Sept. 12-18, 2013, Current Events Lesson Plan
Current Event:
Up to 8 inches (20 centimeters) of rain recently fell across a 100-mile (160-kilometer) expanse of Colorado’s Front Range, causing massive flash flooding. The city of Boulder received 14 inches (35 centimeters) in only a few days. The National Weather Service characterized the downpour as “biblical” in its volume. At least three people are known to have died from the storms. Thousands of residents were evacuated as local streams turned into rampaging torrents. The resort towns of Lyons and Estes Park were totally isolated by water and cascading rivers. The rampant water caused at least six dams to fail. In New Mexico, an area in the Guadalupe Mountains received 11 inches (27 centimeters) in a 24-hour period. Until recently, the state had been in the grip of an intense, yearlong drought, and riverbeds that have been dry for months turned into treacherous rapids.
Objective:
Colorado is a state in the Rocky Mountain region of the United States. Each year, millions of visitors travel to Colorado’s ski resorts and other tourist areas. However, not all of Colorado is mountainous. Most of the people of Colorado live and work on the dry, flat plains that make up the eastern two-fifths of the state. Spanish explorers who came in the 1600′s were the first Europeans to visit the Colorado region. The Spanish word colorado means colored red. The explorers gave the name to the Colorado River, which flows through canyons of red stone. The state was named for the river. Colorado’s nickname is the Centennial State. The state has that name because it joined the Union in 1876, the centennial (100th anniversary) of the Declaration of Independence. Gold and silver mining booms in the last half of the 1800′s sparked Colorado’s early growth and development. The Behind the Headlines news story and related World Book articles explore Colorado.
Words to know:
Discussion Topics:
1. Ask your students what they know about Colorado. (Students might say that Denver is the state’s capital and largest city; the U.S. Air Force Academy is near Colorado Springs; beef cattle are the leading agricultural product.)
2. Ask your students to debate, “By the end of the 21st century, people will have discovered solutions that prevent weather events from becoming disasters.”
3. From 2000 to 2010, Colorado’s population increased 17 percent. Only 8 U.S. states had a higher population increase percentage. Of the 20 states with the highest growth rates, 12 are in the West. Ask your students why they think the West is growing so rapidly.
4. Ask your students to use the World Book’s Timelines feature to create a timeline of the history of Colorado. (Students may wish to use the History section of World Book’s Colorado article for help.)