EDU /31 Elementary Science Methods 5E Weather Unit Unit Plan

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1 EDU /31 Elementary Science Methods 5E Weather Unit Unit Plan Unit Title: Weather Changes and Measurements Teacher: Mr. Colgrove/Dr. Leonard Grade Level: 4 Duration: 8 days (Lesson 1 requires data collection over a 3-week period; many lessons require time throughout one or more school days for weather observations/data collection) Number of Lessons: 7 Dates: April 19 April 25, 2012 (But start Lesson 1 on March 26) Description of the Unit: Students will observe and explore how weather is always changing and how it can be measured in terms of temperature, wind direction and speed, and precipitation. Standards (Benchmarks): Note: this item has changed in the current unit plan format, because of new national standards. AAAS 4B/E5a: The weather is always changing and can be described by measurable quantities such as temperature, wind direction and speed, and precipitation. MT 4.4: Observe and describe the water cycle and the local weather and demonstrate how weather conditions are measured MT 1.2: Select and use appropriate tools including technology to make measurements (including metric units) and represent results of basic scientific investigations. Learning Objectives of the Unit: 1. Concepts: Students will be able to explain how the weather is always changing. observe, measure, and report the weather in terms of temperature, wind, and precipitation compare the amount of moisture in different forms of precipitation (snow, sleet, rain) describe wind in terms of its speed and direction. 2. Skills: Students will be able to organize data into a chart properly use and collect measurements from weather instruments: thermometer, rain gauge, snow gauge, wind vane, and anemometer make a graph from data and interpret the graph Assumptions: Based on the AAAS Atlas of Science Literacy Vol.2, students will already understand that The temperature and amount of rain (or snow) tend to be high, low, or medium in the same months every year.(4b/p1) Change is something that happens to many things. (4C/P2) Air is a material that surrounds us and takes up space and whose movement we feel as wind. (4B/E4) Students will also be able to use a thermometer and use and develop charts and data tables. These assumptions are based on skills students will have developed to accomplish the benchmarks (i.e., 1B/P1, 9A/P4, 9A/P5) in the preceding grade band (K-2). Alternate Conceptions: Note: this item has changed in the current unit plan format, because of new national standards. Students sometimes think that clouds move when we move, that clouds and rain are independent and that clouds foretell rain. Also, clouds block and slow down wind, while cold produces fast wind. Another

2 5E Unit Plan Example - Weather 2 alternate conception is that cold days are caused by the clouds covering the sun. Also, snow and ice make it cold (Henriques, 2000). Assessments: 1. Pre assessments These will be used at the beginning of each big idea: asking questions about weather experiences and predictions to see what students understand about weather changes and that it can be measured (Lesson 1); asking questions about thermometers and temperatures at various locations to see what students think about temperatures in different places (Lesson 2); asking questions about precipitation to see what students think about how it may compare in different places (Lesson 3); asking students how they think sleet and snow are measured, and which is wetter (sleet, snow, or rain) (Lesson 4); asking questions to see what students think about wind direction and its effects on weather (Lesson 5); and asking questions to see what students think about wind speed and its effects on weather (Lesson 6). 2. Formative assessments Assess how students organized data on a chart; and their understanding about how weather can change over time and from place to place, using three short answer questions (Lesson 1). Use two multiple-choice questions about temperature and location and have students provide their reasoning behind their answers. Goal: to see to how well students understand temperature is a measurement of weather and it varies throughout the day and from place to place (Lesson 2). Use short answer questions that ask students to discuss how precipitation may be based on location and time. Goal: to see if we need to spend more time on precipitation and how it is a measure of weather (Lesson 3). Use a checklist for students proficiency in measuring the different forms of precipitation; give a question that has volumes of each and ask them to compare their relative moisture levels. Goal: assess how well students understand volume vs. moisture in different forms of precipitation (Lesson 4). Students use their wind vanes to answer three questions about wind direction. Goal: assess students abilities to use the wind vane (Lesson 5). Students use their anemometer to determine wind speed for two scenarios. Goal: see if students can interpret data, use the weather instrument, and accurately read it (Lesson 6). 3. Summative assessment Students will be given a challenge project that contains data from another location in Montana. Students will use their understandings from the unit to explain what the data means for the weather at the location and create a mini-weather report to share with the class. (Lesson 7). Instructional Sequence: Lesson 1: How can we describe weather? General Objective/Description: Students will observe daily weather over a 3-week period. Unit-Level Learning Objective(s): Students will be able to explain how the weather is always changing.

3 5E Unit Plan Example - Weather 3 Duration: Lesson 1 will require a total of 75 min + 3 weeks (25 min on day one, 10 minutes /day over a period of 3 weeks, and 50 min the day following) Driving Question: How can we describe the weather from day to day? Overview: This lesson sets the foundation for the rest of the unit. Students will be given a Weather Chart, and will make observations of the weather: temperature, wind, cloud coverage, and precipitation. After the data is collected, we will have a class period to discuss observations individuals made and posted on the class Weather Chart. Through discussion, the teacher will help students analyze the data and come to the conclusion that weather is always changing. After this students will seek out weather patterns and changes in different regions around the globe. This lesson introduces students to the characteristics of weather that will make up the rest of the unit. It also gives students practice in observing weather, which will be required in later lessons. Lesson 2: To varying degrees General Objective/Description: Students will use a weather instrument to measure temperature and compare data from different places and times of day. weather in terms of temperature. Duration: 70 minutes; in addition, 5 minutes/hour during the day. Driving Question: What affects the temperature of a place? Overview: This lesson introduces students to instruments that will allow them to measure temperature. Students will be asked a series of questions about temperature and what happens over the day and in different places. Students will then be asked to use a thermometer to take measurements around the school grounds. From these data students will come to the idea that temperature can be measured and does vary from place to place. As an extension, students will measure the outside temperature throughout the day to see if it changes. After these activities, students will complete two multiple-choice questions and give their reasons for their answers. Lesson 3: Gauging the rain General Objective/Description: Students will use a weather instrument to measure the precipitation. weather in terms of precipitation. Duration: 45 minutes; in addition, 5 minutes each morning and afternoon of the next two days for students to check their rain gauges. Driving Question: How much precipitation do we get? Overview: This lesson introduces students to instruments that will allow them to measure precipitation. Students will be asked about what precipitation is and how it can be measured. Students will then learn about a rain gauge and how to use it. Students will place rain gauges throughout the school grounds and take measurements for several days. The data will be organized into a chart and shared with other classmates. From these data students will be guided to realize that precipitation does vary over time and place. As an extension students will also be asked to think about and explain the relationship between precipitation and clouds, and precipitation and temperature. Lesson 4: How wet is wet? General Objective/Description: Students will use weather instruments to measure snow and sleet. Unit-Level Learning Objective(s): Students will be able to compare the amount of moisture in different forms of precipitation (snow, sleet, rain).

4 5E Unit Plan Example - Weather 4 Duration: 45 minutes (if the weather provides snow or sleet, students will use instruments to measure the actual precipitation). Driving Question: How does the moisture in snow, sleet, and rain compare? Overview: This lesson introduces students to instruments that will allow them to measure snow and sleet in addition to rain, which they measured in the previous lesson. Students will be asked to predict how new forms of precipitation, snow and sleet, can be measured, based on what they know about measuring rain. Students will then learn how rain gauges are used to measure sleet and how snow gauges work for measuring snow. They will look at data collected in the past year from the local weather station and compare volume to wetness of these different forms of precipitation. From these data, students will be guided to conclude that rain, snow, and sleet are all forms of precipitation but have different moisture levels in relation to the depth accumulated. If the weather cooperates, students will use these gauges to measure snow and sleet! As a formative assessment, students will be given a scenario with drawings of different levels of snow, sleet, and rain, and asked to compare their relative amount of water. Lesson 5: Here comes the wind General Objective/Description: Students will use a weather instrument to measure the wind direction. weather in terms of wind; describe wind in terms of its direction. Duration: 55 minutes; in addition, 5 minutes per morning and afternoon of the next two days for students to measure wind direction with their wind vanes. Driving Question: How can we describe the wind? Overview: This lesson introduces students to instruments that will allow them to measure direction of wind. In this lesson students are asked how wind can be described. Then students build a wind vane. Students use a fan in several locations to create a breeze to test the wind vane. Students will then be led in a discussion on their observations and how the vane determines direction of the wind. Then students place their vane outdoors to collect data about the wind and how it varies throughout the day and from day to day. They are asked to find any relationships between wind and other weather conditions. Then students are asked to compare their results to TV weather and newspapers. Finally students are assessed on their understanding of the concept asking three wind direction questions. Lesson 6: How fast does the wind blow? General Objective/Description: Students will use a weather instrument to measure wind speed. weather in terms of wind; describe wind in terms of its speed. Duration: 50 minutes; In addition, 5 minutes / hour for students to check wind speed. Driving Question: What other ways can we describe the wind? Overview: This lesson introduces students to instruments that will allow them to measure wind speed. In this lesson students are asked what other ways wind may be described. Students (or the teacher) will construct the anemometer that will be used for the exploration. Students will use a fan to measure wind speed and the effect that distance from wind source may have. Students share how the weather instrument works and their results. Students are given a wind speed chart that they will use to compare with their own readings. Students will use their anemometers throughout the school grounds and a various times to see how wind speed may vary from place to place and over time. Students will then be given questions to respond to about their anemometer.

5 5E Unit Plan Example - Weather 5 Lesson 7: Weather Reporters - Summative Assessment General Objective/Description: Students will apply their knowledge that weather is always changing and the ways it is measured this is the summative assessment. Unit-Level Learning Objective(s): All Duration: 45 minutes Driving Question: N/A (summative assessment) Overview: This lesson concludes the unit. Students will be given a challenge project that contains data from another location in Montana. Students will use their understandings from the prior lessons to explain what the data means and what the weather is like at their new location, creating a mini-weather report to share with the class. This is the summative assessment for the unit. Materials & Resources: Used in creating the unit American Association for the Advancement of Science (2001). Atlas of Science Literacy, Vol. 2. Washington, DC: American Association for the Advancement of Science Bass, J.E., Contant, T.L., & Carin, A.A. (2009). Weather Teaching Science as Inquiry (11 th Ed), pp. A Henriques, L. (2000). Children s misconceptions about weather: A review of the literature. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the National Association of Research in Science Teaching, New Orleans, LA.