Students learn about the devastating Galveston Hurricane of 1900. They identify the effects that the storm had on the city and its economy, and why the storm was so devastating. They read some letters written from survivors of the storm and then write a letter of their own, including information about the storm.
Students read background information about the Galveston Hurricane of 1900, including how the storm formed, made landfall, and devastated the city, then respond to a word cloud prompt by naming a recent hurricane or a city that experienced severe destruction.
Teacher MovesIntroduce the experience and objectives, highlight that students will examine both the impact of the storm and survivor accounts, and, if applicable, invite students to share personal or local experiences with hurricanes before organizing them into small groups for the next two scenes.
In small groups, students watch Hurricanes 101 to build general background knowledge about how hurricanes form and why they are dangerous, then collaborate to list key facts about hurricanes in a shared table. Afterward, they read Galveston Hurricane of 1900 to learn about Galveston’s geography, the storm’s strength, and the scale of destruction, and use this information to complete a graphic organizer explaining why the hurricane caused such extensive damage to the city.
Teacher MovesPrompt groups to recall and record accurate hurricane facts, ensuring that key ideas such as hurricane season, storm categories, wind speeds, storm surge, and damage are included. Guide students to connect these general hurricane characteristics to Galveston’s specific situation—its low, flat island location, ignored warnings, and storm surge—by probing their reasoning as they complete the organizer about why the storm was so devastating.
Working in small groups, students divide and read a set of articles—Case Study: Galveston, Texas, The Galveston Hurricane of 1900, and Galveston’s Response to the Hurricane of 1900—to learn how the city was affected and how it responded. They then share their findings with group members and collaboratively complete a graphic organizer describing the storm’s physical effects on the city, the measures taken to prevent future devastation, and the economic consequences for Galveston.
Teacher MovesSupport groups in distributing the readings, monitoring comprehension, and prompting students to pull out specific evidence about loss of life, destruction of buildings, construction of the seawall, raising of the city, and shifts in economic activity to Houston. Encourage students to use the organizer to clearly distinguish between immediate impacts, long-term protective measures, and economic changes before transitioning them to independent work in later scenes.
Students read survivor accounts from The 1900 Storm and The Galveston Hurricane of 1900 to understand personal experiences of the disaster. They then write a first-person letter, imagining themselves as a Galveston resident in 1900, describing what they were doing before the storm, what they witnessed during it, and the storm’s effects on the city. After posting their letters, they review classmates’ letters and respond to at least two with a question or positive comment.
Teacher MovesEncourage students to draw on details from the eyewitness accounts to make their letters vivid and historically grounded, reminding them to include pre-storm life, experiences during the storm, and visible aftermath. Monitor the class discussion on the shared wall, prompting respectful, thoughtful feedback and asking follow-up questions that deepen students’ empathy and understanding of the human impact of the hurricane.
Students complete the exit quiz by answering all the questions.
Teacher MovesFacilitate the assessment and use student data to evaluate understanding, address misconceptions, and identify areas for growth.
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