Download Extreme Weather on Earth Overview

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Activityengage
E XT R E M E W E AT H E R O N
E A RT H
WhatisextremeweatherlikeonEarth?Whatfactorscontributeto
extremeweather?
OVERVIEW
Studentsusepriorknowledge,aphotogallery,andavideotodiscusswhatthey
alreadyknowaboutextremeweatheronEarthandbrainstormandcategorizea
listofweather-relatedwordsandphrases.Thentheyidentifythenecessary
conditionsforweathereventstooccur,andthefactorsthataffectextreme
weather.Studentsorganizeinformationaboutweathereventsandconditions,
identifypatterns,andmakeconnectionsbetweenweatherandclimate.
Forthecompleteactivitywithmediaresources,visit:
http://www.nationalgeographic.org/activity/extreme-weather-on-earth/
Program
DIRECTIO NS
1.Activatestudents’priorknowledgeaboutextremeweatheronEarth.
Ask:WhatdoyouknowaboutextremeweatheronEarth?Havestudents
brainstormalistofweather-relatedwordsandphrases.Writetheirresponses
ontheboard.Thenaskstudentstosortthelistintologicalcategories,suchas
typesofweather,toolstomeasureweather,andeffectsofweather.
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2.Discussaphotogalleryofextremeweather.
Tellstudentstheywilllookataphotogalleryofextremeweatherandthen
watchavideoaboutweather.DisplaythephotogalleryExtremeWeather.Invite
volunteerstoreadaloudeachcaption.Then,showtheNationalGeographic
video“Weather101.”Askstudentstodescribetheextremeweatherevents.
Thenask:Whatarethenecessaryconditionsforeachweathereventtooccur?
Elicitresponsesfromstudentssuchas:differencesincirculatingairmasses,
clashingwarmandcoolairmasses(fronts),andjetstreams.Ask:Whatarethe
factorsthataffectextremeweather?Elicitresponsesfromstudentssuchas:the
sun(temperature),water(precipitation),andotheratmosphericconditionslike
jetstream,pressure,wind,humidity,andclouds.
3.HavestudentscompletetheworksheetWeatherInvestigation.
DistributeacopyoftheworksheetWeatherInvestigationtoeachstudent.Read
aloudthedirectionsandgoovertheprovidedanswer.Allowstudentstogather
andorganizetheinformationtheyhavelearnedaboutweatherandatmospheric
conditionspresentforeachtypeofweather.Theiranswersshouldincludethe
following:
Tornado:clouds,strongwind,rain,hail
Hurricaneorcyclone:strongwind,heavyrain
Blizzard:heavysnow,ice,coldtemperatures
Duststorm:strongwinds,aridconditions
Flood:heavyrainfall
Hailstorm:coldorwarmtemperatures,rain,ice
Icestorm:freezingrain
Afterstudentshavecompletedtheworksheet,ask:Whatpatternsdoyousee?
4.Havestudentsmakeconnectionsbetweenweatherandclimate.
Ask:Whatisclimate?Howdoesclimaterelatetoweather?Somestudentsmay
understandthattheclimateinareasclosertotheEquatorhasfewerextremes
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thanintheareasfartherawayfromtheEquator.Makesurestudents
understandthatthetermweatherdescribesconditionsintheatmosphereover
ashortperiodoftime.Thetermclimatedescribesweatherpatternsofa
particularregionoveralongerperiod,usually30yearsormore.Climateisan
averagepatternofweatherforaparticularregion.Buildbackgroundby
providingthefollowingexample:TheweatherinWisconsincanvaryfromdayto
day.Somedayscanbeverywarm,withrecordtemperaturesover
100˚Fahrenheit(F),withothersummerdaysnotevenreaching70˚F.Winter
temperaturescanvaryjustasmuch.Theclimatehowever,isatrendoveran
extendedperiodoftime.TemperaturetrendsintheMidwestshowanoverall
warmingofbetween0.3˚Fto1.8˚Ffromdatacollectedduringtheperiodof
1895-2006.
InformalAssessment
Askstudentstoorallydescribe:
examplesofweatheronEarthandtheatmosphericconditionspresent
thedifferencebetweenweatherandclimate
O BJECTIVES
Subjects&Disciplines
Science
Earthscience
Meteorology
LearningObjectives
Studentswill:
listandfindpatternsintheconditionsrequiredforweathereventstooccur
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describethesimilaritiesanddifferencesbetweenweatherandclimate
TeachingApproach
Learning-for-use
TeachingMethods
Brainstorming
Discussions
Multimediainstruction
Visualinstruction
SkillsSummary
Thisactivitytargetsthefollowingskills:
CriticalThinkingSkills
Analyzing
Understanding
NationalStandards,Principles,and
Practices
N AT I O N A L S C I E N C E E DU C AT I O N S TA N DA RDS
•(5-8)StandardD-1:
Structureoftheearthsystem
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PREPARATIO N
WhatYou’llNeed
M AT E RI A LS YO U P RO V I DE
Pencils
Pens
RE Q U I RE D T E C H N O LO G Y
InternetAccess:Required
TechSetup:1computerperclassroom,Projector,Speakers
Plug-Ins:Flash
P H Y S I C A L S PA C E
Classroom
G RO U P I N G
Large-groupinstruction
RE S O U RC E S P RO V I DE D: U N DE F I N E D
Weather101
RE S O U RC E S P RO V I DE D: H A N DO U T S & W O RK S H E E T S
WeatherInvestigation
RE S O U RC E S P RO V I DE D: I M A G E S
ExtremeWeather(Grades6-8)
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BACKGRO U ND & VO CABU L ARY
BackgroundInformation
Thetermweatherdescribesconditionsintheatmosphereoverashortperiodof
time.Climatedescribesweatherpatternsofaparticularregionoveralonger
period,usually30yearsormore.Climateisanaveragepatternofweatherfora
particularregion.Identifyingpatternsintheatmosphericconditionsofextreme
weathereventscanhelpyouunderstandEarth'sweathersystem.
PriorKnowledge
[]
RecommendedPriorActivities
DesignaSpaceProbe
ExtremeWeatherinOurSolarSystem
Jupiter'sGreatRedSpot
MeasuringWeather
SpaceProbes
Vocabulary
Term
airmass
Partof
Definition
Speech
noun
alargevolumeofairthatismostlyconsistent,horizontally,
intemperatureandhumidity.
airpressure noun
forcepressedonanobjectbyairoratmosphere.
atmosphere noun
layersofgasessurroundingaplanetorothercelestialbody.
blizzard
stormwithhighwinds,intensecold,heavysnow,andlittle
noun
rain.
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Term
Partof
climate
noun
duststorm
noun
Equator
noun
extreme
weather
Definition
Speech
noun
flood
noun
front
noun
hail
noun
allweatherconditionsforagivenlocationoveraperiodof
time.
weatherpatternofwindblowingdustoverlargeregionsof
land.
imaginarylinearoundtheEarth,anotherplanet,orstar
runningeast-west,0degreeslatitude.
rareandsevereeventsintheEarth'satmosphere,suchas
heatwavesorpowerfulcyclones.
overflowofabodyofwaterontoland.
boundarybetweenairmassesofdifferenttemperatures
andhumidities.
precipitationthatfallsasice.
tropicalstormwithwindspeedsofatleast119kilometers
hurricane
noun
(74miles)perhour.Hurricanesarethesamethingas
typhoons,butusuallylocatedintheAtlanticOceanregion.
jetstream
noun
precipitationnoun
temperature noun
windsspeedingthroughtheupperatmosphere.
allformsinwhichwaterfallstoEarthfromtheatmosphere.
degreeofhotnessorcoldnessmeasuredbyathermometer
withanumericalscale.
stateoftheatmosphere,includingtemperature,
weather
noun
atmosphericpressure,wind,humidity,precipitation,and
cloudiness.
ForFurtherExploration
Articles&Profiles
NationalGeographicEducation:Article—MeteorologicalSleuth
NationalGeographicEducation:Profile—Real-WorldGeography:Dr.Randall
Cerveny
Websites
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NOAA:SatelliteandInformationService—ExtremeWeatherandClimate
Events
NatGeoMovies:WildestWeatherintheSolarSystem
FU NDER
©1996–2017NationalGeographicSociety.Allrightsreserved.
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