After the Disaster, Who Moves
A 45-minute Grade 3 lesson on how a flood, a fire or a closure changes where people live.
After the Disaster, Who Moves is a free 45-minute Grade 3 to Grade 5 social studies lesson plan for Common Core standard D2.Geo.9.3-5 — work out how a disaster changes where people live and where they move. It is timed across 5 sections, gives the exact wording to use where the wording carries the mathematics, names 3 misconceptions with the teaching move that addresses each, and ends with an exit ticket and a printable worksheet with its answer key.
- Grade:
- Grade 3 to Grade 5
- Length:
- 45 minutes
- Standard:
- D2.Geo.9.3-5
Grade 3 to Grade 5 · Geography
D2.Geo.9.3-5
Analyze the effects of catastrophic environmental and technological events on human settlements and migration.
Objective
Students will be able to predict how a settlement changes after a disaster and say who leaves and who stays.
Students are successful when they can
- Predicts a change in settlement after an event.
- Says who leaves and who stays.
- Uses a record as evidence of the effect.
What you need
- The workhouse register, as a measure of hardship
- Event cards: flood, fire, pit closure, crop failure
- The printable practice sheet linked at the end of this plan
The lesson
Warm-up — the register fills
5 min- Read the March 1847 admissions and ask what they are measuring.
- Take answers before naming it.
Teach — the event, then the movement
15 min- Flood destroys low houses: people rebuild higher or leave.
- Pit closes: families move to work, and the village shrinks.
- Crop fails for several years: people leave in numbers, often for towns.
- Ask who stays. Those with land, family or work tying them there.
- Take the valley case: the railway is not a disaster, but it destroyed work while creating other work.
- Point at the register as the record of who could not make that transfer.
“Who can leave, and who cannot?”
Guided practice — four events
13 min- Groups take four events and predict the settlement change.
- For each, they name who leaves and who stays.
- Groups say what record would show the effect.
Independent practice
9 min- Students complete the 'After the Disaster, Who Moves?' page.
- Watch for answers that move everybody.
Close
3 min- Ask what a rise in a town's population after a rural disaster tells you.
What goes wrong, and why
Each of these is a reasoning error rather than carelessness. The fix addresses the reasoning.
Assumes everybody leaves.
Why: Disaster suggests total loss.
Fix: Ask who has land or family there. Some cannot leave and some will not.
Thinks only sudden events count.
Why: Disaster means sudden.
Fix: A crop failing over several years empties a region as thoroughly as a flood.
Predicts a change without evidence.
Why: The prediction feels obvious.
Fix: Name the record that would show it. Registers and censuses are the check.
If they are not there yet
- Two events with the prediction offered as a choice.
- Give the movement and ask which event caused it.
If they finish early
- Say why the railway is only partly like a disaster.
- Find a disaster that increased a settlement.
- Explain what happens to those who stay after most have left.
Exit ticket
A pit closes after an accident. What happens to the pit village, and who stays?
What to look for: Families move to work and the village shrinks; those with land or family stay. 'Everyone leaves' means the who-stays half is missing.
Printable practice for D2.Geo.9.3-5
Free to print and copy, answer key included. Each sheet can generate a fresh set of problems for a retake.
- After the Disaster, Who Moves?Circle the best answer.
Questions about After the Disaster, Who Moves
How long does the After the Disaster, Who Moves lesson take?
45 minutes, split across 5 timed sections: warm-up 5 min, teach 15 min, guided practice 13 min, independent practice 9 min, close 3 min. The minutes are stated per section and add up to the stated length, so the plan can be cut or extended at a section boundary rather than abandoned halfway.
Which standard does After the Disaster, Who Moves teach?
D2.Geo.9.3-5 — D2.Geo.9.3-5, Geography for Grade 3 to Grade 5: “Analyze the effects of catastrophic environmental and technological events on human settlements and migration.” In plain terms, work out how a disaster changes where people live and where they move.
What do I need to teach this lesson?
The workhouse register, as a measure of hardship, event cards: flood, fire, pit closure, crop failure and the printable practice sheet linked at the end of this plan. Everything listed is either ordinary classroom equipment or a free printable from this site — there is nothing to buy and nothing to prepare beyond photocopying.
What mistakes should I expect in this lesson?
Three, each a reasoning error rather than carelessness: assumes everybody leaves; thinks only sudden events count and predicts a change without evidence. The plan gives the thinking behind each one and the teaching move that addresses the thinking rather than the symptom.
How do I know whether the lesson worked?
The exit ticket asks: “A pit closes after an accident. What happens to the pit village, and who stays?.” Families move to work and the village shrinks; those with land or family stay. 'Everyone leaves' means the who-stays half is missing. That tells you whether the class needs a reteach or a thirty-second conversation before you plan tomorrow.
Is there a worksheet to go with After the Disaster, Who Moves?
Yes — 1 printable D2.Geo.9.3-5 worksheet, linked at the end of the plan and free like the rest of the site. Each one comes with an answer key and 25 versions, so the practice after the lesson can be a different paper on every desk.
Is After the Disaster, Who Moves free to use?
Yes. The plan, its printables and their answer keys are free to read, print and photocopy for your own class, with no account and no email capture. It was last reviewed on 7 September 2026. Please do not resell it or republish it as your own.
Last reviewed 2026-09-07. Aligned to D2.Geo.9.3-5 of the C3 Framework for Social Studies State Standards.