Mississippi Science E.8.9B.3
The Standard
- E.8.9B
- Students will demonstrate an understanding of natural hazards (volcanic eruptions, severe weather, earthquakes) and construct explanations for why some hazards are predictable and others are not.
Using an engineering design process, create mechanisms to improve community resilience, which safeguard against natural hazards (e.g., building restrictions in flood or tidal zones, regional watershed management, Firewise construction). *
2026 Mississippi College- and Career-Readiness Standards for Science · Earth’s Systems and Cycles
Teacher's field guide
What This Standard Means
What Students Need to Do
- Students identify a natural hazard that could affect a community. They design a way to reduce harm, test or check their plan against evidence, and revise it.
What Mastery Looks Like
- A student can use a flood map to place a no-build zone and explain whom it protects. They can name a drawback and use test results or map evidence to improve the plan.
Common Misconceptions
- Students may think a levee removes all flood risk or overlook where diverted water will go. They may also skip revising a design when a test shows it failed.
How to Assess It
- Hand out a map with three houses, a stream, and a shaded floodplain. Ask students to sketch one protective change, name a drawback, and explain how they would revise it if it failed.
Lesson moves
Ways to Teach It
Use a tray of sand, three block houses, and water to test a levee, then reshape it after water reaches a house.
Show a floodplain map and ask students to write who benefits and who loses if new houses are banned in the shaded area.
Give pairs a hazard card and three protection options, then draw a surprise card that forces them to revise their choice.
Check a local flood map, then draw a no-build zone around the marked floodplain and choose a nearby site for new housing.
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