Mother Nature vs.....Us

Here in the northeast, we are having some crazy weather.  50° one day and then 25° the next!  Kids don't know what to wear to school, the classroom is either blazing hot or freezing cold......you get the picture. But this erratic weather trend is an opportunity for students to really see how we are at the mercy of mother nature.  Try as we might, sometimes there is just no stopping her.  How can we relate this to our study of history?

This is a powerful lesson because the region where I teach was deeply affected by Sandy.  Some families are still affected to this day.  In the past I have taught this lesson using Hurricane Katrina as a modern-day comparison.  The focus of the lesson is how these natural disasters affected the American people.  The students analyze primary source images from both time periods.  This one from the Dust Bowl always resonates with me:

The students analyze the photographs and answer questions about each.  One of the sets of photographs includes the technological aspect of the disaster.  There are some powerful photographs from the Dust Bowl but today, we have satellite photos of storm and weather systems:   

Students are struck by the awesome power of Mother Nature and that even in the 21st century we are at her mercy.  Take a look at the full lesson here