Download the Middle School Curriculum

The Disaster Preparedness Program for Middle School Students is available in four different program options.

As a result of this program structure, each instructor is able to determine which option best meets the needs and capabilities of their students and themselves. The options are numbered in order of complexity.

Please take a moment to view each of the options by reviewing the brief option description. After your review, you will need to select the option you are going to implement with your students. At that time, you will need to print the Instructor Guide and Student Materials that support the option’s lessons.

With your help, students in the Houston Region can feel safe knowing what to do in case disaster should strike. Take advantage of these FREE resources to use in your classroom.

Instructor Guides and Student Materials Downloads

TRACK #1 (PDF, 3.5 MB)

Each step of the Disaster Preparedness process is briefly presented to students and the lessons contain activities to reinforce the learning concepts around each step. Students begin Disaster Preparedness worksheets in the classroom based on what they have learned and will complete the worksheets at home with their family. The final student deliverable is a “Make a Plan, Build a Kit, Stay Informed, and Know Your Neighborhood” poster they will share with the class.

TRACK #2 (PDF, 3.2 MB)

The students will be introduced to each step of the Disaster Preparedness process. The theme of this option is the reality show “Survivor.” The students will be divided into small groups and will have to go through the disaster preparedness process to “survive” a disaster. Each group selects a disaster they want to focus on for their small group project. The final student deliverable is a “Make a Plan, Build a Kit, Stay Informed, and Know Your Neighborhood” survivor presentation. At the conclusion of the presentations, the large group will vote on which small group is “most likely to survive” based on their presentation.

TRACK #3 (PDF, 2.6 MB)

The students will be introduced to each step of the Disaster Preparedness process. They will be divided into four small groups and each group will be assigned one of the four steps of the Disaster Preparedness process. Each group will create a web page storyboard about their step. If desired, a web page may be built using the storyboard and a disaster preparedness website may be created on the school’s intranet. The final student deliverable is a “Make a Plan, Build a Kit, Stay Informed, and Know Your Neighborhood” Web Page Storyboard or Web Page.

NOTE: If actual web pages are to be produced, this will require the support of the school’s web developer.

TRACK #4 (PDF, 3.1 MB)

The students will be introduced to each step of the Disaster Preparedness process and will be informed on the option’s video project. The video should be no longer than 2 to 3 minutes and will cover one step of the Disaster Preparedness process. It can be completed in small groups or individually—you will make the choice. The steps in preparing a video will be discussed and the final student deliverable is a “Make a Plan, Build a Kit, Stay Informed, or Know Your Neighborhood” video. Once the videos have been completed, you will arrange for the selected audience to view the completed videos. Each video production team will introduce their video and play it for invited guests and program leaders. A personal copy of the video should be made available for the students to share with parents and siblings. Additionally, you are asked to submit videos to the readyhoustontx.gov website for possible inclusion in the middle school section.

NOTE: Instructors will need to sign up for the educators’ version of Animoto at http://www.animoto.com. It can take up to two weeks for approval to use free advanced version. Other video production options are Prezi (animated PowerPoint) and HD Flip Cam.

IMAGES FOLDER (JPGs, x MB)

Download this folder of images for use with this curriculum. The photos are of different disasters that show the damage that is caused to property and people by various disasters. It includes pictures of people being rescued and in shelters. Display them on your white board or Smart Board. If you are unable to display pictures, print pictures and circulate them among the students as you discuss answers to the questions in the lessons.

If you have any questions, please contact us at ready.houston@houstontx.gov.