Here you will find RISE Challenge Illinois resources for getting started. We have organized the resources in three broad categories: Essential RISE Challenge Documents, Recommended Timeline, and Natural Hazard Education Resources. If you have trouble accessing any of these documents or require additional support, please contact Abbie Enlund; executivedirectoreeai@gmail.com
Essential RISE Challenge Documents
- RISE Challenge Interest Form - this form should be completed by anyone interested in participating in any way with RISE Challenge Illinois (educators, judges, classroom volunteers, etc.)
- RISE Challenge Proposal Guide
- Proposal Checklist
- RISE Funding and Budget Guidelines
- Example Projects and Proposals from other state programs
- Judges Rubric - Pre-summit Submitted Proposal
- Judges Rubric - Summit Verbal Presentation
Recommended RISE Challenge Project Timeline
Summer
Attend an optional Earth Force or RISE Challenge Professional Development workshop
Develop a classroom implementation plan
August – December
Work with students to identify environmental hazards in your community
Choose and research key issues
Connect with experts to discover root causes
Decide on one issue to explore
Take advantage of ongoing Earth Force Professional Development opportunities
January – April
Decide on a project to address the chosen issue
Develop proposal for action
Take advantage of ongoing Earth Force Professional Development opportunities
Submit your written project proposal any time before March 18th, 2022
For teams selected to attend RISE Student Summit - submit summit presentation any time before April 22nd, 2022
May
Start implementation of action project
Attend the RISE Challenge Illinois Summit May 4th, 2022 (time to be determined)
Celebrate!
Attend an optional Earth Force or RISE Challenge Professional Development workshop
Develop a classroom implementation plan
August – December
Work with students to identify environmental hazards in your community
Choose and research key issues
Connect with experts to discover root causes
Decide on one issue to explore
Take advantage of ongoing Earth Force Professional Development opportunities
January – April
Decide on a project to address the chosen issue
Develop proposal for action
Take advantage of ongoing Earth Force Professional Development opportunities
Submit your written project proposal any time before March 18th, 2022
For teams selected to attend RISE Student Summit - submit summit presentation any time before April 22nd, 2022
May
Start implementation of action project
Attend the RISE Challenge Illinois Summit May 4th, 2022 (time to be determined)
Celebrate!
Educator Resources for Every Phase of the Process
Get Started
Where to Begin Presentation - Not sure how to introduce natural hazards or RISE Challenge to your students? Let us do that for you! Check out this easy to use PowerPoint presentation that will walk you through getting started with your students. (PDF Version)(PowerPoint Version)
NEW RISE Student Workbook - Walk your students through every step of the RISE Challenge program with this simple and easy to follow workbook. Background information, questions and helpful tips are included. Workbook even includes all the details you need to write the project proposal.
Discuss Natural Hazards
Definitions - Get started with your students by making sure they understand the difference between terms like hazard and disaster, preparedness and mitigation.
Start with a game - Have your students (upper elementary and middle school) begin their natural hazards research by determining how much they already know and how ready they are for a disaster. FEMA's Ready.gov kids games are a great place to start.
Students not sure they can really make a difference in their community? Share this true story to help change their minds!
National Risk Index - Investigate natural hazard risks for specific counties or for different areas of the country.
Issue Investigation and Solution Research
Hazard Preparedness -
Natural Disaster Preparedness Questions - Investigative questions to help spark curiosity into school and community preparedness for natural disasters
FEMA Youth-Focused Resources - Preparedness activities, resources, and helpful information. Whole section for educators.
Illinois School and Campus Safety Resource Center - excellent resources for K-12 and Higher Ed institutions on how to handle a wide range of issues.
Hazard Mitigation -
Natural Disaster Mitigation Questions - Investigative questions to help spark curiosity into school and community methods to reduce or eliminate long-term risk to life and property from hazards.
What hazards might occur in your county or community? Determine risk level for any natural hazard. Multi-Hazard Risk by County.
FEMA Natural Hazard Mitigation Strategies - This resource provides both background information on a wide variety of natural hazards and ideas for reducing risk of disaster from those hazards.
Illinois Hazard Mitigation Strategies - Take a look at which natural hazards pose the biggest threat to communities in IL and what our state is doing on each of those issues.
Interested in how natural hazards and natural disasters impact agriculture? Check out this informational brochure with lots of additional resources and links.
Specific Flood/Water Related Information -
Flood Factor - Past floods, current risks and future projections based on peer-reviewed research from the world's leading flood modelers. Find your home, school or community to see the risk of flood events.
IL FloodMaps - IL State Water Survey has provided extensive maps of Flood Insurance Rates and local watersheds. This information can be very helpful in investigating flooding issues down to the county and city levels.
Is Illinois Ready for a Flood? - This site is filled with ideas, resources and information about what to do before, during and after a flood in Illinois.
Looking for information on local water related projects in your community? Illinois State Water Survey has extensive information on current, past and potential future water related projects in counties throughout the state -
Groundwater Science
Watershed Science
Surface Water Resources
General Flood Information -
FEMA Kids Flood Facts
Where to Begin Presentation - Not sure how to introduce natural hazards or RISE Challenge to your students? Let us do that for you! Check out this easy to use PowerPoint presentation that will walk you through getting started with your students. (PDF Version)(PowerPoint Version)
NEW RISE Student Workbook - Walk your students through every step of the RISE Challenge program with this simple and easy to follow workbook. Background information, questions and helpful tips are included. Workbook even includes all the details you need to write the project proposal.
Discuss Natural Hazards
Definitions - Get started with your students by making sure they understand the difference between terms like hazard and disaster, preparedness and mitigation.
Start with a game - Have your students (upper elementary and middle school) begin their natural hazards research by determining how much they already know and how ready they are for a disaster. FEMA's Ready.gov kids games are a great place to start.
Students not sure they can really make a difference in their community? Share this true story to help change their minds!
National Risk Index - Investigate natural hazard risks for specific counties or for different areas of the country.
Issue Investigation and Solution Research
Hazard Preparedness -
Natural Disaster Preparedness Questions - Investigative questions to help spark curiosity into school and community preparedness for natural disasters
FEMA Youth-Focused Resources - Preparedness activities, resources, and helpful information. Whole section for educators.
- STEP - Student Tools for Emergency Planning; classroom-based emergency preparedness curriculum for 4th- and 5th-graders in an easy, ready-to-teach format.
- Prepare with Pedro - This is a preparedness activity book for K-5 students.
- Ready 2 Help - This is a training program that educates individuals in providing first care if they’re at the scene of an emergency. It contains a card game similar to “Apples to Apples.”
- Build a Kit - This is a game students can play to learn what to include in a natural disaster preparedness kit in different situations.
Illinois School and Campus Safety Resource Center - excellent resources for K-12 and Higher Ed institutions on how to handle a wide range of issues.
- Guide to Developing Severe Weather Emergency Plan
- IEMA's Severe Weather Preparedness Guide
- Specific natural hazards resources on lightning, flooding, earthquakes, winter weather, tornadoes and extreme heat.
Hazard Mitigation -
Natural Disaster Mitigation Questions - Investigative questions to help spark curiosity into school and community methods to reduce or eliminate long-term risk to life and property from hazards.
What hazards might occur in your county or community? Determine risk level for any natural hazard. Multi-Hazard Risk by County.
FEMA Natural Hazard Mitigation Strategies - This resource provides both background information on a wide variety of natural hazards and ideas for reducing risk of disaster from those hazards.
Illinois Hazard Mitigation Strategies - Take a look at which natural hazards pose the biggest threat to communities in IL and what our state is doing on each of those issues.
Interested in how natural hazards and natural disasters impact agriculture? Check out this informational brochure with lots of additional resources and links.
Specific Flood/Water Related Information -
Flood Factor - Past floods, current risks and future projections based on peer-reviewed research from the world's leading flood modelers. Find your home, school or community to see the risk of flood events.
IL FloodMaps - IL State Water Survey has provided extensive maps of Flood Insurance Rates and local watersheds. This information can be very helpful in investigating flooding issues down to the county and city levels.
Is Illinois Ready for a Flood? - This site is filled with ideas, resources and information about what to do before, during and after a flood in Illinois.
Looking for information on local water related projects in your community? Illinois State Water Survey has extensive information on current, past and potential future water related projects in counties throughout the state -
Groundwater Science
Watershed Science
Surface Water Resources
General Flood Information -
FEMA Kids Flood Facts
Helpful Tools and Information from Other RISE Programs
RISE Challenge CO Teacher Share Out webinar - hear stories and insights from educators that have been participating in RISE Challenge in Colorado for years.