Alabama Social Studies SS24.AS.4
The Standard
Explain how Alabama’s location creates potential weather threats to the state and identify ways in which Alabamians prepare for and respond to natural disasters.
2024 Alabama Course of Study: Social Studies
Teacher's field guide
What This Standard Means
What Students Need to Do
- Students use Alabama’s location to explain why hurricanes, tornadoes, and flooding are possible. They identify what people can do before a disaster and how to stay safe when one strikes.
What Mastery Looks Like
- A student can trace a Gulf storm toward Alabama on a map and explain why coastal and inland areas face different risks. They can name a suitable preparation and a safe response for a given threat.
Common Misconceptions
- Students may think hurricanes only affect the coast, even though their rain and wind can reach inland counties. They may also treat a tornado watch like a warning or think a highway overpass is a safe shelter.
How to Assess It
- Give students a map of Alabama and the Gulf. Ask: How can Alabama’s location lead to hurricane and tornado threats, and what is one preparation and one safe response for each?
Lesson moves
Ways to Teach It
On a printed map, use yarn to trace a Gulf hurricane path into Alabama and mark counties that could face inland flooding.
Ask students to write how warm, moist Gulf air can contribute to severe storms when it meets cooler air.
Sort action cards into before, during, and after columns for tornadoes and hurricanes, then check two disputed cards as a class.
Use your county emergency management page to find alert sign-up instructions, then write a two-step household warning plan.
Free download
Printable SS24.AS.4 Worksheet
A ready-to-print activity worksheet aligned to SS24.AS.4, with an answer key for the teacher on its own page. No account needed.
PDF, US Letter, prints cleanly in black and white.
Download the worksheetKeep exploring
Related Standards
- SS24.AS.21a
Describe ways in which Alabama’s geography contributes to the state’s present-day tourism industry.
- SS24.AS.2
Explain how Alabama’s geography contributes to the biodiversity of the state.
- SS24.3.6
Describe how Alabama’s environment has been positively and negatively affected by human activity over time.
- SS24.2.6
Explain how Alabama’s natural resources are utilized in its economy.
Turn this exact standard into a lesson
Grade, subject, topic, and the complete standard are prefilled. Create one free, no account needed.
Also for this standard:Make a WorksheetMake a QuizMake a Sub Lesson