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Objective(s)
Students will develop writing skills.
Students will improve speaking skills.
Students will use the Internet for research.
Students will understand how nature affects our lives.
Students will analyze patterns of events through graphs.
National Standards
Science: abilities necessary to do scientific inquiry.
Math: model situations using oral, written, concrete, pictorial,
graphical, and algebraic methods.
Summary
Students will use the weather web sites and e-mails from students
around the world to track weather events. Data will be collected,
displayed, and reported.
Technology and/or Materials Needed
- Computers with Internet access, including e-mail
- Spreadsheet software, i.e. Microsoft Excel
- large world map
- small round stickers in a variety of colors
- large poster paper for wall chart
Implementation Time Frame
September through November 23rd; hurricane season on the East
Coast of the U.S. but longer if interest remains. Time spent
in class consists of two to three class periods a week in science
and one class a week in Language Arts.
Activities
This unit will begin in Science class where students will
identify different types of weather events. For this unit, students
may work in small groups or individually and contributing one
class map and chart. Students will use the Internet to research
weather events and weather patterns from around the world. Students
will track these events by locating longitudes and latitudes
of reported events on a world map. Small round stickers in different
colors will be used to track different weather events: earthquakes,
hurricanes, tornadoes, snow storms, etc.
Students will also develop a method for classifying the weather
events and posting on a chart. Students will also various data,
wind speeds, temperatures, etc., in a spreadsheet and then graph
results. Hypotheses on the type of weather experiences children
are having around the world will result. This unit may be extended
by e-mailing students, as e-pals or keypals, around the country
to share weather.
In Language Arts, students will write brief reports that will
be broadcast over the morning announcements or reported on the
school TV/cable station. Topics will include the number and locations
of earthquakes, the categorizing of hurricanes, and other phenomena
like El Nino and La Nina. E-mail from other students around the
world will be read as well.
Assessment
Students will write weather reports and breaking news bulletins.
They will be assessed for correct use of meteorological accuracy,
writing skills, and language usage.
Resources and Related Links
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