Reading Literature about Natural Disasters: Understanding Human Impact through an Analysis of “O’ Beautiful Storm” | EL Education Curriculum

You are here

Home › Our Curriculum › ELA Grade 5 › ELA G5:M4 › ELA G5:M4:U2 ›

ELA G5:M4:U2:L4

Reading Literature about Natural Disasters: Understanding Human Impact through an Analysis of “O’ Beautiful Storm”

In this Lesson

You are here:

  • These are the CCS Standards addressed in this lesson:
  • RL.5.1: Quote accurately from a text when explaining what the text says explicitly and when drawing inferences from the text.
  • RL.5.2: Determine a theme of a story, drama, or poem from details in the text, including how characters in a story or drama respond to challenges or how the speaker in a poem reflects upon a topic; summarize the text.
  • RL.5.4: Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including figurative language such as metaphors and similes.
  • RL.5.7: Analyze how visual and multimedia elements contribute to the meaning, tone, or beauty of a text (e.g., graphic novel, multimedia presentation of fiction, folktale, myth, poem).
  • RF.5.4: Read with sufficient accuracy and fluency to support comprehension.
  • L.5.4: Determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and multiple-meaning words and phrases based on grade 5 reading and content, choosing flexibly from a range of strategies.
  • L.5.5: Demonstrate understanding of figurative language, word relationships, and nuances in word meanings.
  • L.5.5c: Use the relationship between particular words (e.g., synonyms, antonyms, homographs) to better understand each of the words.
Download Materials

Daily Learning Targets

  • I can refer to the text to answer questions about Stanza 1 of "O' Beautiful Storm." (RL.5.1, RL.5.2, RL.5.4, L.5.4, L.5.5c)
  • I can analyze how visuals in "Katrina: Don't Let Her Go" contribute to the meaning, tone, and beauty of the text "O' Beautiful Storm." (RL.5.1, RL.5.7)

Ongoing Assessment

  • Text-Dependent Questions: Stanza 1 of "O' Beautiful Storm" (RL.5.1, RL.5.2, RL.5.4, RL.5.7, L.5.4, L.5.5c)

Agenda

AgendaTeaching Notes

1. Opening

A. Reading in Triads: Stanza 1 of "O' Beautiful Storm" (15 minutes)

B. Reviewing Learning Targets (5 minutes)

2. Work Time

A. Answering Questions about the Text: Stanza 1 of "O' Beautiful Storm" (20 minutes)

3. Closing and Assessment

A. Analyzing Visuals: "Katrina: Don't Let Her Go" (20 minutes)

4. Homework

A. Accountable Research Reading. Select a prompt and respond in the front of your independent reading journal

Purpose of lesson and alignment to standards: 

  • In Opening A, students watch part of a video, read part of the first stanza of the poem "O' Beautiful Storm," and then identify the meaning of unfamiliar words and phrases (RL.5.4, L.5.4). This poem is about Hurricane Katrina, which caused severe devastation along the Gulf Coast of the United States from central Florida to Texas in 2005, with some of the most significant devastation in New Orleans, Louisiana.
  • Note: The video is called "Katrina: Don't Let Her Go" and the poem is called "O' Beautiful Storm," so there are references to both throughout this lesson.
  • Note: Only the first seven lines of the first stanza of this poem have been used because later lines contain inappropriate content for students of this age. As a result, students do not view this video on their own devices.
  • The images accompanying the first stanza of the poem are video footage of the damage taken after the hurricane. Preview the video before showing it to your students and determine whether any students need to be prepared in advance to watch this video (those who have experienced a natural disaster, for example).
  • In Work Time A, students answer text-dependent questions in their reading triads. The purpose of answering these questions is to help students dig deeper into the human impact of a natural disaster, including how the speaker in a poem reflects upon a topic (RL.5.1, RL.5.2). Students also practice using synonyms, antonyms, and homographs to better understand words (L.5.5c).
  • In the Closing, students analyze the visuals in the video for how they contribute to the meaning, tone, and beauty of the text (RL.5.7). They then complete a QuickWrite to explain their ideas (RL.5.1, RL.5.7). To gradually release students in preparation for the mid-unit assessment in the next lesson, they work in triads without teacher guidance to complete the three-column Meaning, Tone, and Beauty Chart before completing their QuickWrite.
  • In this lesson, students focus on working to become ethical people by showing respect, empathy, and compassion if classmates are upset by events in the text.

How this lesson builds on previous work:

  • This lesson is similar to Lesson 3, in which students read and watched the video for "In the Water Where the City Ends" to answer text-dependent questions and analyze its visuals. In this lesson, they read/watch a new literary text, "O' Beautiful Storm."

Areas in which students may need additional support: 

  • Ensure that students with hearing impairments are provided with a transcript of the excerpt of the poem before it is played for the whole group for the first time in Opening A.
  • Students may need additional support to read the text, answer questions about it, and analyze the visuals. Consider placing those who will need additional support in a group for focused teacher guidance.

Assessment guidance:

  • Review students' QuickWrites to identify common issues to use as whole group teaching points in the next lesson.

Down the road: 

  • In the next lesson, students complete the mid-unit assessment, in which they read and watch a video of a new literary text about a natural disaster. They will answer questions about the text and analyze the visuals for how they contribute to the meaning, tone, and beauty of the text.

In Advance

  • Preview the video in advance and determine whether there are students who may be upset by its content. Consider speaking to families and inviting them to preview the video with their students in advance.
  • Prepare:
    • The technology necessary for students to watch "Katrina: Don't Let Her Go" during Opening A (see Technology and Multimedia).
    • Small label with the text title and author to attach to a pin and place on the class world map. This needs to be large enough to see, but not so large that it covers up too much of the map.
  • Post: Learning targets and applicable anchor charts (see materials list).

Tech and Multimedia

  • Continue to use the technology tools recommended throughout Modules 1-3 to create anchor charts to share with families; to record students as they participate in discussions and protocols to review with students later and to share with families; and for students to listen to and annotate text, record ideas on note-catchers, and word-process writing.
  • Opening A: Prepare the technology necessary for students to watch the poetry video:
    • Poetry video: Smith, G. and Soileau, P. "Katrina: Don't Let Her Go." YouTube. Web. Accessed on 30 Jan. 2017. (from the beginning to 0:36).

Supporting English Language Learners

Supports guided in part by CA ELD Standards 5.I.B.6, 5.I.B.7, 5.I.B.8, 5.I.C.12

Important points in the lesson itself 

  • The basic design of this lesson supports ELLs by following the same routine as previous lessons for answering text-dependent questions and analyzing how visuals contribute to the meaning, tone, and beauty of a text; by providing the opportunity for students to work in triads as they answer text-dependent questions and analyze visuals; and by valuing home language and culture, as well as potential countries of origin, by continuing to locate and discuss places on the world map. ?ELLs may find it challenging to keep pace with the linguistic and cognitive demands of answering the text-dependent questions during Work Time A and analyzing how visuals contribute to the meaning, tone, and beauty of a text in the Closing (see levels of support and the Meeting Students? Needs column).

Levels of support
For lighter support:

  • During Work Time A, challenge students to rephrase the text-dependent questions for classmates who need heavier support.

For heavier support:

  • Consider viewing and discussing "Katrina: Don't Let Her Go" with students before this lesson. This will support students in their comprehension and allow them to better contribute to the daily learning targets in this lesson.
  • During Closing and Assessment A, consider providing sentence frames for students to use in their QuickWrites. Example:
  • The poem _________ by ___________ is about _______________. The visuals in the video contribute to the meaning of the poem because ____________. Additionally, __________. The tone of the poem is ____________, and the visuals contribute to helping us understand this tone through ______________. The visuals contribute to the beauty of the poem by ___________. For example, _________________________.

Universal Design for Learning

  • Multiple Means of Representation (MMR): To facilitate effective learning during this lesson, ensure that all students have access to the directions for each activity and feel comfortable with the expectations. Continue to vary the ways in which you convey expectations for each activity or task. Consider engaging in a clarifying discussion about the directions and creating a visual display of the steps for each activity.
  • Multiple Means of Action and Expression (MMAE): Provide support for students who may need additional guidance in peer interactions and collaboration.
  • Multiple Means of Engagement (MME): To support students who may need help in sustaining effort and/or attention, provide opportunities for restating the goal. In doing so, students are able to maintain focus for completing the activity.

Vocabulary

Key: Lesson-Specific Vocabulary (L); Text-Specific Vocabulary (T); Vocabulary Used in Writing (W)

  • visuals, meaning, tone, beauty (L)

Materials

  • Katrina: Don't Let Her Go" (video; play from 0:00 to 0:36; see Technology and Multimedia)
  • World map (from Module 1; one to display)
  • Labeled pin (one to display; see Teaching Notes)
  • Compass points (from Module 1; one to display)
  • Stanza 1 of "O' Beautiful Storm" (one per student)
  • Fluent Readers Do These Things anchor chart (begun in Module 1)
  • Working to Become Ethical People anchor chart (begun in Module 1)
  • Sticky notes (10 per triad)
  • Close Readers Do These Things anchor chart (begun in Module 1)
  • Academic Word Wall (begun in Module 1)
  • Domain-Specific Word Wall (begun in Unit 1, Lesson 1)
  • Vocabulary logs (from Module 1; one per student) ?Text-Dependent Questions: Stanza 1 of "O' Beautiful Storm" (one per student)
  • Text-Dependent Questions: Stanza 1 of "O' Beautiful Storm" (example, for teacher reference)

Assessment

Each unit in the 3-5 Language Arts Curriculum has two standards-based assessments built in, one mid-unit assessment and one end of unit assessment. The module concludes with a performance task at the end of Unit 3 to synthesize their understanding of what they accomplished through supported, standards-based writing.

Opening

OpeningMeeting Students' Needs

A. Reading in Triads: Stanza 1 of "O' Beautiful Storm"(15 minutes) 

  • Invite students to move into their reading triads and label themselves A, B, and C.
  • Remind students that in this unit, they are focusing on the impact of natural disasters on humans. Tell students that humans write about their responses to natural disasters in different ways. Some write stories, like Edwidge Danticat and Eight Days: A Story of Haiti; some write songs, like Simone White and "In the Water Where the City Ends;" and some write poems, like the one they are going to hear and read today.
  • Tell students they are going to hear and read part of the first stanza of a longer poem called "O' Beautiful Storm." Play "Katrina: Don't Let Her Go" from the beginning to 0:36.
  • Think-Triad-Share:

"Having watched the video and listened to part of the first stanza of the poem, what do you think this poem is about?" (Responses will vary, but may include: a storm in which there was a lot of rain.)

  • Tell students that this poem was written about Hurricane Katrina, which caused severe devastation along the Gulf Coast of the United States from central Florida to Texas in 2005, with some of the most significant devastation in New Orleans, Louisiana. Tell students that the images accompanying this poem are from the disaster.
  • Invite students to spend 2 or 3 minutes silently reflecting. Students can choose to sketch, journal, or sit and think silently.
  • Focus students on the world map and follow the same routine from the Opening of Lesson 1 to place the labeled pin on New Orleans using the compass points.
  • Distribute Stanza 1 of "O' Beautiful Storm." Point out that the poem's title is different from the video's since the poem is only a part of the video.
  • Play "Katrina: Don't Let Her Go" a second time and invite students to read along silently in their heads.
  • If students haven't noticed it, point out that some of the lines in the video are a bit different from the printed poem. The eighth line is an example. Help them understand that the spaces on this line of the poem reference famous artists or musicians, but it isn't clear from the video the names he is saying.
  • Direct students' attention to the Fluent Readers Do These Things anchor chart and tell them that they are going to read part of the first stanza of the poem aloud, thinking about reading fluently and accurately.
  • Emphasize that students do not need to read the same amount of the poem; a stronger reader can read the entire portion of the poem, while other students may choose to read less, but it is important that everyone has a chance to read aloud and that students support each other.
  • Direct students' attention to the Working to Become Ethical People anchor chart and remind them again of the respect, compassion, and empathy habits and to practice those as they read the poem aloud in their reading triads.
  • Distribute sticky notes.
  • Use the routine from Opening A of Lesson 1 to guide students through reading part of the first stanza of the poem and identifying unfamiliar words with their triads, and then debriefing the words as a whole group:
  • Refer to and/or add unfamiliar words to the following resources as necessary:
    • Close Readers Do These Things anchor chart
    • Academic Word Wall
    • Domain-Specific Word Wall
    • Vocabulary logs
  • For ELLs: (Providing Context) Consider providing context for "Katrina: Don't Let Her Go" before playing it for students rather than after, as this will support students in their comprehension of the poetry video and allow for better reflection.
  • For ELLs and students who may need additional support with comprehension: (Summarizing) After reading the poem, invite students to summarize it in 1 minute or less (with feedback) and then again in 30 seconds or less with a partner. (MMR)
  • For ELLs: Mini Language Dive. "The flood water in my blood makes my heart beat harder."
    • Deconstruct: Discuss the sentence and each chunk. Language goals for focus structure: 
      • "What does the floodwater in Smith's blood do?" It makes him feel more anxious, or more alive, or both. We continue to see how Katrina has affected Smith, how the devastation has become part of his body and life. We will learn more about how the devastation has become part of Smith?s identify and life forever in the remainder of the poem. (verb phrase/predicate)
      • Note that beat is a homograph, meaning it is spelled the same as another word but has a different meaning. Students can talk in pairs about the various meanings of beat (the heart pulsating; to win; a feeling of exhaustion)and then share as a class the meaning they think is used in this poem.
      • Students can take 30 seconds in pairs to list synonyms for beat (pulsate, thump, strike). Then they can switch pairs and take 30 seconds to discuss which word is best for this chunk.
    • Practice: Students can practice using this structure to speak or write about their own research on natural disasters from Unit 1: ___________ makes my heart beat harder. (The speed of a tsunami makes my heart beat harder.)
    • Reconstruct:

"What is another way to say this sentence?" (Responses will vary.)
"How does your understanding of this sentence add to your understanding of the big idea that natural disasters can devastate people and places?" (Responses will vary.)

    • Practice: _____ makes my heart beat harder.

"Can we divide this sentence into two or more sentences? How?" (There is floodwater in my blood. It makes my heart beat harder.)
  • Direct students' attention to the posted learning targets and select a volunteer to read them aloud:
    • "I can refer to the text to answer questions about Stanza 1 of 'O' Beautiful Storm.'"
    • "I can analyze how visuals in 'Katrina: Don't Let Her Go' contribute to the meaning, tone, and beauty of the text 'O' Beautiful Storm.'"
  • Remind students that they saw both learning targets in the previous lesson about "In the Water Where the City Ends." Review the meaning of visuals, meaning, tone,and beauty as needed
  • For ELLs and students who may need additional support with motivation: (Recalling Prior Work: Learning Targets) Invite students to discuss how they worked toward similar targets in the previous lessons of this unit. (MME)

Work Time

Work TimeMeeting Students' Needs

A. Answering Questions about the Text: Stanza 1 of "O' Beautiful Storm"(20 minutes) 

  • Tell students that they are now going to work in their triads to dig deeper into the text and build a better understanding of the human impact of Hurricane Katrina.
  • Use the routine from Work Time A of Lesson 3 to guide students through completing the Text-Dependent Questions:Stanza 1 of "O' Beautiful Storm" with their triad. Remind them to stop at the "stop" line. Refer to the Text-Dependent Questions: Stanza 1 of "O' Beautiful Storm" (example, for teacher reference) as students work.
  • When 3 minutes remain, refocus whole group and use total participation techniques to select students to share out.
  • Use a checking for understanding technique (e.g., Red Light, Green Light or Thumb-O-Meter) for students to self-assess against the first learning target.
  • For students who may be overwhelmed by too much print on a page: Reduce anxiety and support sustained effort by offering a copy of Text-Dependent Questions: Stanza 1 of "O' Beautiful Storm" with one question per page. (MMR, MME)
  • For ELLs: (Fishbowl: Text-Dependent Questions) Consider inviting a confident triad to fishbowl the process for completing the text-dependent questions. Remind them to think aloud rephrasing the questions and to model returning to the text to answer them.
  • For ELLs: (Homograph, Synonym, and Antonym Practice) In preparation for Question 2 of the text-dependent questions, invite students to play the homograph/synonym/antonym game introduced in Lesson 1 (see "For heavier support"). Challenge them to see how many index cards they can discuss in 30 seconds!

Closing & Assessments

ClosingMeeting Students' Needs

A. Analyzing Visuals: "Katrina: Don't Let Her Go" (20 minutes) 

  • Use the routine from the Closing of Lesson 3 to guide students through analyzing the visuals in "Katrina: Don't Let Her Go" with their triads and then completing their QuickWrites independently.
    • Focus students on the chart and prompt under the "stop" line:
      • "How do the visuals in the 'Katrina: Don't Let Her Go' video contribute to the meaning, tone, and beauty of the 'O' Beautiful Storm' text?"
    • Remind students that they answered a similar prompt about Eight Days: A Story of Haiti and "In the Water Where the City Ends."
    • Focus students on the four-column chart and remind them that they filled out the same chart for Eight Days: A Story of Haiti and "In the Water Where the City Ends" in Lessons 2-3. Point out that there are two excerpts of text for analysis, one in each row, but the second row is an extension once they have finished the chart and QuickWrite for the first excerpt.
    • Tell students that in this lesson they are going to work in triads to complete the chart, rather than whole group, to answer the prompt question in their QuickWrite.
    • Show students the beginning of the video where the person responsible for the visuals, Paula Soileau, is listed and invite students to record this on their chart.
    • Tell students that you are going to keep playing the first 36 seconds of the video on repeat for them as they work in triads to complete the chart and write their responses on their question sheets. Emphasize that students should keep their noise level low so they can listen and watch the repeated video as they work.
    • Remind them to say sentences aloud to their triad before writing them if they need to.
  • When 2 minutes remain, refocus whole group. Use a checking for understanding technique (e.g., Red Light, Green Light or Thumb-O-Meter) for students to self-assess against the second learning target and how well they did showing respect, compassion, and empathy.
  • For students who may need additional support with fine motor skills: Provide options for expression by offering a template that includes lines in each box. (MMAE)
  • For students who may need additional support with self-regulation: As students complete the chart and QuickWrite, support time management strategies by using a visual timer. (MME)
  • For ELLs: (Tone T-Chart: Reviewing and Adding Examples) Invite students to review examples of tone on the Tone T-Chart (see Lesson 2, "For heavier support") and to practice correlating tone to familiar words and images before doing the same with "Katrina: Don't Let Her Go." Encourage students to practice with tones not written on the Tone T-Chart as well, and add them as examples to reference throughout the unit.

Homework

HomeworkMeeting Students' Needs

A. Accountable Research Reading. Select a prompt and respond in the front of your independent reading journal.
  • For ELLs and students who may need additional support with written expression: (Oral Response) Read aloud, discuss, and respond to your prompt orally, either with a partner, family member, or student from Grades 4 or 6, or record an audio response. (MMAE)

Copyright © 2013-2024 by EL Education, New York, NY.

Get updates about our new K-5 curriculum as new materials and tools debut.

Sign Up

Help us improve our curriculum.

Tell us what’s going well, share your concerns and feedback.

Terms of use. To learn more about EL Education, visit eleducation.org

Leave feedback