Download Meteorology - School in the Park

SITP Curriculum 2009/10 – page 1
School In The Park Curriculum
SITP Curriculum for ____SDNHM____ (__5__) Rotation # __2__
Museum
grade level
TOPIC ________Meteorology__________
1. California State Standards Addressed
Content Standards
Earth Sciences
3. Water on Earth moves between the oceans and land through the
processes of evaporation and condensation. As a basis for understanding this
concept:
b. Students know when liquid water evaporates, it turns into water
vapor in the air and can reappear as a liquid when cooled or as a solid if
cooled below the freezing point of water.
c. Students know water vapor in the air moves from one place to
another and can form fog or clouds, which are tiny droplets of water or ice,
and can fall to Earth as rain, hail, sleet, or snow.
4. Energy from the Sun heats Earth unevenly, causing air movements that
result in changing weather patterns. As a basis for understanding this concept:
a. Students know uneven heating of Earth causes air movements
(convection currents).
c. Students know the causes and effects of different types of severe
weather.
d. Students know how to use weather maps and data to predict
local weather and know that weather forecasts depend on many variables.
e. Students know that the Earth’s atmosphere exerts a pressure
that decreases with distance above Earth’s surface and that at any point it
exerts this pressure equally in all directions.
Reading/Writing Standards Reading/Writing Standards
Reading
1.0 Word Analysis, Fluency, and Systematic Vocabulary Development
Students use their knowledge of word origins and word relationships, as
well as historical and literary context clues, to determine the meaning of
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specialized vocabulary and to understand the precise meaning of grade-levelappropriate words.
Word Recognition
1.1 Read aloud narrative and expository text fluently and accurately
and with appropriate pacing, intonation, and expression.
Written and Oral English Language Conventions
1.0 Written and Oral English Language Conventions
Students write and speak with a command of standard English
conventions appropriate to this grade level.
Sentence Structure
1.1 Identify and correctly use prepositional phrases, appositives,
and independent and dependent clauses; use transitions and conjunctions
to connect ideas.
Grammar
1.2 Identify and correctly use verbs that are often misused (e.g.,
lie/lay, sit/set, rise/raise), modifiers, and pronouns.
Capitalization
1.4 Use correct capitalization.
Listening and Speaking
2.0 Speaking Applications (Genres and Their Characteristics) Students
deliver well-organized formal presentations employing traditional rhetorical
strategies (e.g., narration, exposition, persuasion, description). Student
speaking demonstrates a command of standard American English and the
organizational and delivery strategies outlined in Listening and Speaking
Standard 1.0. (1.0 Listening and Speaking Strategies: Students deliver
focused, coherent presentations that convey ideas clearly and relate to the
background and interests of the audience. They evaluate the content of oral
communication.)
2.2 Deliver informative presentations about an important idea,
issue, or event by the following means:
b. Establish a controlling idea or topic.
c. Develop the topic with simple facts, details, examples, and
explanations.
Science Standards
Investigation and Experimentation
6. Scientific progress is made by asking meaningful questions and
conducting careful investigations. As a basis for understanding this concept and
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addressing the content in the other three strands, students should develop their
own questions and perform investigations.
f. Select appropriate tools (e.g., thermometers, meter sticks,
balances, and graduated cylinders) and make quantitative observations.
g. Record data by using appropriate graphic representations
(including charts, graphs, and labeled diagrams) and make inferences
based on those data.
h. Draw conclusions from scientific evidence and indicate whether
further information is needed to support a specific conclusion.
i. Write a report of an investigation that includes conducting tests,
collecting data or examining evidence, and drawing conclusions.
2. Instructional Goals & Objectives
Students know that weather is the result of the sun’s energy heating the earth
unevenly. Students should be able to recognize and use various weather
instruments, as well as interpret weather maps.
3. Key Vocabulary
Monday
Anemometer: an instrument that measures wind speed
Atmosphere: the blanket of air surrounding the earth
Barometer: an instrument that measures air pressure
Condensation: the process by which a gas turns into a liquid
Evaporation: the process by which a liquid turns into a gas
Forecast: a prediction of future weather
Humidity: the amount of water vapor in the air
Hygrometer: an instrument that measures humidity
Meteorologist: a scientist that studies weather
Meteorology: the study of weather
Precipitation: water that falls from clouds to the earth
Temperature: how hot or cold something is
Thermometer: an instrument that measures temperature
Water cycle: the continuous movement of water between the earth and the
atmosphere
Water vapor: the gas form of water
Weather: the condition of the atmosphere at a certain place and time
Wind: moving air
Wind vane: an instrument that measures wind direction
Tuesday
Convection: heat transfer by which heated fluid rises and cooler fluid sinks
Local wind: a wind that results from local changes in temperature
Prevailing wind: a global wind that constantly blows from the same
direction
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Wednesday
Air pressure: the weight of air in the atmosphere
Front: where two air masses are touching
Thursday
Hurricane: a tropical storm with winds of 74mph or more
Thunderstorm: storms that produce thunder and lightning
Tornado: a spinning column of air that extends from the base of a
cumulonimbus cloud to the ground
4. Days 1 – 5 Activity Descriptions
DAY 1
Purpose: To be able to measure weather and learn about the water cycle.
Outcome: By the end of today, you will be able to measure weather using
scientific instruments and explain how water moves around the atmosphere in
a cycle.
Activities:
Watch news forecast
Record temperatures on a weather map
Introduce weather and water cycle
Rotation A
Uneven Heating Experiment: heat dirt and water to see how the
sun heats the land and the ocean unevenly
Rotation B
Weather Measurements: use various weather instruments to
measure and record weather
DAY 2
Purpose: Today we will learn why the earth is heated un-evenly, do an
experiment modeling convection and measure weather.
Outcome: by the end of today, you will know what causes convection.
Activities:
Watch news forecast
Record evening temperatures on a weather map
Review uneven heating experiment
Rotation A
Convection Experiment: model atmospheric convection using dyed
water
Rotation B
Weather Measurements: collect weather data using weather
instruments
Uneven Heating in the Park: investigate uneven heating
throughout-the park-Introduce winds
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DAY 3
Purpose: Today we will study high and low air pressure.
Outcome: By the end of today, you will know that air exerts pressure.
Activities:
Review convection and winds
Watch news forecast
Record H and L pressure on a weather map
Introduce air pressure and fronts
Rotation A
Air pressure investigations: marshmallows in a bottle, upside downwater, low pressure balloons, hot and cold milk bottle
Rotation B
Air Pressure Measurements: measure the difference in air
pressure down in the Zoro Garden and on the museum rooftop
Bubbles: discover why bubbles are round
Day 4
Purpose: Today we will study various types of severe weather.
Outcome: By the end of today you will be able to identify various types of
severe weather and how these weather patterns form.
Activities:
Review fronts and air pressure
Watch news forecast
Record fronts on a weather map
Introduce extreme weather: thunderstorms, tornadoes, and hurricanes
Videos: watch some extreme weather movie clips
Rotation A
Groups prepare a weather forecast to present on Friday
Rotation B
Interpret week’s weather measurements
Practice using weather maps and forecasting
Day 5
Purpose: To be able to understand the information on a weather map and
describe it in words.
Outcome: By the end of today, you will be able to give a weather forecast
using cue cards that you have written.
Activities:
Watch news forecast
Finish preparing and present weather forecasts
Review Game: tables compete for points by answering review questions
Post Test
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5. Final Assessment Instrument
Label the water cycle diagram by writing the following words in the correct boxes
precipitation
evaporation
condensation
2.
3.
1.
4. The surface of the earth is heated unevenly because Earth’s axis is
tilted AND because __________________heat up and cool down at
different speeds.
a) clouds and smog
b) land and water
c) moon and sun
d) mantle and core
5. When fluids like air are heated, they
rise, cool, and then sink. This is called
a) radiation
b) convection
c) conducting
d) evaporation
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6. Bubbles are spherical (round) because _____________ is equal in all
directions.
a) air pressure
b) air temperature
c) humidity
d) air movement
7. The sea breeze blowing from the ocean during the day
reverses at night becoming a land breeze because ____________.
a) the land stays warm all through the night.
b) the air above the ocean is colder and rises above the land.
c) convection currents always move in the same direction.
d) the air above the ocean is now warmer than the air above the land.
L
Use the
weather map
to
answer questions
8, 9, and 10.
Showers
Rain
L
H
Dry
Thunderstorms
8. What does the letter “H” stand for on the map?
a) hot
b) high pressure
c) humid
d) heavy rain
9. The northwest is experiencing showers (raining on and off) because ________.
a) a cold front is moving in
b) there is a lot of air pressure there
c) a tornado formed there
d) a warm front is leaving the area
10. High pressure in Utah is causing __________ weather in San Diego.
a) low pressure
b) cool
c) humid
d) dry