Sari Elliot
Third Grade
Geography
 

Purpose:  For children to be able to identify different weather conditions that occur in the United States.  I want the students to know how to adapt to weather and be able to understand forecast and warning signals.

Connection to the National Geography Standards:
No. 4- Knows and understands the physical and human characteristics of places.   The children will understand the different effects the weather has on nature and society.

No.7- Know and understand the physical processes shape patterns on the earth’s surface.
The children will learn about different types of weather that shape weather patterns across the earth’s surface.

No. 14- Know and understand hoe the earth’s physical and human systems are connected and interact.  This will apply because I want the children to know how weather effects their own country in diverse ways.

No. 15- Know and understands the consequences of the interactions between human and physical systems.  This standard will apply because the children will learn what  to do in case their is a weather alert.

Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills:
-The student will be able to describe the variation in the physical environment including climate, landforms, natural resources and natural hazards.
-Compare how people in different communities adapt to or modify the physical environment.
-Identify ways in which people depend on the physical environment including natural resources to meet their basic needs.
-identify and compare the human characteristics of selected regions.
 

Objectives:
Students will demonstrate their ability:
1.  To understand the different types of weather that affect the United States.
2.  To be able to understand and explain a weather forecast.
3.  To understand how weather effects the environment.
4.  To know how to take precautions and what to do in the case of serious weather.

Overview of the Presentation:
Unit 1- (Periods 1 & 2) Study what makes up weather.  Identify the different types of weather.

Review of Unit 1- (Period 3) Make a Calendar and study the types of weather.

Unit 2- (Periods 4 & 5) Study of tornadoes and the raincycle.
Unit 3-(Periods 6 & 7) Students will learn how to decipher weather forecast on the radio,  TV and surf the net.

Unit 4-(Periods 7 & 8) The students will learn how weather effects society.

Review-(Periods 9 & 10)  The children will review information over unit 1-4.  Then they will test over all the information.

Procedures
Period 1: 
What is weather?
*Sponge Activity: {5 minutes}  Ask the children to write down what they think the definition of weather is.  Tell them to write down their favorite type of weather.
*Independent Activity:  Hand out vocabulary sheets. < See Appendix
The children will be in charge of copying the definitions as we go through each unit.
*Guided Practice: { 15 minutes }  Hand out worksheet on clouds.  <See Appendix
Read over and discuss the first few questions as a class.  Incorporate visual aids-cloud posers or overhead pictures.  The rest of the worksheet is for time left over after I finish handing out and explaining the worksheet on lightning and thunder.  <See Appendix
*Independent Practice: { 25 minutes }  The children will work on their worksheets.  If they are having trouble with the worksheets I will pair them up or assign each child a certain question and we will do the work sheet together.  The worksheets will be due at the end of class.
*Closing: Tell the children to put away their worksheets and get ready for the next class.  This is also a time I will allow the children a water and restroom break.

Period 2: 
Lets talk about temperature!
*Sponge Activity: {5 minutes}  Ask the children to predict the weather  for the next day.  The forecast closest to the next mornings news will get a PRIZE!
*Opening: {10minutes}Who knows the difference between the two words Celsius and Fahrenheit.  Celsius and Fahrenheit are just two different systems of measuring temperature but they both work the same way.  On the news, the weatherman usually has the temperature in degrees Fahrenheit.  Pass out Temperature Worksheet.<See Appendix
Tell the children to get out their calculators and do a couple of examples with them.  They will base this worksheet on the lab worksheet. The work sheet will be due tomorrow. Then pass out the Temperature Lab Worksheet.  > Still working on it!!!
*Guided Activity: Does the sun influence the temperature of the earth?   Have a class discussion. Have students give proof or examples of what they believe.
Discuss ways to the outside lab  to see if the temperature of the earth is influenced by the sun. > See Appendix TEACHERS HANDOUT

Period 3: 
*Sponge Activity: {5 minutes} Ask the children to draw a picture of their favorite type of weather.  You might have to remind them that they wrote it down on their notebooks the yesterday.
*Independent Activity: Pass out My Calendar Worksheets. >See Appendix-haven’t scanned on the computer yet!
Show the students an example of what a finished calendar will look like.  For the rest of the period let the children color cut and paste their calendars.
*Closing: {Last 10 minutes}  At the end of the period quiz the children using the season wheel while they finish up their calendar.

Period 4: 
Tornadoes
*Sponge Activity: {5 minutes} Bring magazines that show the impact tornadoes have on cities and towns.  Talk to the children about what to do in case of a tornado.
*Guided Practice: {15-25 minutes} Project: Tornado in a Jar
I will explain to the children how each student will make a tornado in a jar.  First I will lay down rules about behavior such as using any of the materials in any other way than directed.  Students who misbehave will lose the privilege to participate in projects or any extracurricular activities for the rest of the Weather Unit. <See Appendix
Let the children practice swirling their bottles.
{10-15 minutes}Read the story of Wild Bill and talk about the tornado roping scene.
*Closing: Ask the children if they liked making there own tornado.  Also ask the children how they would explain what happens inside the bottle that makes a tornado.  Quiz the children on the dangers of tornadoes.
 
Period 5: 
Raincycle
*Sponge Activity: {10 minutes} Show students the rain cycle project .  This project consist of a plastic bag filled with half a cup of water which is then sealed and hung at the top of a sunny window. After a few hours condensation will form at the top of the bag.  When demonstrating the bag to students show an example of what the bag looked like before it was hung on the window. Then hand out the raincycle worksheet. <See Appendix
*Guided Practice:{5-10 minutes} Read over the worksheet with the children.  Then hold a piece of ice to the bag. This should cause more of the water to condense. Go over the vocabulary with the children.
*Independent Practice: {rest of the period} Let the children fill out the rest of the worksheet which are due at the end of the period.
*Closing:  Ask the students question about the raincycle worksheet.
 Example-What are clouds made of?
    -What causes condensation in a cloud?
-What is the cycle that talks about what happens to water in four steps?
 

Period 6:
*Sponge Activity: {10 minutes}Pre-record a weather forecast on the radio and have an open class discussion.
 *Guided Practice: <See Appendix

Period 7: 
*Sponge Activity: {5 minutes} Pre- record a weather forecast on the weather channel and explain the weather symbol to the students.
*Guided Practice: Go to the computer lab and divide the class into groups of two.  Pass out the Web Worksheet, on worksheet per group  <See Appendix
*Closure:  Get the students back to the classroom and prepare for the next class.

Period 8:
*Sponge Activity: {10minutes}  Ask the children to make up two or three weather symbols.
List of suggested weather symbols:
rain
sunny-day
partly cloudy
fog
thunderstorm
snow
ice
windy-day
dust-storm
 Have them draw and color on white paper along with an explanation of what it means.  Tell them to be creative!
 

Period 9:
Review
*Sponge Activity:{10 minutes}  Ask the children to write a short story about a day at the beach or a day in the snow.
*Independent Practice: { 15 minutes }  Have the children pull out Vocabulary Worksheet. Grade during class.
*Guided practice: { Rest of the class time} Pass out the graded worksheets over Unit 1-3.  Go over the worksheets in class and give the children time to ask questions.  Have the children highlight what exactly will be on the test.

Period 10: 
Review and Test
*Sponge Activity: {5-10 minutes}  Let the children ask the teacher any questions they prepared about the test.  Give a short review.  Pass out the test!  When all of the students have turned in their test have a party with cookies and drinks.
 

Appendix:

[ Handout ]  Vocabulary Sheet for Units 1-4

Name________________________ Date_____________________ UNIT 1-4

  Vocabulary: 

LIGHTNING
 

THUNDER
 

TEMPERATURE
 

TORNADO
 

WATER VAPOR
 

CONDENSATION
 

RAIN CYCLE
 

EVAPORATION
 

STRATUS
 

CUMULUS
 

WEARTHER FORECAST
 

TREND

 [Handout Lightning and Thunder]

Name___________________________ Date___________________ UNIT 1 PERIOD1 Lightning and Thunder 

 LIGHTNING is a big charge of electricity that can reach from clouds to the ground or to other clouds. It can start fires and it is strong enough to hurt or kill people. Lightning also helps nature by putting nitrogen in the ground for plants to use.

THUNDER is the result of lightning strike and cannot hurt you.  Thunder is created when lightning heats up the air around it and causes it to expand rapidly. Because light travels very fast, you see lightning as it happens. Sound on the other hand travels much
slower than light and therefore takes much longer to get to you. So, you hear the thunder after you see the lightning.

  How Far Away did the Lightning Strike ?
It takes thunder 5 seconds to travel one mile. You can use this to tell how far away a lightning strike was. After you see a flash of lightning, start counting seconds until you hear the thunder. Divide the number of seconds by 5. This is the number of
miles away the lightning stroke was.
For example: If you counted 15 seconds between the lightning and the thunder, the lightning was 3 miles away.

Lightning can travel from the ground up, from the cloud to ground, or cloud-to-cloud. If you see distant lightning on a hot summer night, you can be sure that there is a distant thunderstorm out there somewhere.

Answer the question:

1.  Can lightning be harmful?  Explain how.____________________________________
 
 

2.  How is thunder made?__________________________________________________
 
 _____________________________________________________________________
 
3.  True or False  Sound travels faster than light.

4.  True or False  Lightning cannot travel from the ground up or from cloud to cloud.

5.  What can you be sure of if you see lightning?_________________________________
 
 

[Handout What are Clouds?]

NAME__________________________DATE_________________ UNIT 1 PERIOD 1
  What are Clouds ?

Clouds are water. Either small liquid water drops or tiny piece of ice. Meteorologists rank clouds according to their height and whether or not they are flat or puffy. The graph below is an easy way to remember clouds.

                Flat - Stratus       Puffy -Cumulus
 
                Low
                    Stratus              Cumulus
 ________________________________________
           Medium
                    Alto stratus              Alto Cumulus

       High
                   Cirrostratus              Cirrocumulus
________________________________________
                 Tall
                                                Cumulonimbus
                                              (or Thunderstorm)
                                       Nimbus means rain cloud.

      Clouds form when the air rises. As a blob of air rises it expands and gets colder, the colder air cannot hold as much water as warmer air. As the temperature and air pressure continue to drop, tiny water droplets group together into clump called cloud droplets. At this point, the blob of air becomes a visible cloud. If the cloud keeps going up, the cloud droplets will clump together and form water droplets. These water droplets are too heavy to float in the air and they fall from the sky as either rain or snow.

Fill in the questions using the chart and information above.

1.  How do clouds form?__________________________________________________
2.  What happens when water droplets get to heavy to float in the air?___________
3.  What does stratus mean?_______________________________________________

4.  What does cumulus mean?______________________________________________
 
 
 

5.  What is another name for a raincloud?___________________________________
 
6.  Draw a cirrostratus cloud.
 
 
 

7.  Draw a cumulus cloud.
 
 

8.  Label these cloud drawings.

I will paste on drawings!!!
 

9.
 
 
 

 
 [Handout-Celsius & Fahrenheit]

Name________________________ Date_____________________                                     UNIT 1 PERIOD 2  Celsius and Fahrenheit

There is a simple formula to follow to change Celsius to Fahrenheit and Fahrenheit to Celsius.

CONVERTING FAHRENHEIT TO CELCIUS
Fahrenheit = (Celsius Temperature-32) * 1.8

Example:
Fahrenheit to Celsius
Celsius Temperature=55
(55-32)*1.8
23*1.8=41.4 degrees

DIRECTIONS:  To complete this worksheet use the  temperature readings from of your lab worksheet. Hint: Convert from Fahrenheit to Celsius.  Don't forget to use your calculators! 

1.  Temperature of the Grass  Fahrenheit______  Celsius______
 
 -Write out formula. Remember to show your work!!!
 
 
 
 

2.  Temperature of the Water Puddle  Fahrenheit______  Celsius______
 
 
 
 
 

3.  Temperature of the Ice Water Fahrenheit______  Celsius______
 
 
 
 

4.  Temperature taken Under a Tree  Fahrenheit______  Celsius______
 
 
 
 

5.  Temperature taken on the Sidewalk Fahrenheit______  Celsius______
 
 
 
 
 

6.  Temperature taken from Rocks or  Sand Box Fahrenheit______ Celsius______
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

[Handout for Outside Lab]

_______Teacher Handout on the Outside Lab________Unit1-Period2

 Activity:

1.  Give each student or pair a thermometer and the age appropriate hand-out.Go over where the students may go to take the temperature of different surfaces. Remind them to let a thermometer sit on a surface for three or four minutes before                 they take a reading and to let a thermometer get to air temperature before taking the reading of another surface.

2.  Go over how to describe the "outdoor conditions" of the day. Briefly talk about whether the conditions might change our experiment and findings. Would a cloudy and windy day change things?

3.  Review how to accurately read a thermometer and record data on the hand-out.
Share why accuracy is important for scientific experiments and for testing a hypothesis.

4.  Have students go out and record temperatures of various earth surfaces listed on the handout.
Closing - Original Questions-Ask Again:

1.Does the sun influence the temperature of the earth?

2.How can you prove the sun influences or does not influence the temperature of earth surfaces?

3.Does the sun have the same influence on all earth surfaces? Why or why not?
 

[Handout outdoor lab]

Name______________________________Date____________________UNIT 1 PERIOD 3

TEMPERATURE IS THE MEASUE OF ENERGY IN THE AIR 

[Handout My Calendar]

The children will recieve a handout similar to the one below exept the children will color it the way they want it.
The children will then cut out the various circles and arrows and use brads and glue to set everything on a small peice of cardboard.
 
  

 [Handout]  Project 1- Tornado in a Jar

Name________________________ Date_____________________ UNIT 2 PERIOD 4
 Tornado in a Jar

 Making a tornado jar is simple.  However, holding the jar just right so that the water swirls to form the tornado requires practice and it is not easy to do.  With practice and patients everyone will soon be able to swirl their own tornado!  Tornado air movement is in a clockwise direction.  Clockwise means the tornado moves the same direction as the clock’s hands do on the clock. What direction is this?_______________
Be sure to spin your bottle in this direction if you want to replicate a real tornado.

Supplies:
-tall clear plastic jar with a tight cap
-three to four small balls of aluminum foil in your plastic container.
-teaspoon
-clear liquid soap
-water
-blue food coloring

Directions
1.  Place a teaspoon of clear liquid soap in the clear plastic jar.

2.  Drop into the jar three to four pieces of aluminum foil rolled into ball.  Make sure that the foil is rolled tightly so it will sink to the bottom of the jar.
 
3.  Fill the jar to the top with water.

4.  Add 1-2 drops of blue food coloring to the water

5.  Rotate the container and a swirling effect should be produced.  It may take some practice.  Set the container water in motion.  This action resembles the motion set up as circular rotations of air in the atmosphere from a tornado.
 

     ??Questions??
 
1.  In what direction does a tornado rotate?  ____________________________________

2.  The action of the foil resembles what type of rotation?________________________

3.  Where should you go during a tornado? ____________________________________

4.  Name a tornado we talk about in class.  ______________________________
 
5.   Name two states that tornadoes occur in____________________________________
 
 
Name________________________________ Date_____________________                             UNIT 2 PERIOD 4   Raincycle ( Water cycle)

     Without the rain cycle were would we be?  The raincycle is a very important part of our lives. There are four steps in the rain cycle.  1)When rain falls on the ground it either soaks into the ground, makes puddles or flows into rivers and lakes.  2)When the sun come out it warms up the water and cause it to evaporate.  Evaporation is the changing of a liquid to a gas.  Another word for evaporated water is water vapor.  Evaporation put the water vapor into the air.  3)When the air cools, the water vapor condenses into tiny drops of water.  When water vapor cools it changes back to a liquid, it condenses. When these tiny drops of water form together they form clouds.  4) When the drops get heavy enough, they may fall as rain.  Just think, the water you drink today might have been part of a cloud two weeks ago.

Vocabulary
-Define the following words
1.  evaporation-__________________________________________________________
 
2.  water vapor-__________________________________________________________
 
3.  condense-____________________________________________________________

4.  Explain the process of the raincycle. _______________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________

5.  Why is the water cycle important?_________________________________________
 
 ____________________________________________________________________
BONUS (10pts): Draw a picture of all the steps of the rain cycle
 
 
 Handout -Web Worksheet]

Name______________________________ Date_______________ UNIT 3 PERIOD 7 Web Worksheet  

Today class we are going to look at homepage by a little girl , Sabrina, who got struck by lightning.  The address is: http://www.azstarnet.com/anubis/zaphome.htm -Now be sure to type in everything correctly in the little white box.-You need to remember how to act when we are in the computer lab.

*Click on the lightning introduction page with the mouse.

 Answer the following questions.

1.  Where were Sabrina and her family when they got struck by lightning?
________________________________

2.  What animal were Sabrina and her mother looking at when they were struck by lightning?
  ___________________________
Now go back to the home page to look for the other questions.

3.  Where can lightning strike?_____________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________

4.  Can you ever tell if lightning may strike?  What do you have to be by?

_______________________________________________________________________

5.  Write down three safety tips.

_______________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________

6.  What are the two TV shows mentioned that talk about lightning, tornadoes and hurricanes?

_______________________________________________________________________

  To answer these next question scroll back up to Elizabeth’s story.

7.  What  camp was Elizabeth attending?

___________________________________

8.  Name the only person killed by lightning.
 

[Handout- Weather Prediction]

_________________TEACHER HANDOUT________UNIT 3 PERIOD 6

Materials:
U.S. outline maps for class projects, handouts of major guidelines

In this lesson, students will use the skills of a meteorologists to study weather maps and apply the knowledge and experience gained about weather elements and weather trends to provide a twenty-four hour prediction for each of the thirteen weather stations in their project.
 
Objectives

-1. Define a weather forecast.
-2. Make a forecast using a weather map.
-3. Identify three prediction guidelines.
-4. Explain how computers help to make forecasts.
 

[Handout Predicting the Weather]

Name___________________________ Date________________UNTI3 PERIOD6
  Predicting the Weather

A weather forecast is a prediction of weather conditions. Forecasts help to save lives, property and crops.
The National Weather Service must regularly collect weather information from the land, sea, space and
radar networks in order to make a 48 hour forecast for every U.S. location.

Computers play a major role in weather forecasting. Computers help to quickly collect weather data, calculating how the weather pattern might change and providing maps that show the type of weather a meteorologist might expect. The computer maps are helpful, but they are still imperfect. A meteorologist must study the maps and apply knowledge and experience about weather in his or her specific location before an accurate forecast can be made.

Short term forecasts from the next day are usually quite accurate, but forecast accuracy significantly decreases beyond the next few days. Although the accuracy rate of long-range forecasts is slowly improving, they are still not as reliable as the 24-hour weather forecast. Although you may not have high-speed computers, massive satellites, and expensive radar, students can use a few rules to make a short term forecast.

As in the real world of professional forecasting, these are only guidelines. No rule guarantees 100% accuracy.

Here are the guidelines:

Pressure Trend: The pressure reading itself is not as helpful as its trend or change. A rising barometric trend indicated high pressure and a greater chance for fair, dry weather. A falling trend indicates low pressure with a chance for clouds and precipitation. Record pressure readings often to detect trends.

Wind Direction: We know that the wind direction has an effect on temperature, and we have studied how wind blows around highs and lows. Recalling that wind around a low pressure system blows counterclockwise, you would observe a warm southerly wind ahead of a low and colder northerly wind behind it. Lows on a weather map give you clues about what type of weather and temperature trend to expect in your area.

Cloud Cover: Growing cumulus clouds can indicate conditions from thunderstorms, and high ice-crystal cirrus clouds can mean an approaching storm. The location and coverage of clouds on a satellite image can be extremely helpful in predicting sunny or cloudy skies.
 

 Questions

1. What is a weather forecast?

2. What are the major guidelines in forecasting weather?
 
 

Define Vocabulary

forecasting-

predicting-

trends-
 
 
 

NAME____________________________DATE________________TEST UNIT 1-4
 

SAMPLE OF THE TEST
Word box:
Water Vapor---------Lightning---------Thunder
Evaporation----------Rain Cycle-------Condensation
Temperature---------Stratus-------------Cumulus

Directions:  Fill in the blank with the appropriate word

1.____________________  The measure of energy in the air

2.____________________  A big charge of electricity that can reach from clouds to the ground or to other clouds.

3.____________________  The term used to define clouds that are flat.

4.____________________  The product of lightning when it heats up the air around it and causes it to expand rapidly.

5.____________________  The term used to describe clouds that are puffy.

6.____________________  Another term for evaporated water.

7.____________________  The definition of a changing of a liquid into a gas.

8.____________________   The product produced when air cools and water vapor changes back into a liquid.
 
 

Bibliography: 

Holt Science.  Abruscato, Fossacea, Hassord, Peck.  New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston Publications.,1985

Mudpies to Magnets- A Preschool Science Curriculum. Williams, Rockwell, Sherwood.          Mt. Rainier, Maryland: Gyphon House, Inc.,1987

Silver Burdett Science.  Mallinson, Mallinson, Smallwood, Valentiono.  Morristown New Jersey: Silver Burdett Company., 1985

Teacher’s Friend.  Sevaly.,  California: Teachers Friend Publications Inc., 1987

 The Weather Underground-University of Michigan (1995)(April 9,1998) http://groundhog.sprl.umich.edu/

One Sky Many Voices. University of Michigan http://www.onesky.umich.edu/ (1997) (April 9,1998)

Chief Meteorologist Dan Sattrtfeild  Huntsville, Alabama WHNT CHANNEL (1998) (April 9,1998)http://www.whnt19.com/kidwx/

Weather Works-http://www.weatherworks.com/ (March 17 1998) (April 9,1998)

 A homepage by a little girl , Sabrina, who was struck by lightning (1998)
(April 9, 1998)http://www.azstarnet.com/anubis/zaphome.htm
 

Created April 16, 1998

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