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Created byKara Omesol
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Hurricane Heroes: Tracking the Storm in Jacksonville

Grade 1EnglishScienceMath10 days
"Hurricane Heroes" is a first-grade project-based learning experience where students take on the role of junior meteorologists to track a simulated storm approaching Jacksonville. Through an integration of English, science, and math, students learn to decode weather vocabulary, interpret map features, and record rainfall data using tally marks and pictographs. The project culminates with students creating and delivering an emergency weather broadcast that provides essential facts and safety tips to help keep their community safe.
MeteorologyHurricanesEmergency PreparednessData RepresentationExpository WritingJacksonvillePhonics Decoding
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Inquiry Framework

Question Framework

Driving Question

The overarching question that guides the entire project.How can we, as student meteorologists, use weather facts and visual tools to create an emergency report that helps the people of Jacksonville stay safe during a hurricane?

Essential Questions

Supporting questions that break down major concepts.
  • What are the key facts about a hurricane that the people of Jacksonville need to know?
  • How can we use text features like maps, charts, and headings to explain where the storm is moving?
  • How do we use details and facts to write an informative weather report for our community?
  • How can we use our reading and decoding skills to understand weather alerts and data?
  • How do meteorologists use drawings and writing together to help people stay safe during a storm?

Standards & Learning Goals

Learning Goals

By the end of this project, students will be able to:
  • Students will research and identify key facts about hurricanes, including wind, rain, and storm movement, to inform their meteorological reports.
  • Students will interpret and use text features such as weather maps, charts, and headings to track a storm's location and predict its path.
  • Students will write or dictate an expository weather report that includes a clear introduction and at least three supporting facts about a hurricane.
  • Students will apply decoding skills to read and understand essential weather-related vocabulary (e.g., "storm," "wind," "rain") used in alerts and data.
  • Students will create visual aids, combining drawings and writing, to communicate emergency safety procedures to the Jacksonville community.
  • Students will collect and represent simple weather data (such as rain levels or temperature) to monitor the hurricane's progress.

Florida B.E.S.T. Access Points (ELA)

ELA.2.F.1.AP.4
Primary
Write an expository text about a topic, using a source, providing an introduction and facts.Reason: This is the core writing output for the project, where students act as meteorologists to draft their formal weather report using research sources.
ELA.1.R.2.AP.1
Primary
Use text features including titles, headings and/or illustrations to demonstrate understanding of texts.Reason: Students must use maps (illustrations) and weather charts (text features) to track the hurricane and explain its movement to the public.
ELA.K.R.3.AP2b
Secondary
Identify topic and details for an informational text using the student's mode of communication.Reason: This supports the research phase where students identify the 'topic' (the hurricane) and the 'details' (wind speed, location) needed for their report.
ELA.K.C.1.AP.4
Supporting
Using a combination of drawing, dictating, selecting and/or writing, provide a fact about a topic.Reason: This provides an accessible way for students with different needs to contribute facts to the final weather report or safety poster.
ELA.1.F.1.AP.3a
Supporting
Decode words using knowledge of spelling-sound correspondences for common consonant digraphs, trigraphs and blends.Reason: Students will practice decoding functional weather vocabulary like 'storm', 'track', and 'flash' while reading reports and alerts.

Next Generation Sunshine State Standards (Science)

SC.1.E.6.1 (Modified)
Primary
Identify and describe local weather patterns and how they change over time.Reason: Students are acting as meteorologists to track a specific weather pattern (a hurricane) and its progression toward Jacksonville.

Florida B.E.S.T. Standards (Math)

MA.1.DP.1.1 (Modified)
Secondary
Collect and represent data in pictographs and tally marks.Reason: Students can use math to track the hurricane's 'category' or inches of rain over the 10-day project period.

Entry Events

Events that will be used to introduce the project to students

Operation: Storm Alert Jacksonville

Students enter a classroom transformed into a mobile weather unit with 'wind' fans blowing and the sound of distant thunder. A local Jacksonville meteorologist appears on video, announcing that the 'Big Storm' is coming and the professional news team needs 'Junior Trackers' to help decode storm warnings and alert the city.

The Zoo’s Storm Warning

Students receive a mock emergency 'email' from the Jacksonville Zoo, stating the animals are acting nervous because the sky is changing. Using a giant wall map of the Florida coast and 'Weather Fact' cards, students must identify text features like headings and illustrations to figure out if a hurricane is truly headed their way and how to tell the zookeepers.

The Satellite Spy Mission

A 'Weather Sensory Station' is set up with a 'Cloud in a Jar' experiment and a satellite map showing a swirl over the Atlantic. Students use 'Spy Glasses' to find specific 'Storm Words' hidden around the room, which they then use to create a giant 'Facts and Pictures' anchor chart that serves as their first official weather broadcast.

The Mystery Emergency Box

A mysterious 'Hurricane Kit' box arrives, but all the labels have been scrambled into simple phonetic puzzles. Students must decode words with blends and digraphs (like 'f-l-a-sh-light' or 'st-orm') to unlock the gear inside, sparking a discussion on what these items tell us about the weather we are about to face.

Breaking News: The Desk is Yours

The classroom 'News Desk' is found empty with a sign saying 'REPORTER NEEDED.' Students find a weather report with missing facts and must work together to use 'Action Pictures' and simple text to write the first news bulletin of the season, introducing the topic of the hurricane to the school.
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Portfolio Activities

Portfolio Activities

These activities progressively build towards your learning goals, with each submission contributing to the student's final portfolio.
Activity 1

The Meteorologist’s Word Gear

In this opening activity, students assume their roles as Junior Meteorologists by unlocking their 'Weather Gear.' To do so, they must decode functional vocabulary words essential for storm tracking. This activity focuses on recognizing blends and digraphs in words like 'storm,' 'flash,' 'cloud,' and 'track.' Students will use phonetic strategies to read these words and then match them to their corresponding weather equipment or symbols.

Steps

Here is some basic scaffolding to help students complete the activity.
1. Review the sounds of common digraphs (sh, ch, th) and blends (st, fl, tr) using large weather-themed flashcards.
2. Participate in a 'Word Hunt' around the classroom weather station to find hidden storm-related words (e.g., 'f-l-a-sh-light', 'st-orm', 'cl-ou-d').
3. Practice decoding each word aloud using 'tap-out' strategies for each sound.
4. Match the decoded word cards to real-life objects (like a flashlight) or weather icons (a storm cloud).
5. Glue the decoded words onto a personalized badge and draw a small picture next to each word to show understanding.

Final Product

What students will submit as the final product of the activityA 'Meteorologist Word Badge' featuring at least five decoded weather words with corresponding illustrations.

Alignment

How this activity aligns with the learning objectives & standardsELA.1.F.1.AP.3a: Decode words using knowledge of spelling-sound correspondences for common consonant digraphs, trigraphs and blends.
Activity 2

The Jacksonville Eye-on-the-Map

Students will dive into their first official storm briefing by analyzing a mock weather map of the Florida coast. They will learn how to 'read' the map using text features like the title, the compass rose, and the storm symbols (illustrations). By identifying the 'Big H' (Hurricane) and its location relative to Jacksonville, they identify the primary topic and specific details of the current weather event.

Steps

Here is some basic scaffolding to help students complete the activity.
1. Gather at the 'Navigation Station' to view a large projected map of the Atlantic Ocean and Florida.
2. Identify and circle the title of the map and the legend (key) to understand what the symbols represent.
3. Locate 'Jacksonville' on the map using a star sticker to signify 'Home Base.'
4. Identify the hurricane symbol (the topic) and draw an arrow showing its movement (the detail) toward the coast.
5. Label the 'Heading' of the map as 'STORM TRACKER' to show understanding of how headings describe the content.

Final Product

What students will submit as the final product of the activityAn annotated 'Storm Tracker Map' that identifies the hurricane, the city of Jacksonville, and the direction of the wind.

Alignment

How this activity aligns with the learning objectives & standardsELA.1.R.2.AP.1: Use text features including titles, headings and/or illustrations to demonstrate understanding of texts. ELA.K.R.3.AP2b: Identify topic and details for an informational text.
Activity 3

The Rain Gauge Tally Team

As the storm approaches, meteorologists must track its strength. In this math-integrated science activity, students will 'measure' simulated rainfall or wind gusts (using water droppers or fans) and record their findings. This helps students see how weather patterns change and provides the 'data' needed for their final report.

Steps

Here is some basic scaffolding to help students complete the activity.
1. Use a sensory bin 'rain station' where students use droppers to move water into a 'rain gauge' container.
2. For every 'drop' or 'gust' measured, students make a tally mark on their data sheet.
3. Transfer the tally mark totals into a pictograph using raindrop or wind-swirl stickers.
4. Discuss as a group: 'Is the rain getting higher or lower?' to identify the changing weather pattern.

Final Product

What students will submit as the final product of the activityA 'Storm Data Tally Sheet' and a simple pictograph showing the increase in rain/wind over a simulated three-day period.

Alignment

How this activity aligns with the learning objectives & standardsMA.1.DP.1.1: Collect and represent data in pictographs and tally marks. SC.1.E.6.1: Identify and describe local weather patterns and how they change over time.
Activity 4

The Fact Finder’s Sketchbook

Before writing their final report, students must gather facts from a 'source.' Students will watch a short, age-appropriate video clip of a real Jacksonville meteorologist or look through a 'Hurricane Safety' picture book. They will then select three key facts about what happens during a hurricane (e.g., 'It is very windy,' 'There is a lot of rain,' 'We stay inside') and record them using their preferred mode of communication.

Steps

Here is some basic scaffolding to help students complete the activity.
1. Watch a 2-minute weather briefing or look through an informational picture book about storms.
2. Identify three 'Big Facts' about the storm (the wind, the rain, or safety).
3. For each fact, draw a detailed picture (e.g., a house with wind blowing, or a family in a safe room).
4. Write a simple sentence for each fact, or dictate the fact to a teacher to scribe onto the card.

Final Product

What students will submit as the final product of the activityA 'Hurricane Fact File' consisting of three illustrated cards, each containing one dictated or written fact about hurricanes.

Alignment

How this activity aligns with the learning objectives & standardsELA.K.C.1.AP.4: Using a combination of drawing, dictating, selecting and/or writing, provide a fact about a topic.
Activity 5

Operation: Storm Alert Broadcast

This is the project's 'Grand Finale.' Students combine all their previous work—the decoded words, the map data, and the researched facts—to create a formal weather broadcast script. They will structure their report with a clear introduction ('Hello, I am Meteorologist [Name] with a storm update for Jacksonville') followed by the facts they gathered. This serves as their official expository text to help keep the community safe.

Steps

Here is some basic scaffolding to help students complete the activity.
1. Use a 'Fill-in-the-Blank' news script template to write the introduction: 'Emergency Alert: A [Storm Word] is coming to Jacksonville!'
2. Select the three best facts from the 'Fact Finder’s Sketchbook' to include as the body of the report.
3. Add a concluding safety tip based on their research (e.g., 'Stay inside and stay safe!').
4. Assemble the script onto a 'News Desk' folder decorated with their Storm Tracker Map and Data Tally.
5. (Optional) Perform the report in front of a 'Green Screen' or the class using their final script as a guide.

Final Product

What students will submit as the final product of the activityA 'Breaking News' Script (written or recorded) that includes an introduction, three hurricane facts, and a safety recommendation.

Alignment

How this activity aligns with the learning objectives & standardsELA.2.F.1.AP.4: Write an expository text about a topic, using a source, providing an introduction and facts.
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Rubric & Reflection

Portfolio Rubric

Grading criteria for assessing the overall project portfolio

Hurricane Meteorologist Portfolio Rubric (With Support Levels)

Category 1

Foundational Literacy & Phonics

Focuses on foundational literacy skills within a functional, vocational context.
Criterion 1

Phonetic Decoding of Weather Terms

Measures the student's ability to decode weather-related words containing common consonant digraphs, trigraphs, and blends using phonics strategies.

Exemplary
4 Points

Independently and accurately decodes 5 or more weather-related words (e.g., flash, storm, track) without teacher assistance and connects them to gear.

Proficient
3 Points

Decodes 4-5 weather-related words with minimal prompting or verbal cues, using tap-out strategies to identify sounds and matching them to icons.

Developing
2 Points

Decodes 2-3 weather-related words with consistent teacher support and moderate prompting, showing emerging ability to blend sounds in digraphs.

Beginning
1 Points

Identifies individual letter sounds within weather words but requires significant assistance and maximum prompting to blend sounds or decode the word.

Category 2

Informational Text Navigation

Assesses the ability to navigate and interpret non-fiction visual and textual data.
Criterion 1

Use of Informational Text Features

Measures the student's ability to identify and use titles, headings, and illustrations (maps/symbols) to understand storm movement and location.

Exemplary
4 Points

Independently identifies the title, heading, and legend; explains how the illustration shows the storm's path toward Jacksonville with high accuracy.

Proficient
3 Points

Correctly identifies the map title and heading with minimal verbal guidance; uses the hurricane symbol to show the direction of movement.

Developing
2 Points

Identifies the map or a specific symbol (the hurricane) when provided with moderate prompting, but struggles to explain headings or titles.

Beginning
1 Points

Recognizes the map as a picture but requires intensive, one-on-one support to identify any specific text features or their meanings.

Category 3

Mathematical Data Analysis

Focuses on mathematical reasoning and scientific observation of patterns.
Criterion 1

Data Collection & Representation

Measures the ability to collect simulated weather data (rain/wind) and represent that data using tally marks and pictographs.

Exemplary
4 Points

Independently collects data precisely and creates a clear, accurate pictograph that reflects the changing weather pattern over the period.

Proficient
3 Points

Records weather data using tally marks and translates them into a pictograph with minimal assistance or a simple guided check.

Developing
2 Points

Records some data points with tally marks but requires consistent direct assistance to transfer that information into a visual pictograph.

Beginning
1 Points

Participates in the sensory data activity but requires maximum adult support to record or represent data through tallies or icons.

Category 4

Inquiry & Research Skills

Evaluates the student's capacity to identify topic and details from informational sources.
Criterion 1

Research and Evidence Gathering

Measures the student's ability to extract key facts from a source (video or book) and document them through drawing, dictating, or writing.

Exemplary
4 Points

Independently identifies 3 distinct, highly relevant facts about hurricanes from the source and provides detailed illustrations.

Developing
2 Points

Identifies 3 facts about hurricanes and represents them clearly through drawing and writing/dictation with minimal verbal support.

Developing
2 Points

Identifies 1-2 facts from the source with moderate prompting; drawings or text may be simple or partially represent the fact.

Beginning
1 Points

Attempts to share information but requires significant adult support and maximum prompting to identify specific facts or relate them to the source.

Category 5

Expository Text Production

Assesses the synthesis of all project components into a final communicative product.
Criterion 1

Expository Writing & Communication

Measures the ability to compose a formal expository report including an introduction, supporting facts, and a concluding safety recommendation.

Exemplary
4 Points

Independently creates a comprehensive script with a professional introduction, 3+ accurate facts, and a safety tip; delivery is clear.

Proficient
3 Points

Writes/dictates an expository report that includes a clear introduction and 3 relevant facts about the hurricane with minimal guidance on structure.

Developing
2 Points

Constructs a simple report with an introduction and 1-2 facts with moderate scaffolding, such as sentence starters or visual cues.

Beginning
1 Points

Provides a few disconnected words or pictures about the hurricane but requires maximum assistance and full dictation support to form a report.

Reflection Prompts

End-of-project reflection questions to get students to think about their learning
Question 1

How confident do you feel about your work as a Junior Meteorologist helping the people of Jacksonville stay safe?

Scale
Required
Question 2

What was the main topic of your 'Breaking News' report?

Multiple choice
Required
Options
The hurricane coming to Jacksonville
How to grow a garden
The different animals at the zoo
Question 3

Which visual tool helped you the most to show where the storm was moving?

Multiple choice
Required
Options
The 'Storm Tracker Map' with the title and symbols
The 'Rain Gauge Tally' with the raindrops
The 'Word Badge' with the storm words
Question 4

What is the most important fact you found about hurricanes that you think everyone in Jacksonville needs to know?

Text
Required
Question 5

You used 'Word Gear' to unlock storm words like 'flash' and 'storm.' Describe how learning these words helped you write your final news script.

Text
Optional