The USA climate and natural disasters Mgr. Zdislava Šmídová

Anotace Kód DUMu: VY_32_INOVACE_3.AJ.11 Číslo projektu: CZ.1.07/1.5.00/34.0114 Vytvořeno: listopad 2013 Ročník: 3. ročník a 4. ročník – čtyřleté gymnázium (RVP-G) Septima a Oktáva – osmileté gymnázium (RVP-G) Anotace: Tento materiál by vytvořen jako téma pro maturitní okruh: ESC. The USA – climate and natural disaster na Gymnáziu a JŠ Svitavy; přibližně na jednu, popřípadě více vyučovacích hodin (pro výklad i opakování – shrnutí učiva). Obsahuje jednak přehled faktografických údajů, tak i anglickou ustálenou terminologii, doplněné o interaktivní cvičení: vzdělávací videa (native speakers), rozhovory s diskuzí na dané téma (role-play). Je primárně zaměřen na dva poslední ročníky gymnázia, i přesto se dá využít i v nižších ročnících osmiletého i čtyřletého studia vcelku nebo jeho jednotlivé části. Pomůcky: interaktivní tabule Vzdělávací oblast Jazyk a jazyková komunikace Vzdělávací obor Anglický jazyk Tematický okruh ESC. The USA – climate and natural disaster

Discuss in pairs: What is the weather like in the USA? What natural disasters are the most common for the USA? Can you write a list of natural disasters?

THE USA Climate zones – a map Weather Natural disasters

Climate characterized as a long-term summary of weather changes effects vegetation, animal life and humans temperature can be used to grade climatic zones: *tropical *subtropical *temperate *cold *polar is varied from subarctic in Alaska to subtropical in Hawaii in the USA

the wettest part of the country Northwest Pacific: (Oregon and Washington to the crest-top of the Cascade Mountains) the wettest part of the country there are scattered rain showers all year round temperatures are mild around 40 degree F.(32.2 degree C) summers are pleasantly warmer but never too hot fogs along the coast

Mid/South Pacific Rockies: (California, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, Utah and Nevada) have dry and delightful summers quiet chilly in the winter but seldom freezing (California) very cold, with temperatures dropping well below 0 degree F. Colorado, Utah and Nevada are known for their excellent skiing

Midwest ( Dakotas, Kansas, Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, and Indiana) moderately dry precipitation occurs mainly in late spring and early summer summers are pleasant winters can be harsh, with lots of snow and heavy chilly winds temperature can drop down to -50 degree F. 

Northeast (Ohio, Pennsylvania, Washington DC, Maryland) moderately rainy winters experience heavy snow and freezing rain summers are pleasant, sunny and warm fall is especially beautiful in wooded areas 

Southeast ( Arkansas and Louisiana, Kentucky, West Virginia, Virginia) moderate rains evenly throughout the year springs, summers and falls are all very pleasant winter - some snow and freezing rain - for the most part, are quite mild and short lived Southern Florida, like California, usually has excellent weather all the year round

Southwest (Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma and western portions of Arkansas and Louisiana) the hottest and high rainfall region of the US be prepared to face heavy rains accompanied with thunder storms, dangerous lightening and occasional tornadoes winters are generally short but some freezing rains spring and fall seasons are quite long temperatures are generally excellent summers are very hot with temperatures about 100 degree F (38 °C) on many days

EXTREMES In Alaska - tundra and arctic conditions - the temperature has fallen as low as  −80 °F (−62 °C) Death Valley, California once reached  134.78 °F (57.1 °C) - officially the highest temperature ever recorded on Earth

Natural disasters Tropical cyclone - video  a rapidly-rotating storm system, strong winds, thunderstorms and heavy rain * hurricane(/ˈhʌrɨkeɪn/ or /ˈhʌrɨkən/)   * typhoon /taɪˈfuːn/ * tropical storm * cyclonic storm * cyclone Galveston Hurricane of 1900 Hurricane Andrew in 1992 Hurricane Katrina in 2005

Natural disasters Tornado - video a violently rotating column of air that is in contact with both the surface of the earth and a  cloud * twisters * cyclones - in the spring and summer  - Tornado Alley

Natural disasters Floods - video a very large amount of water that covers an area that is usually dry * the Great Mississippi Flood of 1927 * the Great Flood of 1993 * widespread flooding and mudslides caused by the 1982-1983 El Niño

Natural disasters Wild fires a fire that moves quickly and cannot be controlled * brush fire * bushfire * forest fire * desert fire * grass fire * hill fire

Natural disasters Earthquakes - video a sudden shaking of the earth's surface that often causes a lot of damage * quake * tremor  * temblor Volcanic eruptions - video - ejection of fast moving, hot flows of materials, ash and lava

Natural disasters Avalanches - video A sudden flow of a large mass of snow or ice down a slope or cliff sometimes at speeds exceeding 160 km/h Sandstorms a storm in the desert in which sand is blown around by strong winds

ROLE-PLAY Choose one natural disaster and describe it to your friend. Don´t say the name of the natural disaster so you friend should guess CHANGE YOUR ROLES

Discuss in pairs Use a map and describe the typical weather in the USA according to the region. Don´t forget to mention the extremes!

Zdroje a použitá literatura KNIŽNÍ ZDROJE: SMITH - DLUHÁ, Gabriella a kol. Angličtina otázky a odpovědi. Olomouc: INFOA, 2007, ISBN 80-7240-489-X. 2) EL-HMOUDOVÁ, Dagmar. Angličtina - Maturitní témata. Český Těšín: Petra Velanová, Třebíč, 2006, ISBN 9788086873046. ELEKTRONICKÉ ZDROJE: USA Climate [online]. [cit. 1.11.2013]. Dostupný na WWW: http://www.path2usa.com/usa-climate 2)  Climate of the USA [online]. [cit. 1.11.2013]. Dostupný na WWW: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Climate_of_the_United_States FOTOGALERIE Veškeré použité obrázky pocházejí z otevřené galerie Microsoft Office (Powerpoint) Veškeré hypertextové odkazy jsou platné ke dni vytvoření díla.