Students who are scientifically literate are able to understand and explain natural phenomena. They can take what they've learned in school and apply their knowledge to concepts that see in the real world.
As educators, we don't have to look far these days for topics of natural disasters. Just turn on the news an you can choose between earthquakes, tsunami's, tornadoes, drought, etc.
Although it was considered a "natural" disaster, I have spent quite a bit of time talking about the BP oil spill in the gulf last year. True, the oil spill was caused by human error, but the effect of what has happened to life in the gulf since then, to me is a natural disaster. Although it's only been a year so we can't even see the true impact, we can look to Prince William Sound and how that area is still trying to recover after the Exxon Valdez oil spill in 1989.
I use this topic as a way to discuss food chains and the impact the oil spills have on microscopic organisms that are the base of the food chain. Students tend to only see the effect on sea birds, fish & mammals, but it's these microorganisms that keep the food chain going.
