What's the Sitch?

Display slide 18 and play the video embedded in the slide. In the video, Dr. Makenzie Krocak, a research scientist at the OU Institute for Public Policy Research and Analysis, discusses factors that influence the communication of potential weather-related hazards, how those messages are tailored to each audience, and how to build trust in the community.

Now it’s time to play the AWARE game!

Students will take the role of emergency managers responsible for the safety of the communities in their area. This activity will take about two class periods to complete. Some students will complete the game in its entirety, while others may not—that is okay.

The game takes place in five different time eras, and each era consists of 10 turns. Each student will be given a specific era and turn to focus on. They will then record the weather information from their turns on a graphic organizer. They will then create a weather communication based on their collected data. Their communication message will be in similar formats to the four weather communication scenarios presented earlier in the lesson.

Each era and turn has a unique weather threat, so students’ communication messages will look different from one another. For their communication, students need to consider their audience, the threats, and the actions they want the audience to take, as well as the reasoning behind their forecasts.

Display slide 19 and pass out a copy of the AWARE Graphic Organizer handout to each student or group (depending on how you want to facilitate the activity).

Display slide 20 and go over the assignment. Each student or group only needs to play through their assigned era and turn, but they should continue to play the game as long as time allows or until they finish the game.

Display slide 21 and go over the graphic organizer with the class.

Then, display slide 22 and assign each student or group one of these listed turns from either Era 1 or Era 2:

• Era 2, Turn 1

• Era 2, Turn 3

• Era 2, Turn 5

• Era 2, Turn 10

• Era 3 Turn 2

• Era 3, Turn 5

• Era 3, Turn 7

• Era 3, Turn 8

Note that each student or group should only be assigned one of the turns. Once they receive their assigned turns, have them fill in the “Era ___, Turn ___” blank spaces with the numbers of their assigned era and turn on the first page of their AWARE Graphic Organizer handout.

Display slide 23 and have students play the game. Remind students to record data from their turns in their graphic organizer as they play their turns. The teacher dashboard on the game will tell you how far each student has progressed.

Once students complete the game, have students use the information they recorded on their graphic organizers to construct a weather communication. The goal of their weather communication is to protect their residents.