and environmental damage. Although by definition, natural disasters are ‘natural’, most
scientist agree that human behavour also plays a role. Certainly, the more we understand
natural disasters and their causes, the better equiped we will be in protecting human life. For
this assignment, you will choose a type of natural disaster to study and create a project to
showcase your learning.

Procedure:

Step 1: Choose a type of Natural Disaster (See Possible Research Topics page).

Step 2: Research your topic using the Internet and books (See Research Notes page) while
following the criteria below.

Step 3: Create a poster board, presentation board, PowerPoint presentation, or

dodecahedron (See Dodecahedron Instructions page) to display your learning. You may
also wish to include a 3D Model (See Model Design page).

Step 4: Present your topic to the class (5 minutes maximum).

Project Criteria (100 points - Rubric is on last page)

Please include the following information in your project (where applicable).

Bolded terms can be used as headings.

☐ Title – The name of your topic

☐ Description – What is it?
☐ Characteristics – What does it look like (Size, Shape, Color, Features)
☐ Location – What area does it occur most often?
☐ Formation – How does it form?
☐ History – Research the 3 largest occurrences of your natural disaster
☐ Prevention – How can we prevent this natural disaster from occurring?
What can we do to minimize loss of life and property/environmental
damage?
☐ Interesting Facts
☐ Personal Connection – How do you feel about what you learned?
☐ References – Where did you find your information? (Internet, Books, etc.)

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 Step 1: Choose a topic to research!

Possible Research Topics:

• Floods

• Hurricanes

• Tornados

• Volcanic Eruptions

• Earthquakes

• Tsunamis

• Sink Holes

• Avalanches

• Landslides

• Limnic Eruptions

• Blizzards

• Cyclones

• Droughts

• Thunderstorms

• Hailstorms

• Heat Waves

• Wildfires

• Solar Flares

• Storms

* Smog (Pea Soup Fog)

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 Step 3: Choose a way to present your research!

Project Options
Poster Board:

Presentation Board:
PROJECT TITLE

Power Point Presentation:

Dodecahedron:

3D Model: (optional)

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 Step 2: Do your research!

How To Conduct Research:

Research is the process of gathering information to answer a question or solve a problem. By
conducting research, people can validate and/or expand their understanding, or even
discover new ideas. To help you conduct research in a systematic, organized and objective
way, we have developed the following guidelines:

Step 1: Choose a research topic and locate sources of information that will help you answer
your research question(s). (Think: Books, Journals, Articles, etc.)

Step 2: Evaluate your sources. Make sure the sources provide accurate information. Sources
are considered reliable when people who are, “experts in the field”, write them. These are
sources you can trust. People who are not considered, “experts in the field”, write unreliable
sources. These are sources you cannot trust.

Reliable Sources Unreliable Sources

• Books • Wikipedia
• Newspapers • Blogs
• Peer reviewed journals • Tweets
• Peer reviewed articles • Personal websites
• PhD or MBA dissertations • Forums
• Public library • Websites with biased agendas
• Scholarly articles • Self-published sources
• Isolated studies • URLs that end in html
• Educational institutions and their websites • Websites that are selling something

Step 3: Take notes. When reading from sources, write down any key information that will
help answer your research question(s). Avoid copying straight from the text; instead, write
the ideas in your own words. Remember to include source information such as the book title,
author, and page number in your notes.

Step 4: Make objective conclusions. After conducting research, review your notes and
summarize what you learned into sentences. Ensure you present your findings in an objective
way (i.e., without misrepresenting the truth).

Step 5: Cite your sources. By citing your sources you are giving the original author credit for
the work they did. This helps to prevent plagiarism. Citing sources can also help your readers
locate further reading on the topic.

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 Step 2: Do your research!

How To Avoid Plagiarism

What is plagiarism?
Plagiarism is when someone copies another person’s words or ideas and presents them as
their own. Plagiarism can be done intentionally or unintentionally.

Why should I avoid plagiarism?

Plagiarism is a serious academic and intellectual offense. Writers and researchers who
commit plagiarism risk losing their credibility and reputation as writers and researchers. If a
student plagiarizes, the offense is noted on their academic record and in some cases, they
can be suspended or expelled from school.

How do I avoid plagiarism?

1) Do Not Copy and Paste. Do not copy and paste someone else’s ideas into your work.
Instead, restate their ideas in your own words. Ensure that you truly understand what you are
researching and share this learning using your own words.

2) Paraphrase Properly. To put another person’s ideas into your own words properly, firstly
read the source material several times over to ensure that you understand it. Afterwards, set
the original material aside, and try to write a few sentences that capture the main idea. In
other words, try to explain it to yourself. Remember that paraphrased ideas still require
citations.

3) Use Quotation Marks. Another way that you can properly use another person’s ideas is to
directly quote them. To do this, you must put their exact words in quotation marks. For
example: According to Benjamin Franklin, “an investment in knowledge pays the best
interest” (1758: 32). By using quotation marks, you are giving the original author credit for
their work.

4) Cite Your Sources. Properly cite each source (e.g., book, journal, article, magazine,
website, webpage, etc.) that you have used in your research by following the APA (for
Science and research fields) or MLA (for Humanities courses such as History and English)
guidelines. Citing sources acknowledges the original authors’ ideas.

5) Make a Reference Page. Ensure that you include a list of all the sources you have used to
conduct your research. A reference list acknowledges the original authors’ contribution to
your work.

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 Step 2: Do your research!

Research Template (10 points)

Name: ____________________

Description _____________________________________________________________________________
What is it?
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________

Characteristics
_____________________________________________________________________________
What does it look
like? (Size, Shape, _____________________________________________________________________________
Color, Texture, _____________________________________________________________________________
Features, etc.)
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________

Location _____________________________________________________________________________
What area does it
occur most often? _____________________________________________________________________________
Why? _____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________

Formation
How does it form? _____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________

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History
_____________________________________________________________________________
Research the 3
largest occurrences _____________________________________________________________________________
of your natural
_____________________________________________________________________________
disaster
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________

Prevention
How can we _____________________________________________________________________________
prevent this natural _____________________________________________________________________________
disaster from
occurring? What _____________________________________________________________________________
can we do to _____________________________________________________________________________
minimize loss of life
_____________________________________________________________________________
and property /
environmental _____________________________________________________________________________
damage? _____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________

Interesting Facts _____________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________

Personal _____________________________________________________________________________
Connection _____________________________________________________________________________
How do you feel
about what you _____________________________________________________________________________
learned? _____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________

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Research Notes Name: ____________________

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 Step 2: Do your research! Cite your sources!

Reference List Instructions

What is a Reference List?
A Reference List is a list of resources that you used (such as books, newspapers, websites,
etc.) to find the information within your report. The reference list is usually the last page of
your report. Generally, papers written for Humanities courses, such as Language Arts, are
referenced in the MLA style, while papers written for Science and research fields are
referenced in the APA style.

Why do I include a Reference List?

A reference list helps prevent plagiarism (stealing another person’s ideas) and gives the
original author credit for the work they did. A reference list can also help people locate
further reading on your research topic.

How do I write an APA Reference List?

1) Write the title, Reference List, centered at the top of a blank page. 2) Write your
references in alphabetical order following the guidelines below. Use 12-point font with a
space between each entry.

Book
Author Last Name, First Initial. (Publication date). Book Title. City of publication: Publishing
Company.

Allen, P., (2016) Landforms in Space. Washington, D.C.: National Geographic Society.

Magazine or Newspaper Article

Author Last Name, First Initial. (Publication date). Article Title. Periodical title, volume
number (issue number), pages.

Harrison, A., (2014). Amazing Landforms. Journal of Physical Science, 23, 34-36.

Website or Webpage
Author Last Name, First Initial. Page Title [nature of work, e.g., website, blog, etc.].
(Publication Year). Retrieved from (URL)

Saunders, T., et al. Physical Geology [Web site]. (2018). Retrieved from
http://physicalgeology.com

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