Hollywood Disaster

Fact or Fiction?

Only in the movies?

Evaluate informational texts to support or dispute Hollywood

disaster scenes.

Have you ever seen a disaster movie? For instance, 2012 or The Day After Tomorrow? These movies have great special effects and make lots of money. Check out this clip showing the best in the genre.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lnecyno3f7A

But how real are these types of disasters? In this project students evaluate informational texts and create short video presentations to support or debunk Hollywood catastrophes.

CCSS Alignment: RI.6.7, RI. 6.8

Day 1: Engage Students in the Project 45 minutes Resources

Top Natural Disaster Movies Video Clip

Read (3) short movie summaries for Armageddon, The Day After

Tomorrow, and San Andreas

Day 2: Join a group and conduct further research 60 minutes Resources

Topic specific sources (articles, movie trailers, multimedia)

Natural Disaster Research Template

Day 3: Evaluate to determine the likelihood disaster 45 – 60 minutes Resources

Guiding questions

Drawing conclusions template

Estimate of how this projected could be completed in a one week time frame.

Day 5: Presentations 45 minutes

Voting Forms – Which event is most likely? Least likely? Most

entertaining? Scariest?

Day 4: Create Video Presentation 60 minutes Resources

Outline for presenting information

.

Resources to organize, synthesize and

evaluate information

Research

packets

Provided Research

Presentation Rubric

for teacher scoring or

student checklist

Close with Class

Voting

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Project Description

Student handout

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Hollywood Disaster Fact or Fiction?

Introduction

Have you ever seen a natural disaster movie? For instance, “2012” or “The Day After Tomorrow”? These movies have great special effects and make a lot of money. Check out this clip showing some of the best in the genre.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lnecyno3f7A

Do you think these types of natural disasters are likely to happen, or only seen in movies?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lnecyno3f7A

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Project Description

Part 1: Watch the Hollywood natural disasters clip and read

movie summaries Watch the video clip showing Hollywood’s top natural disaster movies. Pay close attention to the special effects – do you think what you’re seeing is fact or fiction? On your own, read the movie summaries for Armageddon, The Day After Tomorrow and San Andreas. After reading, decide which movie/disaster scenario you’d like to know more about.

Part 2: Form a group and conduct further research on a disaster Which disaster scenario did you pick? Join up with a group of 4-5 students who are interested in the same disaster. As a team, your job will be to conduct further research by reading and watching related clips. Be thinking about which elements might be fact and which are fiction.

Part 3: Determine the likelihood of the disaster Using your research, answer the guiding questions and draw conclusions about the elements of the movie that are fact and parts that are fiction. Be prepared to tell about why some things in the movie are true, and why other elements could never happen. Part 4: Create your presentation: Hollywood Disasters: Fact or Fiction? Organize your research by using the presentation outline. These are the elements you must include to justify your conclusions. Select one member of the group to present and another member to record the presentation (using a phone). Other group members can help by giving feedback in rehearsals, selecting additional

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multimedia clips to add to the presentation, or providing technical support in uploading and editing the video after it’s recorded. Part 5: Presentation Day! Time to hear about some serious catastrophes. After all of the presentations, cast your votes for “most likely”, “least likely” “scariest scenario” or “best movie”. Did your group finish early? What other disaster movies are out there? Which is most likely to occur? Conduct independent research and support your claim with evidence and tell why the science behind the movie you selected is accurate.

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Project Resources

Movie Summaries: Armageddon (asteroid), The Day After Tomorrow (mega-blizzard), San Andreas (California quake) Armageddon/asteroids Research Day After Tomorrow/Mega-blizzard Research San Andreas/California Quake Research Research Notetaking Template Guiding Questions Drawing Conclusions Template Presentation Outline Template Presentation Rubric Voting Forms Extension Activity: What disaster movie scenario is most likely to occur? Conduct independent research and support your claim with evidence.

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Movie Summaries

Armageddon It is just another day at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), a few astronauts were repairing a satellite until, out of nowhere, a series of asteroids came crashing into the shuttle, destroying it. These asteroids also decimated New York soon thereafter. Then, NASA discovered that there is an asteroid roughly the size of Texas heading towards the Earth, and when it does hit the Earth, the planet itself and all of its inhabitants will be obliterated, worse, the asteroid will hit the Earth in 18 days. Unfortunately, NASA's plans to destroy the asteroid are irrelevant. That is when the U.S. military decides to use a nuclear warhead to blow the asteroid to pieces. Then, scientists decide to blow the asteroid with the warhead inside the asteroid itself. The only man to do it, is an oil driller named Harry Stamper and his group of misfit drillers and geologists. As he and his drill team prepare for space excavation, the asteroid is still heading towards the Earth. When the crew are launched into outer space, they are determined to destroy this asteroid.

The Day After Tomorrow As Paleoclimatologist named Jack Hall is in Antarctica, he discovers that a huge ice sheet has sheared off. But what he does not know is that this event will trigger a massive climate shift that will affect the world population. Meanwhile, his son Sam is with friends in New York to attend an event. There they discover that it has been raining non-stop for the past 3 weeks, and after a series of weather-related disasters begin to occur over the world, everybody realizes the world is entering a new Ice Age and the world population begins trying to evacuate to the warmer climates of the south. Jack makes a daring attempt to rescue his son and his friends who are stuck in New York and who have managed to survive not only a massive wave but also freezing cold temperatures that could possibly kill them.

San Andreas A seemingly ideal day turns disastrous when California's notorious San Andreas fault triggers a devastating, magnitude 9 earthquake, the largest in recorded history. As the Earth cracks open and buildings start to crumble, Ray Gaines (Dwayne Johnson), an LAFD search-and-rescue helicopter pilot, must navigate the destruction from Los Angeles to San Francisco to bring his estranged wife (Carla Gugino) and their only daughter (Alexandra Daddario) to safety.

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Armageddon Research

1. Armageddon Movie Trailer

2. Asteroid Science Clip

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iq6q2BrTino

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y8qWeSTZWHw

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3. Lewis, T. (2014) “Asteroid Science: How Armageddon Got it Wrong”. Live Science. 4. Brabaw, K. (2015). “Avoiding Armageddon: Asteroid Deflection Test Planned for 2022”. Space.com

http://www.livescience.com/47864-armageddon-film-asteroid-science.html

http://www.space.com/29427-asteroid-deflection-armageddon-test-aida.html

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The Day After Tomorrow Research 1. The Day After Tomorrow Movie Trailer

2. Alexander, K. (2012). “The Day After Tomorrow: A Scientific Critique”. ClimateSight.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ku_IseK3xTc

http://climatesight.org/2012/04/26/the-day-after-tomorrow-a-scientific-critique/

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3. Bec Crew. (2015). “A ‘mini ice age’ is coming in the next 15 years”. ScienceAlert.com

4. Brown, M. (2015). “The ‘mini ice age’ hoopla is a giant failure of science communication”. Phys.org

http://www.sciencealert.com/a-mini-ice-age-is-coming-in-the-next-15-years

http://phys.org/news/2015-07-mini-ice-age-hoopla-giant.html

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San Andreas Research 1. San Andreas Movie Trailer

2. Discovery Channel: San Andreas Fault

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yftHosO0eUo

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZxPTLmg0ZCw

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3. Rosetto, T. (2015) “How scientifically accurate is San Andreas? Solid or a bit Faulty?” The Guardian.

4. Goldberg, H. (2015). “All the science “San Andreas” gets wrong, according to top seismologist”. New York Post.

http://nypost.com/2015/05/29/all-the-science-san-andreas-gets-wrong-according-

to-a-top-seismologist/

http://www.theguardian.com/film/filmblog/2015/jun/04/san-andreas-earthquake-

movie-is-it-accurate

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Name: _________________________________ Date: ________

Research Notetaking Template

Movie: ______________________________

I can take relevant notes on informational sources.

What Happens? (Describe an event or impact from the movie)

What is Fact? (Is there something about this that could really happen? Describe.)

What is Fiction? (Is there something that could not occur? Describe.)

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Name: _________________________________ Date: ________

Guiding Questions

Movie: ___________________________

I can answer questions to distinguish scientific truth from fiction in

movies, and media.

1. What types of large scale destruction occur in your movie? ____________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________

2. What event(s) from the movie could take place in real-life? How is this

scientifically possible?

____________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________

3. Which event(s) from the movie are purely fiction? How do you know?

____________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________

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4. Write down a quote made by a scientist to help explain the movie. Tell

why you believe this source is credible.

____________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________

5. Is there any information in an article that doesn’t seem credible? Explain

why you don’t believe this.

____________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________

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Name: _________________________________ Date: ________

Drawing Conclusions

Movie: ____________________________

I can draw evidence-based conclusions when analyzing movies and media.

1. On a scale of 1-10 (1 is least likely, 10 is most likely) how likely is this natural disaster? Explain your score using at least (3) specific events from the movie and (3) pieces of scientific evidence from experts. ____________________________________________________

____________________________________________________

____________________________________________________

____________________________________________________

____________________________________________________

____________________________________________________

____________________________________________________

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Name: _________________________________ Date: ________

Presentation Outline

Movie: ____________________________

I can present information to point out fact from fiction in

movies.

Presentation Directions: In your video presentation, be sure to address the following

points. Select one speaker from your group and record the presentation on a phone or

other recording device. If time permits, compile your video with clips from the movie or

other media. There is a time limit of 5 minutes.

1. Movie Summary

2. (3) events from the movie that are fiction. Explain why.

3. (1) event from the movie that is based on fact.

4. On a scale of 1-10, how likely is this event? (1 = not likely, 10 = very likely)

5. Would you recommend this movie to a friend? Why or why not?

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Project Rubric

Presentation Scoring Rubric

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Target

Advanced 3 Points

Solid 2 Points

Needs Work 1 Point

I can

analyze media

formats to understand

a topic (RI.6.7)

In my presentation I referred to text and video to explain (3) fictional occurrences and (1) that could be true.

In my presentation I referred to text and video to explain (2) fictional occurrences and 1 that could be true.

In my presentation I did not refer to the text or video, or explained fewer than (2) fictional occurrences or (0) that could be true.

I referred to evidence in

text to distinguish supported

claims from unsupported

claims. (RI.6.8)

I provided a reasonable rating for the likelihood of this event (1-4 is an acceptable range) and supported my conclusion with (2) pieces of evidence.

I provided a rating for the likelihood of this event (1-6 is an acceptable range) and supported my conclusion with (1) piece of evidence.

I provided an unlikely rating for the likelihood of this event (7-10) and/or did not support my conclusion with evidence.

Find more resources at https://goalbookapp.com

Hollywood Disaster: Fact or Fiction?

Presentation Rubric

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Hollywood Disaster: Fact or Fiction

Ballot

Armageddon Day After Tomorrow San Andreas

Most Likely Most Dangerous Most Entertaining

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