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3rd grade · Science · Unit 7 of 10

Weather Hazards & Solutions

Designs that lessen the harm from floods, wind and storms.

What your child practices

Practices judging design solutions that reduce harm from weather hazards like floods, windstorms, lightning and snow, and solutions to problems when habitats change.

New York State Learning Standards learning standard: 3-ESS3-1; 3-LS4-4; 3-5-ETS1-2 · comparing several solutions that reduce the impacts of weather hazards and environmental change

How we explain it

Children can open this short lesson before they practice.

  1. Weather hazards include floods, windstorms, lightning, hail and snow.
  2. Designs reduce harm: seawalls, strong roofs, weather alerts.
  3. Engineers test designs to see if they work.

Example: Which design best stops a beach from washing away? Waves wear away the sand. A strong wall blocks the waves. Answer: a seawall

Weather Hazards & Solutions in New York

In the New York State Learning Standards, this is unit 7 of 10 in 3rd grade Science, after Surviving in a Habitat and before Magnet Inventions.

Gradelings describes a child's practice on this unit as Beginning, Approaching, Meeting or Exceeding (Four practice steps). That reflects practice, not a report-card mark: the teacher decides the mark.

Source: New York State Education Department (NYSED)

Sample questions

A taste of this unit. In the app, questions change every time and get easier or harder to match your child.

  1. Question 1

    Which material is best for a roof in a hailstorm?

    • Thin plastic wrap
    • Paper
    • Cloth
    • Strong metal

  2. Question 2

    Houses near rivers are sometimes built on stilts to…

    • keep cool
    • catch fish
    • be taller than trees
    • stay above flood water

  3. Question 3

    Steep roofs in snowy places help…

    • rain stay
    • snow pile up
    • sun shine in
    • snow slide off

  4. Question 4

    A wetland is drained to build homes. Frogs lose their habitat. A good solution is…

    • drain more wetlands
    • make a new wetland nearby
    • build more homes
    • remove the frogs' food

  5. Question 5

    Trees planted in a row to block wind are a…

    • levee
    • dam
    • windbreak
    • seawall

  6. Question 6

    Why might a town choose to plant trees on hills after a wildfire?

    • Roots hold soil when rain comes
    • Trees cause landslides
    • To make more fire
    • To block the sun from the river

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