Whole Earth Curriculum WEC

Lesson 07 — Safe in Weather and Storms

Learners name and practice basic weather and storm safety rules: go inside and away from windows in a storm, "when thunder roars, go indoors," stay out of flood water, drink water and rest in heat, and layer up and stay dry in cold. Calm, clear, and empowering.

D03 P2: Physical & Somatic Awareness D03.S4 45 minutes Draft

Objectives

Essential question

What safety rules keep me safe in different weather and in storms?

weatherstormthunderlightningshelterheatcold

Materials

Standard materials

Low-tech / no-cost

Enriched / lab & device

Works in different contexts

Three panels for weather safety — a storm with a child moving to shelter away from windows, hot sun with a child drinking water and resting in shade, and snow with a child in layers staying dry — each labeled, carried by shape and word, printing clearly in grayscale.
Three panels for weather safety — a storm with a child moving to shelter away from windows, hot sun with a child drinking water and resting in shade, and snow with a child in layers staying dry — each labeled, carried by shape and word, printing clearly in grayscale.

Lesson 7 — Safe in Weather and Storms

Summary

Learners name and practice basic weather and storm safety rules: go inside and away from windows in a storm, “when thunder roars, go indoors,” stay out of flood water, drink water and rest in heat, and layer up and stay dry in cold. Calm, clear, and empowering.

Objectives

  • Name and practice basic safety rules for weather and storms. (D03.S4.04.01)

Connection

The sky changes every day — sun, rain, wind, snow, thunder, heat, and cold. Weather is not something to fear; it is something to understand and prepare for. When you know the simple rule for each kind of weather, a storm becomes a moment to be safe and calm, not scared. Today you will learn those rules.

Materials

  • Weather safety rule cards
  • The growing “my safety rules” chart
  • Paper and crayons

Preparation

  • Prepare the weather rule cards and add a weather column to the chart.
  • Prepare a simple, local weather danger list (what weather actually happens where you are) so the rules feel real, not abstract.
  • Keep the tone calm; the message is “you can be ready,” never “be afraid.”

Facilitator note

This lesson is written to the learner (“you”). Teach readiness, not fear. Storm rules: in a storm, go inside and stay away from windows; for lightning, the saying is “when thunder roars, go indoors”; and stay out of flood water, which can be deeper and dirtier than it looks. Heat rules: drink water and rest in the shade when it is very hot. Cold rules: layer up (wear layers of clothes) and stay dry when it is very cold. Adapt to the learner’s own climate — some places face monsoons and floods, others heat and dust, others snow and ice, and a learner should learn the rules for the weather they actually meet, while still hearing that weather differs worldwide. Never make the lesson frightening; frame storms as things people have safely weathered in every land for all of human history. A learner who uses a wheelchair learns the nearest accessible shelter and the heat rule of drinking water and resting; a learner who is blind or has low vision learns each rule by hearing and by being guided to the shelter; a learner who is deaf or hard of hearing follows the cards and demonstration from the front, since every rule is shown, not only told. The storm, heat, and cold rules follow widely used weather-safety guidance from public-health and meteorological organizations. This lesson completes D03.S4.04.01 and leads into the unit’s online-safety capstone.

Procedure

  1. Gather (5 min). You already know the rules for home, fire, road, and water. Now add the rules for the sky: weather and storms.
  2. Storm rules (15 min). In a storm, go inside and stay away from windows. For lightning, remember: “when thunder roars, go indoors.” And stay out of flood water — it can be deeper, faster, and dirtier than it looks. Point to each rule card and act out moving to shelter.
  3. Hot and cold rules (10 min). When it is very hot, drink water and rest in the shade. When it is very cold, layer up — wear layers of clothes — and stay dry. Act out drinking water in the “heat” and putting on layers in the “cold.”
  4. Match weather to rule (5 min). Which rule for which weather? “Go inside and away from windows” is for a storm; “drink water and rest” is for heat; “layer up and stay dry” is for cold. Point to each rule card.
  5. Close (5 min). Say it together: “In a storm I go inside; in heat I drink and rest; in cold I layer up and stay dry. I can be ready for any weather.”

Differentiation

  • Support: Teach one weather type at a time and act it out; accept spoken, drawn, or gestured answers.
  • Support (non-speaking): Order the weather cards and act out each safe action.
  • Support (blind/low-vision): Say each rule aloud in order and be guided to the nearest shelter.
  • Extension: Describe the weather danger your own region faces most and the exact safe place your family would shelter.

Assessment

  • Formative (observation): Can the learner name and act out the storm, heat, and cold rules — with “go inside” and “stay out of flood water” included?
  • Self: The learner names one weather rule and the weather it goes with.

Home connection

With a grown-up, name the weather your home faces most and decide together the safe place to shelter in a storm. Practice saying “when thunder roars, go indoors.”

Resources