Meaningful Meteorology

Overview

Students will learn to:

• Observe and record weather patterns
• Process data by creating graphs/charts
• Compare actual weather data from the Siberian Arctic to local weather patterns, draw conclusions and make future predictions concerning weather patterns.

Big Idea

Why do people need to track weather over time?

Lesson Preparation

You will need a thermometer, tracking calendar, and a weather bar graph.

Procedure

1. Activate prior knowledge- Sing "Head, Shoulder, Knees, and Toes" 2x as a group. Touch your head then your shoulders and stop. Ask, “What comes next? How do you know?” Say: “Patterns repeat themselves over and over again, which makes them predictable.”
2. Have a class discussion about the seasons. What weather do we expect in Saratoga, Wyoming (replace with your own location) in the winter? spring? summer? fall?
3. Introduce the class to the tool you will be using - a thermometer. Tell them that over the next 30 days we will be using the thermometer to tell us the temperature outside. We will also have to observe and record the weather (sunny, partly cloudy, windy, rainy, stormy, snowy).
4. On chart paper, make predictions about anticipated weather and weather patterns for the month.
5. Incorporate collecting the temperature and weather as part of your daily routine.
6. Record your findings on a blank calendar, as well as the weather bar graph.
7. At the conclusion of the month ask students: What do you notice? Are there any patterns? Why is it important to track the weather over time?
8. Revisit predictions about weather patterns you made at the start of the month. Did your predictions match your findings?
9. Compare your local weather patterns with those of the 2019 June Siberian weather data in the Lesson Materials.
10. Allow students to create posters using illustrations and words to demonstrate their conclusions.
11. Share findings with another class.
12. Ask students what new questions they have.

Extension

Select another location. Make predictions about the weather patterns in that location. Track and collect weather data online over the next 30 days and compare your findings to your predictions. Draw conclusions. Share your data with the class.

Transferability

While this lesson is designed for a kindergarten classroom, it can be easily adapted for upper grades by integrating additional data from various parts of the globe and comparing weather patterns on a larger scale over a longer period of time. Students can also look at warming temperatures around the world using real weather data from resources such as NOAA-National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. In the upper grades it is also vital to differentiate between weather (the day to day state of the atmosphere) and climate (the weather of a place averaged over a period of time i.e. 30 years).

Resources

Included in the Lesson Materials is:

• Calendar for Data Collection
• Weather Bar Graph
• June 2019 Temperature and Weather Data
• Sample calendar: June 2019 NE Science Station Weather Data

Assessment

Formative Assessment: Initiate a student discussion "Why do people need to track the weather over time?". Summative Assessment: Allow students to create posters using illustrations and words to demonstrate their conclusions.

Author/Credits

Amanda Ruland, PolarTREC Educator 2019 Saratoga Elementary/Middle School Saratoga, WY agr5032 [at] gmail.com