Weather

Standard/Benchmark:

Content Standard: K-4
    STANDARD: Earth and Space Science
         Content Standard D: Changes in Earth and Sky
               Benchmark: Weather changes from day to day and over the seasons. 

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Leaning Goals: What should the students know?

• The students will understand that weather varies all across the United States and the world.
• The students will be able to recognize weather patterns in their region.
• The students will be able to recognize that there are many factors that influence temperature in a region.

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Formative Assessment: What do the students already know?

• Students have a common misconception about the causation of temperature because of their personal experience with weather in the area in which they live.

Formative Assessment Question

One spring day the hottest temperature in the U.S. was 90 ̊F. What was the weather like at the place where it was 90 ̊F?

• a. It was sunny. 
• b. It was very humid. 
• c. There was no wind. 
• d. More than one of the above was true. 
• e. More information is needed.

# of Responses

E: 11% (n=1186)

Answers and Information

The most frequent responses were D (39%), A (31%) and B (14%). Students might have been drawing more on personal experience than on knowledge of the weather when answering this item. 

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Learning Performances: What do you want students to do to show they've learned?

• Students will begin a classroom discussion about the yearly temperatures in our area. 
• Questions to prompt this discussion are: 
• What is the coldest/hottest day that you can remember? 
• What time of year was it? 
• Why do you think it was so cold/hot that day? 
• How does temperature change during the year? 
• What factors do you think affect these changes in temperature?
• Students will first think for 1 minute, then pair and share their ideas with classmates and teacher. 
• Students will begin thinking about the temperature patterns in our city. 
• Students will continue discussion about temperatures around the world.
• Questions to prompt this discussion are:
• Are the temperatures the same or different in other areas around the globe? Why or why not? 
• Where do you think the hottest/coldest parts of the world are?
• Students will begin to think about the different temperatures around the world.
• Students will be presented with a large world map and begin to fill in their hometown  area in a color in accordance to the students' believed current temperature of the area.
•  The following colors would be used: less than 0ºF, 0-20ºF, 20-40ºF, 40-60ºF, 60-80ºF, 80-100ºF, greater than 100ºF. 
• Students will be paired up and complete a temperature map using the color key.
• Students will then compare their findings with that on this world temperature map: http://www.wunderground.com/data/images/world_highs24.gif . (Or one similar if this one isn't working.)
• Students will look at what areas on the world temperature map and their hand-made map and discuss the similarities and differences. Students will explain why they believe there are differences.
• What factors influence temperature?
• Students will learn about the many factors that influence temperature through discussion. 
• Students will be given 3 factors, preferably one's that the students came up with for explanations for temperature differences, and will write HOW they think temperature changes, WHY they think it changes, and then come up with a plan on how they might investigate each factor further.
•  For Example: the effect that day and night has on the daily changes in temperature. 

Factor	How	Why	Investigative Plan
Day and night:	Example: I think that during the day, it will be hotter while during the night, it will be cooler.	Example: That's because the sun is out during the day and heats up the earth.	Example: I plan to record the temperature at night and day over a series of weeks to determine if there is any relationship

• They will do the same with the next three.

Latitude:   
Elevation:   
Local Geography: 
(source: http://www.ciese.org/curriculum/weatherproj2/en/lessonC1.shtml)

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1. Explain how the learning performance you chose would help you understand what students know about the standard you identified (learning goals: what students should know).

The learning performance would help me understand what my students know about Earth and Space Science because it would allow the students to first formulate and express their own opinions on how temperature is displayed around the globe and also communicate to develop new factors that may influence temperature.

2. Explain how your Learning Performance contains all five features of inquiry.

Engaged- The students will be engaged with the telling of their personal weather experiences through class discussion. It will get them to ask and answer questions. Students will be guided to reliable sources with the display of the national temperature map. 

Evidence-The students give priority to the evidence displayed on the national temperature map. They can see that the temperatures displayed are those of the truth and can then compare and contrast their own constructed graphs with the real one. 

Explanations-The students will formulate explanations through comparing and contrasting the evidence and the graph that was made by each student. They may be in shock or be upset because they have to disregard their prior knowledge and focus on what the evidence is telling them. 

Evaluate-The students will evaluate temperature changes through their investigative plan. This is a way for students to refine their original ideas with external sources.

Communicate-The students will communicate their findings with their peers and successfully justify their findings in a presentation to the class and "meteorologists". Students will be more apt to put forth their best effort when they believe that they are presenting to weather forecasters.