Flooding in Northern California

This is my PBL that will require students to come together to figure out different ways Northern California officials could have communicated with residents better about the evacuation notice as well as updates about the flood.

Team member

Name: Brenna Kilbride

Topic: Flash Flooding in Northern California

• Part 1:  Driving question:  
• What are your three initial driving questions?

• 1. How could N. California officials been better prepared for flood conditions?

• 2. What are some ways officials could have communicated with residents about the evacuation better?

• 3. How did the drought make N. California residents unprepared for flooding?

• What is your one, final driving question?

What are some ways N. California officials could have communicated with residents about the evacuation better?

• Background information of this driving question:

The grade level I’d be working with is grades 9-10. The common core standard that I’m targeting is: CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.9-10.1.C

Propel conversations by posing and responding to questions that relate the current discussion to broader themes or larger ideas; actively incorporate others into the discussion; and clarify, verify, or challenge ideas and conclusions. This standard focuses on teamwork and communication, which is why I picked my final driving question for this standard. Communication is critical, especially in times of natural disasters/emergencies, and by having students put themselves in the shoes of the people working with this problem, students will be able to find ways to better communicate their ideas and solutions with their peers. This not only meets the academic standard, but it can also prepare them to take charge and communicate effectively with others.

• Why do you think this is a good driving question?

In order to answer this driving question, students will have to look into the details of the situation (why the dam failed, the causes of the dam’s erosion, N. California officials’ reactions, etc.) and become familiar with what exactly happened. This driving question is definitely relevant to my students, not just because of the standard that I’m structuring the reason for the question around, but also because it’s important for students to be able to think clearly and plan accordingly for times of emergency. After completing this project, students will be able to demonstrate their abilities of quick planning and effective communication of their ideas to their peers in a time of “crisis”. Because there’s more than one solution to this question, students will have the chance to formulate their arguments, come up with solutions, and present their ideas to their classmates. From there, they can defend their stance or be open to suggestions to make their solution more sound. I’m also from this area and would like to hopefully teach here one day.

Part2: Grabber

• What is your grabber?

I would give my students background information about California’s long-time drought and neglected dam (the Oroville Dam). I’d follow it up with these pages. The first is a news article about the dam and the evacuation and the next is a map with pictures of the damage the flooding has caused in different parts of Northern California.

https://newsela.com/articles/oroville-dam-evacuations/id/26969/

http://sf.curbed.com/maps/california-floods-storm-damage-map

• Why do you think this grabber is beneficial and how it  align with your driving question?

The resources I’m using for the grabber will capitalize on high emotion situations and my students’ empathy through showing them pictures of the damage and hearing testimonials of residents that are going through this situation.  I’ll give an explanation about neglect of the dam, as well as other infrastructures (such as bridges, roads, etc.), the ways that officials communicated with the community about the evacuation orders, and about the plans the county had for evacuations. I feel that because these images are real and the whole ordeal was handled poorly, students will notice and ask questions about why officials handled the evacuation the way they did. I also feel that students will be more engaged and want to participate because it’s a current event that doesn’t focus on literature, but communication and presentation skills.

• Culminating activities: List all your activities here:

1) Activity 1

• Class Discussion

I’ll have my classroom set up with the desks in a circle so that all students are able to see each other. I’ll give each person a token to speak, with the requirement that I have to have every token back (meaning that every student speaks during the discussion at least once) by the end of the discussion. From there students will discuss the driving question to find the different types of solutions to the question.

• Why do you think this is a good activity for PBL?

This activity gives the students the opportunity to introduce potential solutions as well as hear their peer’s opinions and critiques of each idea presented. This activity requires students to listen and acknowledge their peers while at the same time adding their ideas and thoughts. Student will be able to work with one another while in a group discussion as a whole class instead of being isolated with themselves with no collaboration or teamwork involved.

2) Activity 2

• Presentation

I’ll put the students into groups of 3-4, by counting off, and have their groups sign up for the possible solution they want to present on. From there, I’ll let them look up the sources that would back up their claims and stance (making sure to use scholarly sources).  They’ll compile their stance into a 5 minute presentation to educate their classmates with. All sources cited in MLA and turned in with their presentation.

• Why do you think this is a good activity for PBL?

This activity relies heavily on students’ collaboration with their classmates. They get the opportunity to communicate with their peers about roles in the project as well as have their own discussions in order to perfect their ideas and presentation. This activity also allows students to present and defend their solution to the class. While this is already partially done during discussion, the narrowing down of the group size allows students to focus on their one solution to make it whole and complete.