Arkansas Natural Disasters

How have natural disasters impacted life in Arkansas?

Subject(s): Arkansas History, Geography, and US History

Time Period(s): (1801-1861) Expansion and Reform, (1850-1877) Civil War and Reconstruction, (1870-1900) Development of The Industrial United States, (1929-1945) Great Depression and World War II, (1945-Early 1970s) Postwar United States, and (1968 to the Present) Contemporary United States

Grade level(s): 0-2, 3-5, and 6-8

Supporting Question(s):

What types of natural disasters have happened in Arkansas? When? Where?

How have humans been impacted by natural disasters?

Source Set

• An Act for the Relief of the inhabitants of the late county of New Madrid
• Fruit Badly Damaged
• Photographic views of the great cyclone at Fort Smith
• Flood of 1927
• Corn, drought-stricken and eaten off by grasshoppers. Near Russellville, Arkansas
• Rescue Work During Flood in Fort Smith

Additional resource(s):

The Butler Center for Arkansas Studies has a large photograph collection of Arkansas Disasters. This is a link to the finding aid.

Economics of Disasters – Foundation for Teaching Economics

Library of Congress – Nature’s Fury lesson plan, Today in History: The Galveston Hurricane of 1900

Natural Disasters in Minnesota primary source set – compare to Arkansas

Arkansas Frameworks(s):

Kindergarten:

G.9.K.3 Identify ways weather and climate impact daily life

G.11.K.2 Discuss the needs of people during natural and human-made disasters 

First grade:

G.9.1.3 Describe ways weather, climate, and other environmental characteristics affect daily life

G.11.1.2 Identify ways to help people who are going through natural and human-made disasters

H.13.1.3 Draw conclusions about family or school life in the past using historical records and artifacts (e.g., photos, diaries, oral history) 

Second grade:

G.9.2.3 Explain ways weather, climate, and other environmental characteristics affect people’s lives in a place or region 

G.11.2.2 Investigate ways natural and human-made disasters affect people locally, nationally, and globally

H.12.2.3 Compare life in your community past and present using maps, photographs, news stories, artifacts, or interviews (e.g. transportation, communication, recreation, jobs, housing)

H.13.2.3 Gather information from different kinds of sources in response to a compelling question about a significant historical event or person

Fourth grade:

G.11.4.2 Analyze ways communities cooperate in providing relief efforts during and after natural and human-made disasters

H.13.4.3 Develop claims in response to compelling questions about Arkansas and United States history using evidence from a variety of primary and secondary sources

7th-grade geography:

ES.9.7.2 Describe symbiotic relationships between humans and their physical environments 

ES.9.7.3 Analyze positive and negative consequences of human changes on the physical environment

8th grade U.S. History:

Era6.3.8.5 Analyze responses to social, economic, and political issues prior to 1900

Arkansas History grades 7, 8:

G.1.AH.7-8.3 Evaluate the reciprocal impact of humans and water systems in Arkansas over time (e.g., trade, transportation, recreation, flood control) 

G.1.AH.7-8.4 Analyze effects of weather, climate, and natural phenomena on the environment of specific regions over time (e.g., New Madrid earthquakes, Flood of 1927, Drought of 1930, tornado alley)