S2 Topic 3

Flooding

Explanatory Notes for Teachers

Level: S2
Topic: Flooding – too much water
Supporting Teaching Materials: Students’ worksheet

Students’ Prior Knowledge

Before this ELA unit, students should have learnt about the topic of flooding and human
activities through the medium of Chinese.

Aims and Objectives

I. Content Objectives
After the ELA activities, students should be able to use English to:
1. describe water cycles;
2. explain the causes and the impact of flooding; and
3. identify the relationship between human activities and flooding

II. Language Objectives

After the ELA activities, students should be able to
1. understand and use the English terms related to this topic (e.g., flooding, natural event,
damage, occur, overflow, affected, low-lying areas, coastal areas, drowned, floodwater,
farmlands, destroyed, life and property, soil protection, flood control, forecast, warning,
depositions, alluvium, rich soil, suitable for, vegetation, farming, attract, human
settlement);
2. understand and use the English expressions for discussing the water cycle, e.g.,
- The sun heats up water in rivers or lakes or the ocean and turns it into vapour or
steam.
- As the water in rivers or lakes or the ocean evaporates, the vapour or steam goes up
into the air.
- When the water vapour in the air condenses, it changes into tiny droplets to form
clouds.
- When there is so much water that the air cannot hold it anymore, the clouds get heavy
and water falls back to the earth in the form of rain, hail, sleet or snow.
- When water falls back to earth as precipitation, it may fall back into the oceans, lakes
or rivers or it may fall on the land.
- When it falls on land, it will either soak into the earth and become part of the “ground
water” that plants and animals use to drink or it may run over the soil and collect in
the oceans, lakes or rivers where the cycle starts

S2 Topic 3: Flooding 1
3. understand and use the English expressions for discussing the key concepts related to
flooding, e.g.,
- Flooding is a common natural event and it may cause damage to people’s lives and
their land.
- A flood occurs when water overflows from a river, lake or ocean onto the land.
- Places along the coast or rivers can be affected by flooding.
- When a flood occurs, low-lying areas and coastal areas may be drowned by
floodwater.
- Farmlands may be flooded and crops destroyed.
- Life and property of the people in the affected areas may be threatened.
- Other problems such as lack of clean water and spread of disease may affect the life
of people after floods.
- The damage caused by floods can be reduced by soil protection, flood control work
and flood forecasts and warnings.
- Flood water carries deposits such as sand, mud and stones.
- These deposits are called alluvium and create a layer of rich soil for the low-lying
areas – the flood plain.
- The flood plain is suitable for vegetation and farming, and attracts human settlement.

Procedure:
1. The teacher should start by reminding students of what they have learned about flooding
and associated human activities through the medium of Chinese.
2. The Introduction – Think-Pair-Share activity provides students with opportunities to
make use of their exisiting knowledge to tell what they know about floods. Each pair can
be asled to report what they have discussed.
3. An information sheet is provided giving students the basic information about flooding,
its impact and what we can do to prevent it.
4. After they have read the information sheet, students can be asked to complete Activity 1.
This activity helps students review what they know about the water cycle. Students
should be asked to re-order the words to create accurate sentences describing the water
cycle water cycle.
5. Based on their reading of the information sheet, students should be asked to complete
Activity 2 where they categorize causes of floods into natural and human causes. The
activity enages students to read information about the causes of flooding in English and
classify information using a graphic tool.
6. Activity 3 focuses on how human activities relate to floods. Students match the given
examples of human activities with the possible consequences in terms of soil erosion that
results in flooding.
7. Activity 4 is a group work activity. Students work in groups and categorize the
after-flood measures into immediate and long-tem measures. Students need to justify
their choices and should be ready explain to the class.

S2 Topic 3: Flooding 2
 Flooding
Introduction

Work in pairs and discuss these questions.

A. Which of the areas in Hong Kong is/are often affected by floods? (mark the areas on a map)

What I think…………….. What my classmate thinks… What we agree about……….

B. Tell how these aspects would be affected during floods.

i. Farmland in Hong Kong

What I think…………….. What my classmate thinks… What we agree about……….

ii. Traffic on roads

What I think…………….. What my classmate thinks… What we agree about……….

iii. Shops

What I think…………….. What my classmate thinks… What we agree about……….

C. How can we help people who are affected (i) during floods and (ii) immediately after floods?

What I think…………….. What my classmate thinks… What we agree about……….

S2 Topic 3: Flooding 3
 INFORMATION SHEET

What is flooding?
Flooding is a common natural event and it may cause damage to people’s lives and their land
and property. A flood occurs when water overflows from a river, lake or ocean onto the land.
Therefore, places along the coast or rivers can be affected by flooding.

How are we affected when a flood occur?

When a flood occurs, low-lying areas and coastal areas may be drowned by floodwater.
Farmlands may be flooded and crops destroyed. The lives and the property of the people in
the affected areas may be threatened. Other problems such as lack of clean water and spread
of disease may affect the lives of people after floods.

What can we do to reduce the damage from floods?

1. Soil protection: Flood water can wash away soil. The roots of plants can bind and hold the
soil together and stop this happening. We can protect soil by making sure that vegetation
is not removed by processes such as deforestation, overgrazing and overcultivation.

2. Flood control work: We can build dykes, dams and reservoirs to hold back water in times
of flood. Water management work can help to improve the water flow in rivers.

3. Advance warning: Flood forecasts and warnings help us to act fast in fighting against
floods and in minimizing the damage from floods.

Is flooding all bad?

Flood water brings along deposits such as sand, mud and stones. These deposits are called
alluvium and create a layer of rich soil for the low-lying areas – the flood plain. The flood
plain is suitable for vegetation and farming, and attracts human settlement.

S2 Topic 3: Flooding 4
Activity 1 Water Cycle – movement of water on earth

The following pictures show the water cycle. Can you describe the pictures?
1. sun’s rays/water/the/heat/the 5. water/get/soil/the/into
water / gets / soil / the /into / the

________________________________ _________________________________
2. water/evaporate
water / evaporates / the 6. water/lakes/reservoirs/in/stores
water / is / lakes / reservoirs / in /
/and
stored / and / the

________________________________ _________________________________
3. Water
water vapour/condense/form/
vapour / condenses / form / 7. River/ocean/flow/to/the
rivers / ocean / flow / to / the
clouds/to
clouds / to / the

_________________________________ __________________________________
4. rain/fall/land/on/the
rain / the/ falls / land / on / the

_________________________________

S2 Topic 3: Flooding 5
 Study the water cycle and complete the sentences below to answer questions 1-3

i. Why does flooding occur?

Floods occur when____________ fail to carry water ________________________ quickly

enough.

ii. At which stages is flooding most likely to occur?

Flooding is most likely to occur in ____________ and ____________.

iii. Why doesn’t the water flow away?

The water does not flow away because ____________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________.

S2 Topic 3: Flooding 6
Activity 2 Human causes and natural causes of floods

Work with a partner. Put the causes of floods into 2 categories: natural causes and human
causes

Language practice: I think (cause) is a natural / human cause of floods.

Natural causes of floods Human causes of floods

Floods are caused by:

1. deforestation
2. heavy rainfall
3. low relief
4. poor farming practices
5. poor water management
6. population pressure
7. rise in sea level
8. snowmelt

Pair Reading

Why there is too much water?

A flood is a result of water overflowing onto the land. When there is (1) too much/too little
water in the river, the river rises and water goes over the river bank. Floods occur in
low-lying areas. Heavy rainfall (2) decreases/increases the amount of water flow in the river.
Coastal lowlands are easily flooded when the sea level (3) rises/falls, for example during a
storm. Snowmelt also leads to seasonal increase of water and results in floods on the
lowlands.

Find words/phrases with the same meanings from the passage.

Rises (v.) Water flow (n.) Low-lying areas (n.)

S2 Topic 3: Flooding 7
Activity 3 Human activities and floods

Part A - Match the statements in Column A with the corresponding consequences in Column B.

How the human activities cause soil erosion and lead to flooding?

Column A Column B
Human activities Consequences from the human activities

A. Farmers remove the vegetation cover. i. Dykes and dams fail to hold the water.

B. Threes which bind the soil are removed. ii. Silting increases the water volume in the rivers.

C. Anti-flood works are not of good quality. iii. Soil will be washed into the river easily.

D. People reclaim lakes to create more land. iv. More water has to flow downstream.

Part B- The diagram below shows the human causes of flooding. Use the information
from Part A to complete the diagram.

How does poor How does poor

farming practice water management
lead to flooding? lead to flooding?

How does How does

deforestation lead population pressure
to flooding? lead to flooding?

S2 Topic 3: Flooding 8
Activity 4 How do people respond to floods

Below is a list of things people often do after flooding. Work in groups to decide which of the
actions are long-term responses and which are emergency relief.

Colour the emergency measures in GREEN and long-term after-flood measure in

ORANGE.

1 2 3
Start rescue work Relocate people Put sandbags on
river banks

4 5 6
Provide Repair damaged Build dams and
emergency aids buildings reservoirs
such as food,

7 8 9
Restore utilities Set up flood Carefully plan
and services forecasting and land use in
warning systems flood-prone areas

10 11 12
Control Plant trees to Build diversion
deforestation check soil channels and
erosion dykes

Which of the above are flood-prevention measures?

Further reading

Rain and Floods http://www.weatherwizkids.com/Rain.htm

BBC Newsround Floods

http://news.bbc.co.uk/cbbcnews/hi/find_out/guides/world/floods/newsid_1613000/1613858.stm

S2 Topic 3: Flooding 9
 Answers
Activity 1 Water Cycle – movement of water on earth

The following pictures show the water cycle. Can you describe the pictures?
1. sun’s rays/water/the/heat/the 5. water/get/soil/the/into
water / gets / soil / the /into / the

The sun’s rays heat the water. The water gets into the soil.
________________________________ _________________________________
2. water/evaporate
water / evaporates / the 6. water/lakes/reservoirs/in/stores
water / is / lakes / reservoirs / in /
/and
stored / and / the

The water is stored in lakes and

The water evaporates. reservoirs.
________________________________ _________________________________
3. Water vapour/condense/form/
water vapour / condenses / form / 7. River/ocean/flow/to/the
rivers / ocean / flow / to / the
clouds/to
clouds / to / the

The water vapour condenses to form

clouds. Rivers flow to the ocean.
_________________________________ __________________________________
4. rain/fall/land/on/the
rain / the/ falls / land / on / the

The rain falls on the land.

_________________________________

S2 Topic 3: Flooding 10
 Answers
Study the water cycle and complete the sentences below to answer questions 1-3

1) Why does flooding occur?

Floods occur when rivers fail to carry water to the ocean quickly enough.

2) At which stages is flooding most likely to occur?

Flooding is most likely to occur in stage 6 and stage 7.

3) Why doesn’t the water flow away?

The water does not flow away because (the rivers lakes and reservoirs are full and) the

river cannot carry away the water quickly enough.

S2 Topic 3: Flooding 11
 Answers
Activity 2 Human causes and natural causes of floods

Work with a partner. Put the causes of floods into 2 categories: natural causes and human
causes

Language practice: I think (cause) is a natural / human cause of floods.

Natural causes of floods Human causes of floods

Floods are caused by:

heavy rainfall 1. deforestation deforestation

2. heavy rainfall
3. low relief
4. poor farming practices
low relief 5. poor water management poor farming practices
6. population pressure
7. rise in sea level
8. snowmelt
rise in sea level poor water management

snowmelt population pressure

Pair Reading

Why there is too much water?

A flood is a result of water overflowing onto the land. When there is (1) too much/too little
water in the river, the river rises and water goes over the river bank. Floods occur in
low-lying areas. Heavy rainfall (2) decreases/increases the amount of water flow in the river.
Coastal lowlands are easily flooded when the sea level (3) rises/falls, for example during a
storm. Snowmelt also leads to seasonal increase of water and results in floods in the
lowlands.

Find words/phrases with the same meanings from the passage.

Rises (v.) Water flow (n.) Low-lying areas (n.)

increases water goes coastal lowlands

S2 Topic 3: Flooding 12
 Answers
Activity 3 Human activities and floods

Part A - Match the statements in Column A with the corresponding consequences in Column B.

How the human activities cause soil erosion and lead to flooding?

Column A Column B
Human activities Consequences from the human activities

A. Farmers remove the vegetation cover. i. Dykes and dams fail to hold the water.

B. Threes which bind the soil are removed. ii. Silting increases the water volume in the rivers.

C. Anti-flood works are not of good quality. iii. Soil will be washed into the river easily.

D. People reclaim lakes to create more land. iv. More water has to flow downstream.

Part B- The diagram below shows the human causes of flooding. Use the information
from Part A to complete the diagram.

How does poor How does poor

farming practice water management
lead to flooding? lead to flooding?

The poor farming Dykes and dams fail

practices can damage to hold the water
the vegetation cover when the anti – flood
so silting increases works are of poor
the water volume in quality.
the rivers.

How does How does

deforestation lead population pressure
to flooding? lead to flooding?

Deforestation People reclaim lakes to

removes trees which create more land.
bind the soil so that Therefore, more water
soil will be washed has to flow
into the river easily. downstream.

S2 Topic 3: Flooding 13
 Answers
Activity 4 How do people respond to floods

Below is a list of things people often do after flooding. Work in group to decide which of the
actions are long-term responses and which are emergency relief.

Colour the emergency measures in GREEN and long-term after-flood measure in

ORANGE.

1 2 3
Start rescue work Relocate people Put sandbag on
(orange) river banks
(green)

4 5 6
Provide emergency
aids such as food,
Repair damaged Build dams and
shelter and medical buildings reservoirs
care (green) (green) (orange)

7 8 9
Restore utilities Set up flood Carefully plan land
forecasting and use in flood-prone
and services
warning systems areas
(orange) (orange)
(orange)

10 11 12
Control Plant trees to check Build diversion
deforestation soil erosion channels and
(orange) dykes (orange)

Which of the above are flood-prevention measures?

Build dams, reservoirs, diversion channels and dykes.
Set up flood forecasting and warning systems.
Careful planning of land use in flood-prone areas
Control deforestation
Plant tress to check soil erosion.

Further reading

Rain and Floods http://www.weatherwizkids.com/Rain.htm

BBC Newsround Floods

http://news.bbc.co.uk/cbbcnews/hi/find_out/guides/world/floods/newsid_1613000/1613858.stm

S2 Topic 3: Flooding 14