Weather Condition Analysis

1. Bellringer - The teacher will ask the class how do they think meteorologists make predictions about the weather? 
2. Watch the following video (this can be watched on their devices or as a whole class): https://scetv.pbslearningmedia.org/resource/mgbh.math.sp.weatherfore/data-organization-and-representation-weather-forecasting/support-materials/
3. Have the students complete a 3-2-1 video activity in their science journals (this can be recorded on their devices if you are in a 1:1 environment).
   1. Students write three things they have learned from the video, two questions that they still have, and one aspect of the video that they enjoyed. 
   2. Students will share their answers with the class.
   3. The teacher will read these after the end of the first day and revisit at the conclusion of the lesson to make sure that their questions were answered.
4. The teacher will introduce the vocabulary (see the list in resources) to the class by using the Marzano method of teaching vocabulary words (Teaching Basic and Advanced Vocabulary: A Framework for Direct Instruction). The teacher introduces the word by using the student's background knowledge, students write the vocabulary words and definitions in their journal using their own definitions, students draw a picture of each word in their journal, and students pair-share the vocabulary words with a partner. 
5. While the students are reviewing the new vocabulary words, the teacher will put the following weather tools around the classroom: anemometer, wind vane, thermometer, sling psychrometers or hygrometers, and barometer (if your school does not have have any of the following tools, teachers can find the images online and share with the students). The tools need to have a card next to each tool indicating the name of the tool.
6. Students while in groups will go to each station and study each tool. They will write the name of the tool in their journal, draw a sketch, and then make a prediction as to the purpose of each tool. While they are doing this, the teacher will give each student five post-it notes. 
7. After discussion, the teacher will have the purpose of each tool on a chart paper and the students will write the name of the tool on a post-it note and attach it to their guess. One chart paper will have “Wind Speed,” this is for the anemometer. Another will have “Wind Direction,” this is for the weather vane. Another will have “Temperature,” this is for the thermometer. Another will have “Humidity,” this is for the sling psychrometers or hygrometers. Another one will have “Air Pressure,” this is for the barometer.    
8. After the students’ guesses, the teacher will break down each of the details of each tool to demonstrate what each tool measures, thus revealing the correct answer. The students will write down in their journal what each tool measures.
9. The teacher will review cloud types by having the students watch the following video: https://scetv.pbslearningmedia.org/resource/nvcl.sci.earth.types/why-so-many-cloud-types/. Students will write down how the video discusses cirrus, stratus, and cumulus. The teacher will review cumulonimbus clouds and definition. 
10. Students will then go outside with the weather tools and their journals for the next five days. Each day, every group will use each tool and record the measurement of the tool in their journal with the date and time.  (If you do not have access to a tool, then they can go to www.scetv.org/weather and record measurements from the closest station to the school.) Then the students will sketch the cloud each day in their journal and identify the type of cloud in the sky. They will also write observational data as to the weather condition for each day (rain, sunny, overcast, etc.) Each day prior to the collection of data, the students will go to www.scetv.org/weather and record any precipitation that occurred since the previous day’s measurements. They will record this in their journal or device.
11. Each day, the teachers and students will go to www.scetv.org/weather to study the weather maps available on the page.  The teacher will discuss the different types of maps located on the page (satellite and radar). The students will click on the radar and satellite maps and discuss the details of the maps and determine the purpose of each one. The students are to write the details of the satellite and radar maps each day (cloud movement with directions and precipitation patterns). The students sketch the temperature map and record the data in their journal. Then, they are to circle the areas that have the same temperature together to show the isotherms.
12. At the end of each day, the teacher will review the data with the students and help scaffold the connections between the changes in data to the weather conditions and patterns. 
13. After five days, the students will create a chart in their groups of the numerical data on a chart of their choosing in their groups and see what patterns they find between the changes in measurements, cloud type, map data, and the impending weather. The teacher should be facilitating to help in making the connections between the data and weather predictions. 
14. On the fifth day, the teacher will review the data and observations with the students. The students will then make a prediction as to what the next day’s weather will be and justify their answer based on their data in their journal. The journal will be assessed. (The teacher is checking to make sure the student recognizes how changes in the weather conditions, types of clouds, and weather maps can indicate a change in the pattern of weather. Since weather prediction is not 100%, the teacher is just checking for proper justification not whether or not the student makes an accurate prediction.)

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1SombUHcWnWYlw8wRu3tout8NvK2HmPLd0qqX...