Nov. 7-13, 2013, Current Events Lesson Plan
Current Event:
On November 8, Typhoon Haiyan slammed into the central Philippines with torrential rain, sustained winds of 147 miles (235 kilometers) per hour, and gusts of 190 miles (305 kilometers) per hour. The storm killed thousands of people, according to early estimates. Meteorologists have confirmed that Haiyan was one of the strongest storms in recorded history. The winds drove ashore tsunami-like storm surges that were 40-feet- (12-meters-) high in places, leveling everything in their paths. In some areas, as much as 15.75 inches (400 millimeters) of rain fell, triggering massive flooding. The provinces of Leyte and Samar were the hardest hit. The Philippine government estimates that the storm has affected some 9.5 million people–about 10 percent of the population–and displaced more than 600,000 people. Entire regions are without food, water, and medical supplies.
Objective:
The Philippines is an island country in the southwest Pacific Ocean. The country consists of more than 7,000 islands, but only about 1,000 of them are inhabited. The 11 largest islands make up more than 95 percent of the country’s area. About 100 million people live in the Philippines. Manila is the country’s capital, and Quezon City is its largest city. The people of the Philippines are called Filipinos. Their ancestors came from what are today Indonesia and Malaysia. They formed small communities throughout the islands, and each group developed its own culture. As a result, the Philippines has a wide variety of languages, customs, and ways of life. About 95 percent of Filipinos are Christians, more than in any other Asian country. Despite an abundance of natural resources, the Philippines is one of the poorest countries in Asia. The Behind the Headlines news stories and related World Book articles explore the Philippines, as well as exploring typhoons and other disasters.
Words to know:
• Benigno Aquino
• Cyclone
• Disaster
• Manila
• Meteorology
• Philippines
• Typhoon
• Visayan Islands
Discussion Topics:
1. Ask your students to name other natural disasters since 2000. (Students might say the tsunami of 2004, Hurricane Katrina [2005], Cyclone Nargis [2008], Haitian earthquake [2010], Japanese earthquake and tsunami [2011].)
2. Cyclones, earthquakes, floods, tornadoes, and other natural disasters are common throughout the world. Ask your students which natural disaster they think is the most dangerous.
3. Ask your students to debate, “The United Nations should collect money from member nations and become the main source of all future disaster relief.”
4. Ask your students to use World Book’s Timelines feature to create a timeline of the history of the Philippines. (Students may wish to use the “Important dates in the Philippines” table in World Book’s History of the Philippines article for help.)