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Nature’s Most VIOLENT storm
Teacher’s
Information
By: Heather Pottorff

What you will learn!!
How and why tornadoes occur
How strong tornadoes can be

Who is this for?
Grades 3-5 with minimum prior knowledge of
tornadoes, in the classroom.
HOME
Slide

How are the student’s going to be working?
•As a class, or in small groups.
•In the classroom, on the computers.
•Group work, as a class, or in discussion.

Objectives
After the students view the PowerPoint, they will be able to recognize
the causes of tornadoes, and how powerful they can be.
The students will take a quiz at the end of the PowerPoint to test their
knowledge and understanding of the lesson. Student’s will need to
score a 10 out of 10 (100%) on the quiz in order to pass.
HOME
Slide

Today, students, you are going to use the computers to go
through a PowerPoint about tornadoes. After you complete the
PowerPoint, you will then take a 10 question quiz over the
material presented in the PowerPoint.

TORNADOES!!!!

Definition: A tornado is a
violent, dangerous, rotating column of air that is in
contact with both the surface of the earth and a
cumulonimbus cloud or, in rare cases, the base of a
cumulus cloud.

How do tornadoes form?

1. Air starts to rotate when the wind is at 2 different
altitudes, blowing at different speeds.
2. Faster spins (rotates) make a funnel cloud.
3. The funnel cloud rotates and touches down. Rain and hail from
the storm makes the funnel touch the ground.
1 2 3

How do we know how strong a tornado is?

A tornado is rated on a Fujita Scale, rating a tornado between F-0 to F-
5 (F-0 meaning not bad, F-5 meaning very bad)
They rate based on the tornadoes wind speed as well as damage done.

F-0 to F-1 tornadoes

“F-0 to F-1 tornadoes can collapse chimneys, toss
mobile homes off their foundation, and have the
strength to push cars off the road.”

F-2 to F-3 tornadoes

“Tornadoes can tear away roofs and lift
and toss heavy cars.”

F-4 to F-5 tornadoes

“F-4 to F-5 tornadoes have the strength to pick up and carry
entire buildings an entire distance, toss steal beams, and
crunch cars. These tornadoes are very rare but are responsible
for 2/3 of tornado deaths in the United States every year.”

Now let’s learn…
FUN FACTS About
Tornadoes!!

NEAT FACTS!!!!
1. They can go 300mph!
2. Their damage paths can be one mile wide, and up to 50 miles long.
3. Each year on average 1000 tornadoes occur!
4. We are safer in a room with no windows when a tornado occurs.
5. The sound of a tornado siren
(click on the siren icon)
Siren

Now that you have learned all about tornadoes and why
they occur, you now can go home and tell your families
what you should do if a tornado occurs. You can tell them
why they occur and how dangerous they can be.

QUIZ TIME!!!
It’s time to check what you have learned 

Quiz Directions:
1. Read both the question and all answers before answering.
2. Pick the answer you think is correct!
3. Good Luck!

1. What is a tornado?
A
Flower
B Thunderstorm
C Dangerous rotating column of air
D Rain

CORRECT!
Nice Work!
It is a Dangerous rotating column of air!

Oops, Sorry wrong answer
Hint: They can be very dangerous.

2. On average, how many tornadoes occur nation wide
each year?
A
100
B 1,000
C 10,000
D 100,000

CORRECT!
Nice Work!
There are 1,000 tornadoes occurring nation
wide each year!

Oops, Sorry wrong answer
Hint: There is a lot but not a ton!

3. What instrument is used to rate a tornado?
A
Rader
B Thermometer
C Scale
D Fujita Scale

CORRECT!
Nice Work!
You are right, it is a Fujita Scale!

Opps, Sorry wrong answer
Hint: It is a certain type of scale.

4. What should we do if we had a tornado while at
school?
A
Run
B Go to the neighbors
a Go to a room with no windows
C
D Continue with class

CORRECT!
Nice Work!
You should go to a room with no windows!

Oops, Sorry wrong answer
Hint: We don’t want to be around glass!

5. How do tornadoes form?
A
Rain
B Lightning
a Air starts to rotate due to different wind speeds
C
D By a windy day

CORRECT!
Nice Work!
Air starts to rotate due to different wind speeds!

Opps, Sorry wrong answer
Hint: Air starts to rotate.

6. Can a tornado touch the ground?
A
Yes
B No

CORRECT!
Nice Work!
Yes, tornadoes can touch the ground!

Oops, Sorry wrong answer
Hint: It is not no!

7. A tornado is ranked based on what factor?
A
Wind
B Wind speed and damage done
a Rain
C
D Damage

CORRECT!
Nice Work!
A tornado is ranked based on wind speed and damage
done!

Oops, Sorry wrong answer
Hint: Two things are ranked!

8. What is a tornadoes largest damage paths?
A
1 mile wide, 50 miles long
B 3 miles wide, 10 miles long
a 5 miles wide, 10 miles long
C
D 50 miles wide, 1 mile long

CORRECT!
Nice Work!
Tornadoes' damage paths are 1 mile wide, 50 miles
long!

Opps, Sorry wrong answer
Hint: It can’t be that wide, but it can be really
long.

9. How fast can tornadoes travel?
A
150 mph
B 300 mph
a 50 mph
C
D 100 mph

CORRECT!
Nice Work!
They can go as fast as 300 mph!

Oops, Sorry wrong answer
Hint: It can go really fast.

10. Can tornadoes move homes?
A
Yes
B No

CORRECT!
Nice Work!
Tornadoes can move homes!

Opps, Sorry wrong answer
Hint: It is not no!

Resources!!!
http://www.clipartguide.com/_pages/0060-0902-1915-2051.html
http://www.canstockphoto.com/vector-clipart/tornado.html#file_view.php?id=7551446
http://dogpostdaily.com/2011/06/joplin-tornado-944-pets-rescued-292-reunited-with-owners-one-found-12-days-after-
tornado/?lang=en
http://www.eo.ucar.edu/kids/dangerwx/tornado3.html
http://nancytelzerow.blogspot.com/2010_10_17_archive.html
http://www.tn.gov/tsla/exhibits/disasters/tornadoes.htm
http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Strongest_ranking_of_a_tornado_intensity
http://www.fark.com/comments/3599796/Headline-Tornado-deaths-underscore-risks-of-taking-shelter-in-cars-Article-7-of-
tornado-deaths-in-past-10-years-were-in-cars
http://www.google.com/imgres?q=tornado+taking+house&hl=en&rlz=1T4GGNI_enUS444US445&gbv=2&biw=1280&bih=7
42&tbm=isch&tbnid=xOtPbz-nO32OXM:&imgrefurl=http://www.grit.com/adventures-of-old-nebraska-dave/return-from-
joplin-missouri-
tornado.aspx&docid=o_zq1uj25JRESM&imgurl=http://www.grit.com/uploadedImages/GRT/blogs/Dave/JoplinTornadoDestr
uction.JPG&w=549&h=412&ei=vt2xTvG6H8fA2gWW-
PjyAQ&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=393&vpy=73&dur=3829&hovh=194&hovw=259&tx=145&ty=158&sig=11357435455236484713
8&page=2&tbnh=156&tbnw=202&start=24&ndsp=15&ved=1t:429,r:1,s:24

Resources Continued…
http://djdkt88.wordpress.com/2011/01/04/arkansas-tornado-survivor-it-sucked-me-out-of-my-house/
http://www.weatherwizkids.com/weather-tornado.htm
http://www.google.com/imgres?q=tornadoes&hl=en&rlz=1T4GGNI_enUS444US445&gbv=2&biw=1280&bih=742&tbm=isch&tbnid=J4TXCWeXum0sdM:&i
mgrefurl=http://sherwinroseann.wordpress.com/&docid=DjQYHUJJ7dC4sM&imgurl=http://sherwinroseann.files.wordpress.com/2010/07/draft_lens1930530
module8978566photo_tornadoes_3.jpg&w=400&h=300&ei=U-
mxTsXrOcW42wWhvaGtAw&zoom=1&iact=rc&dur=524&sig=113574354552364847138&page=5&tbnh=157&tbnw=192&start=60&ndsp=15&ved=1t:429,r:0,
s:60&tx=164&ty=136
http://www.google.com/imgres?q=good+luck&hl=en&rlz=1T4GGNI_enUS444US445&gbv=2&biw=1280&bih=742&tbm=isch&tbnid=GByNd6jwVUxp1M:&i
mgrefurl=http://9m2bal.blogspot.com/2010_03_01_archive.html&docid=4Bo2Pxk_40otUM&imgurl=http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_0xIMFANnoVo/S6AbJCzoc
6I/AAAAAAAAAb8/Cbw8GOdKwe8/s320/Good_Luck.jpg&w=225&h=177&ei=NOqxTuiDIYTM2AWW8PCoAw&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=724&vpy=245&dur=1
26&hovh=141&hovw=180&tx=99&ty=83&sig=113574354552364847138&page=3&tbnh=141&tbnw=179&start=30&ndsp=18&ved=1t:429,r:15,s:30
http://www.google.com/imgres?q=smiley+face&hl=en&rlz=1T4GGNI_enUS444US445&gbv=2&biw=1280&bih=742&tbm=isch&tbnid=BqoKe6gz24p-
aM:&imgrefurl=http://randomdotfm.blogspot.com/2011/04/history-of-smiley.html&docid=-a-YXLsXLuL1BM&imgurl=http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-
vpsc13PCfc0/TaLCGaq2SjI/AAAAAAAACTA/hw2MDzTk6mg/s1600/smiley-face.jpg&w=1200&h=1200&ei=d-
uxTvWdC4mQ2AXCrfDJAw&zoom=1&iact=rc&dur=271&sig=113574354552364847138&page=1&tbnh=169&tbnw=169&start=0&ndsp=16&ved=1t:429,r:2,s:
0&tx=67&ty=120
http://victorblue.com/news/2010/12/the-uninvited/
http://www.imageenvision.com/450/27816-clip-art-graphic-of-a-tornado-mascot-character-looking-through-a-magnifying-glass-by-toons4biz.jpg