InTeGrate Modules and Courses >Major Storms and Community Resilience > Student Materials > Unit 2
InTeGrate's Earth-focused Modules and Courses for the Undergraduate Classroom
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These materials are part of a collection of classroom-tested modules and courses developed by InTeGrate. The materials engage students in understanding the earth system as it intertwines with key societal issues. The collection is freely available and ready to be adapted by undergraduate educators across a range of courses including: general education or majors courses in Earth-focused disciplines such as geoscience or environmental science, social science, engineering, and other sciences, as well as courses for interdisciplinary programs.
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For the Instructor

These student materials complement the Major Storms and Community Resilience Instructor Materials. If you would like your students to have access to the student materials, we suggest you either point them at the Student Version which omits the framing pages with information designed for faculty (and this box). Or you can download these pages in several formats that you can include in your course website or local Learning Managment System. Learn more about using, modifying, and sharing InTeGrate teaching materials.

Unit 2: Application of Concepts to Case Studies

In this unit, you will begin to apply and evaluate the foundational concepts about storm hazard and risk you have learned in Unit 1 to two major storm events: Superstorm Sandy (2012) and the Storm of the Century (1993). Through different activities and assignments, you will develop skills for finding, evaluating, and relating data to these case studies, while considering community preparedness, response, and resilience.

Homework from Unit 1 (to be done before starting Unit 2)

Follow-up work from last class:

HMP Activity and Materials:

Preparation work for this class:

Readings on Superstorm Sandy:

Readings on 1993 Storm of the Century:

Unit 2.1

In this class, you will be working on the Sea level Activity (Microsoft Word 76kB Jul15 17) in class, though you may need extra time to complete it for homework (ask your instructor). It may be useful to read through the Coastal Resilience Tool Step-by-Step Guide (Acrobat (PDF) 642kB Aug8 16) before this class to get a feel for how to navigate the maps you will need to complete the assignment.

Homework Unit 2.1

For homework, you will use your new skills to critically evaluate geoscience data and translate that data into a risk communication instrument for a general audience, also known as a press release! In this exercise, you will read examples of weather-related press releases from government entities, and using these examples as a model, you will critically assess their local hazard mitigation plans for a specific storm event. You will then develop a press release to communicate risk related to your assigned storm and timeline stage. You must come to class prepared to share your press release with a peer for review using this Press Release 1st Draft Rubric (Microsoft Word 2007 (.docx) 22kB Nov4 16). You will have the opportunity to revise your press release based on the feedback you receive. Revising previous work helps you to understand the process of how policies and risk communications are developed as new information becomes available.

Unit 2.2

In this class, you will review the results of your Sea Level Rise Activity from the previous class, before spending time with a classmate reviewing your press releases.

Additional Resources for Unit 2

These materials are part of a collection of classroom-tested modules and courses developed by InTeGrate. The materials engage students in understanding the earth system as it intertwines with key societal issues. The collection is freely available and ready to be adapted by undergraduate educators across a range of courses including: general education or majors courses in Earth-focused disciplines such as geoscience or environmental science, social science, engineering, and other sciences, as well as courses for interdisciplinary programs.
Explore the Collection »