OBJECTIVES:

1.Collect temperature and weather observation on a weekly basis.
2. Introduce the water cycle and its importance to the entire globe.
3.Compare different types of weather that occur throughout the world.
4.Learn the importance of temperature to explain weather.
5.Introduction to graphs to show how collecting temperature data can show change.

VOCABULARY:

meteorologist
data
weather
temperature
clouds
wind
thermometer

 
MATERIALS:

Class thermometer (indoor and outdoor)
weather data sheets
Temperature data (teacher)
Example and blanks for making graph
Folder or envelope to collect class data sheets

 
BACKGROUND:

Temperature helps explain changing weather on a rotating Earth. This is just an introduction to collect data and plot the information to see if temperature causes weather changes. Students will learn that the weather we experience is due to many factors. Weather depends partly on how close we are to land, water, and mountains, but it also depends on how the Earth rotates through space. Water from the oceans interacts with the atmosphere in a way that influences our weather as well. Movement of the atmosphere throughout the world helps explain weather patterns that we see.

Weather changes all the time. Weather is created in the atmosphere that envelops the Earth. Weather changes so much because the Earth is constantly spinning. Lands and water bodies heat up differently and that difference causes constant atmospheric change. Also note that "seasons" are not the same as weather. Seasons have to do with the angle of the solar radiation we receive caused by the tilt of the Earth's axis.

The focus of this long-term experiment is for students to act as scientists by collecting temperature and other weather data and plotting a class graph with the results. They will see how the class graph is useful for observing changes over time. This project will prepare students for the 1^st grade project, which focuses on light and seasons.

PROCEDURE:

 DATA SHEETS – Fill in one data sheet per week. Have students take turns filling in the data sheets with teacher assistance or have each child do one and put in there own personal data “pocket.”.

TEMPERATURE – Place the class thermometer outside in the shade before taking the temperature. The thermometer should be vertical. Students take the temperature in the same place and at the same time of day for each measurement. Measurements should be taken at least once a week from September 15 to March 31. Use the Fahrenheit side (°F) since that scale is what is most commonly used for weather in the United States or if you want use Centigrade.

Students will need help understanding the numbers. Teachers should have students try to identify the numbers where the red line ends on the thermometer. As they get more used to measuring temperature (focus of the first docent lesson) and learning their numbers, they will be able to read the numbers on their own.

CLOUDS – Students should look at the sky and see if there are clouds and what type they look like. They should mark the appropriate box. They will learn the cloud type names in the second lesson, but until then they can look at the pictures.

 WIND – Students should mark if there is no wind, a little wind or a lot of wind.

RAIN – Students should mark if there is no rain, a little rain or a lot of rain.

 Once the data sheet of the day is finished, it should be placed in the class data collection envelope until it is time to graph the data.

 After a few months, the class can start graphing the data on the class graph or you can start graphing from the first data. Using the dates at the bottom of the graph, record the temperature for that day. At the top of the graph, there are spaces for symbols or icons to record cloud, rain and wind conditions.

 Once the graph is done, ask students to look for patterns. What month was it coldest? What month was it warmest? What months did we get the most rain? Do you see some conditions that are the same most days?