Drought Basics
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Provided by: PBS|Published on: November 7, 2023
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Scientist Reviewed This resource has been reviewed by SubjectToClimate's climate scientists and verified for scientific accuracy and up-to-date information. Learn about our review process →
Synopsis
- In this interactive resource, students will learn about the different types of drought, the causes and effects of drought, and how scientists monitor it, examining examples from Boston, Albuquerque, and California's Lake Cachuma.
- Students will read, watch videos, and analyze graphs within the interactive presentation and there are discussion questions and other supporting materials provided.
Subjects: Biology, Earth and Space Sciences
Authors: PBS
Region: North America, USA - Northeast, USA - West, United States, Global, California, New Mexico, Massachusetts
Languages: English
Teaching Materials
Positives
- Teachers can easily assign this lesson as independent work via Google Classroom and other platforms.
- Students will remain engaged with various visualizations and graphics to illustrate the concepts.
Additional Prerequisites
- You may need to switch to Student View for the Launch button to work.
- Students will need to know the terms precipitation, climate, aridity, hydrological, and others before beginning the lesson.
- It may benefit students to understand the difference between a drought and a water shortage.
Differentiation
- Geography students can look at climate zones across the United States and discuss why drought means something different in different places.
- Students in math classes can practice analyzing and answering questions about the graphs in the lesson.
- Students can brainstorm ways to conserve water in their homes or use a water footprint calculator to understand their water usage.
- If you want to assign the lesson as independent work, a Chrome extension to read the text aloud will help any struggling readers.
In this lesson, students will learn about different types of droughts, what they are, and how they are connected. The lesson breaks up droughts into different categories that focus on the different causes and impacts of periods of droughts, as well as how it is impacted by climate change. The explanations are simple and explain the concept of a drought well. Students may have more questions about how human influences are affecting droughts. The information presented is accurate and the resource is recommended for teaching.
Teaching Tips
Standards
Resource Type and Format
Scientist Reviewed
This resource has been reviewed by SubjectToClimate's climate scientists and verified for scientific accuracy and up-to-date information. Our review process ensures that every resource in our library reflects the current state of climate science.
Learn about our review process →
