Designed by Irene Spiros Hometown School, Hometown, Illinois

Introduction

This project was created as part of the Oak Lawn-Hometown District Mini Grant Workshop 2000-2001.

Weather is the condition of the air that blankets our earth.  It is structured around four "ingredients": sun, earth, air, and water.  These ingredients work synergistically to make it hot/cold, cloudy/sunny, or windy/calm.  They may also produce rain, snow, or hail.

The purpose of this unit is to help students understand that weather affects everyone.  The clothes we wear, how we spend our free time, even our feelings can be tied to the weather.  The students will also begin to learn how to use the internet to find out what the weather is like in other parts of the world.  They will also be recording their findings, comparing/contrasting using a Venn Diagram, as well as using the Interactive Weather Maker to be able to control the weather by changing the temperature.

Content Area and Grade Level

This is a part of a first grade science unit on weather.  It also incorporates language arts, math, and social studies.

Curriculum Standards

The following Illinois State Learning Standards are addressed in "Wild About Weather:"

Reading and Language Arts Standards Addressed
3.A.1   Construct complete sentences
3.C.1a  Write for a variety of purposes
4.B.1b  Participate in discussions around a common topic
5.C.1b  Use print, non-print, human and technological resources to acquire and use information

Math Standards Addressed
7.A.1d Read temperatures to the nearest degree from Celsius and Fahrenheit thermometers

Science Standards Addressed
12.E.1b Identify and describe patterns of weather and seasonal change 

Social Studies Standards Addressed
17.A.1 Describe physical characteristics of places using a globe and maps 

Implementation Overview

This unit is a multi-disciplinary unit which will be implemented over approximately a two week period. It is a part of our science unit on weather.

• Students will learn that one universal aspect of weather is that it affects everyone.
• Students will (whole class) complete a KWL chart about weather (what we know about weather, what we want to know about weather, and what we learned about weather).
• Students will use a thermometer to measure the outside temperature.
• Students will use the internet (groups of 2-3) to track the weather in another country and compare/contrast it with their own using a venn diagram.
• Students will record the temperature and weather on a temperature graph and weather calendar each day (one for their town and one for the foreign country).  All graphs and charts should be labeled with the date and town/country.
• Students will use the internet to see what it's like to be a real weather person and actually control the weather using the Interactive Weather Maker.
• Students will keep a weather journal to describe the weather (and any changes in the weather) for that day. 
• Students will use maps and globes to locate where they live and where the other country is that they are tracking. 
• Students will participate in a creative writing activity, in which they will imagine a day without weather and describe what the day would be like and how they felt.
• Student groups will share with the class what they learned about the country they were tracking (e.g. tell how the weather was the same/different from their own town) and also show to the rest of the class where that country is located on the map/globe.  They will also use their dated and labeled temperature graphs, weather calendars, and Venn diagrams to help help/guide them with their presentations.

Resources Needed

The following resources are needed to complete this lesson:

Materials
Outdoor thermometer
Maps/globes

Books
What Will the Weather Be? Lynda DeWitt
Weather Seymour Simon
Weather Forecasting Gail Gibbons
The Big Storm Bruce Carlstrom
Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs Judi Barrett
I Love You Papa, in all Kinds of Weather Nancy White Carlstrom

Internet Sites
The Weather Dude (for temperature graph)
The Weather Channel  (for local weather)
Intellicast (for world weather)
Winter Storms (Also titled Interactive Weather Maker)
Observing the Weather Today (for weather calendar)

Entry Level Skills and Knowledge

The students will need to have a basic knowledge about weather.  They will also need to have some understanding of maps and globes as well as a concept of what a country is.

The teacher will need to develop a good understanding of navigating the websites and how to have the students navigate the websites to find and record the weather for their town and country.

Evaluation

The students will be evaluated on their completed daily weather journals, weather calendars, temperature graphs, and oral presentation of their findings.

Conclusion

Upon concluding the unit, the students will hopefully have a better understanding of how weather affects them personally.  They will also have an understanding that weather changes and may be different in other parts of the the world.  Students will also have developed cooperative learning skills by working together, research skills by using the internet, and higher-order thinking skills by evaluating and applying what they researched to their own lives.