Build A Unit!
Unit Planning Pack with Resources
Subject Area/Grade: Earth Science, Kindergarten
and Processes
Title: Earth Systems, Structures
Weather
1 Unit Theme:
(to be completed by the unit organizer)
2 Conceptual Lens:
(to be completed by the unit organizer)
3 Identify the Big Ideas:
(Align to Essential Standards)
Patterns
Stability and Change
4 Enduring Understanding
(Generalizations)
Weather can change from day to day.
Seasons have a usual weather pattern.
People use senses to find out information about our environment.
5 Essential Questions
(Guiding Questions)
What is the weather today?
How do daily weather conditions change?
What are some different types of weather?
How can we describe weather? How can our senses help us describe weather?
How do we prepare for weather?
What kind of patterns can we see/observe in weather?
What are some examples of seasonal changes?
NC Science Essential Standards
K.E.1 Understand change and observable patterns of weather that occur from day to day and throughout the
year.
K.E.1.1 Infer that change is something that happens to many things in the environment based on observations made
using one or more of their senses.
K.E.1.2 Summarize daily weather conditions noting changes that occur from day to day and throughout the year.
K.E.1.3 Compare weather patterns that occur from season to season.
Essential Terminology
Weather, change, pattern, sunny, rainy, windy, cloudy, snowy, stormy, winter, spring, summer, fall (autumn), precipitation
temperature, thermometer, wind vane, rain gauge
GRAPHIC ORGANIZERS: (Some for teachers, some for students)
Qwiki Weather http://www.qwiki.com/q/#/Weather
Qwiki Climate http://www.qwiki.com/q/#/Climate
Printable calendar http://www.teachervision.fen.com/weather/printable/32022.html
Enchanted Learning graphic organizers blank http://www.enchantedlearning.com/graphicorganizers/
Weather main idea and details http://www.eduplace.com/science/hmsc/content/organizer/1/org_1d_8_1.pdf
Science For All Americans
(minimum ADULT content knowledge)
THE EARTH
We live on the Earth. The earth's shape is approximately spherical, the result of mutual gravitational attraction pulling
its material toward a common center. Unlike the much larger outer planets, which are mostly gas, the earth is mostly rock,
with three-fourths of its surface covered by a relatively thin layer of water and the entire planet enveloped by a thin blanket
of air. Bulges in the water layer are raised on both sides of the planet by the gravitational tugs of the moon and sun,
producing high tides about twice a day along ocean shores. Similar bulges are produced in the blanket of air as well.
Of all the diverse planets and moons in our solar system, only the earth appears to be capable of supporting life as we
know it. The gravitational pull of the planet's mass is sufficient to hold onto an atmosphere. This thin envelope of gases
evolved as a result of changing physical conditions on the earth's surface and the evolution of plant life, and it is an
integral part of the global ecosystem. Altering the concentration of its natural component gases of the atmosphere, or
adding new ones, can have serious consequences for the earth's life systems.
The distance of the earth from the sun ensures that energy reaches the planet at a rate sufficient to sustain life, and
yet not so fast that water would boil away or that molecules necessary to life would not form. Water exists on the earth in
liquid, solid, and gaseous forms—a rarity among the planets (the others are either closer to the sun and too hot or farther
from the sun and too cold).
The motion of the earth and its position with regard to the sun and the moon have noticeable effects. The earth's oneyear revolution around the sun, because of the tilt of the earth's axis, changes how directly sunlight falls on one part or
another of the earth. This difference in heating different parts of the earth's surface produces seasonal variations in
climate. The rotation of the planet on its axis every 24 hours produces the planet's night-and-day cycle—and (to observers
on earth) makes it seem as though the sun, planets, stars, and moon are orbiting the earth. The combination of the earth's
motion and the moon's own orbit around the earth, once in about 28 days, results in the phases of the moon (on the basis
of the changing angle at which we see the sunlit side of the moon).
The earth has a variety of climatic patterns, which consist of different conditions of temperature, precipitation, humidity,
wind, air pressure, and other atmospheric phenomena. These patterns result from an interplay of many factors. The basic
energy source is the heating of land, ocean, and air by solar radiation. Transfer of heat energy at the interfaces of the
atmosphere with the land and oceans produces layers at different temperatures in both the air and the oceans. These
layers rise or sink or mix, giving rise to winds and ocean currents that carry heat energy between warm and cool regions.
The earth's rotation curves the flow of winds and ocean currents, which are further deflected by the shape of the land.
The cycling of water in and out of the atmosphere plays an important part in determining climatic patterns—
evaporating from the surface, rising and cooling, condensing into clouds and then into snow or rain, and falling again to
the surface, where it collects in rivers, lakes, and porous layers of rock. There are also large areas on the earth's surface
covered by thick ice (such as Antarctica), which interacts with the atmosphere and oceans in affecting worldwide
variations in climate.
The earth's climates have changed radically and they are expected to continue changing, owing mostly to the effects of
geological shifts such as the advance or retreat of glaciers over centuries of time or a series of huge volcanic eruptions in
a short time. But even some relatively minor changes of atmospheric content or of ocean temperature, if sustained long
enough, can have widespread effects on climate.
The earth has many resources of great importance to human life. Some are readily renewable, some are renewable
only at great cost, and some are not renewable at all. The earth comprises a great variety of minerals, whose properties
depend on the history of how they were formed as well as on the elements of which they are composed. Their abundance
ranges from rare to almost unlimited. But the difficulty of extracting them from the environment is as important an issue as
their abundance. A wide variety of minerals are sources for essential industrial materials, such as iron, aluminum,
magnesium, and copper. Many of the best sources are being depleted, making it more and more difficult and expensive to
obtain those minerals.
Fresh water is an essential resource for daily life and industrial processes. We obtain our water from rivers and lakes
and from water that moves below the earth's surface. This groundwater, which is a major source for many people, takes a
long time to accumulate in the quantities now being used. In some places it is being depleted at a very rapid rate.
Moreover, many sources of fresh water cannot be used because they have been polluted.
Wind, tides, and solar radiation are continually available and can be harnessed to provide sources of energy. In
principle, the oceans, atmosphere, topsoil, sea creatures, and trees are renewable resources. However, it can be
enormously expensive to clean up polluted air and water, restore destroyed forests and fishing grounds, or restore or
preserve eroded soils of poorly managed agricultural areas. Although the oceans and atmosphere are very large and
have a great capacity to absorb and recycle materials naturally, they do have their limits. They have only a finite capacity
to withstand change without generating major ecological alterations that may also have adverse effects on human
activities.
Next Generation Science Standards Framework (adults)
ESS2.D: WEATHER AND CLIMATE
What regulates weather and climate?
Weather, which varies from day to day and seasonally throughout the year, is the condition of the atmosphere at a given
place and time. Climate is longer term and location sensitive; it is the range of a region’s weather over 1 year or many
years, and, because it depends on latitude and geography, it varies from place to place. Weather and climate are shaped
by complex interactions involving sunlight, the ocean, the atmosphere, ice, landforms, and living things. These
interactions can drive changes that occur over multiple time scales—from days, weeks, and months for weather to years,
decades, centuries, and beyond—for climate.
The ocean exerts a major influence on weather and climate. It absorbs and stores large amounts of energy from the sun
and releases it very slowly; in that way, the ocean moderates and stabilizes global climates. Energy is redistributed
globally through ocean currents (e.g., the Gulf Stream) and also through atmospheric circulation (winds). Sunlight heats
Earth’s surface, which in turn heats the atmosphere. The resulting temperature patterns, together with Earth’s rotation and
the configuration of continents and oceans, control the large-scale patterns of atmospheric circulation. Winds gain energy
and water vapor content as they cross hot ocean regions, which can lead to tropical storms.
The “greenhouse effect” keeps Earth’s surface warmer than it would be otherwise. To maintain any average temperature
over time, energy inputs from the sun and from radioactive decay in Earth’s interior must be balanced by energy loss due
to radiation from the upper atmosphere. However, what determines the temperature at which this balance occurs is a
complex set of absorption, reflection, transmission, and redistribution processes in the atmosphere and oceans that
determine how long energy stays trapped in these systems before being radiated away. Certain gases in the atmosphere
(water vapor, carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxides), which absorb and retain energy that radiates from Earth’s
surface, essentially insulate the planet. Without this phenomenon, Earth’s surface would be too cold to be habitable.
However, changes in the atmosphere, such as increases in carbon dioxide, can make regions of Earth too hot to be
habitable by many species. Climate changes, which are defined as significant and persistent changes in an area’s
average or extreme weather conditions, can occur if any of Earth’s systems change (e.g., composition of the atmosphere,
reflectivity of Earth’s surface). Positive feedback loops can amplify the impacts of these effects and trigger relatively
abrupt changes in the climate system; negative feedback loops tend to maintain stable climate conditions.
Some climate changes in Earth’s history were rapid shifts (caused by events, such as volcanic eruptions and meteoric
impacts, that suddenly put a large amount of particulate matter into the atmosphere or by abrupt changes in ocean
currents);
other climate changes were gradual and longer term—due, for example, to solar output variations, shifts in the tilt of
Earth’s axis, or atmospheric change due to the rise of plants and other life forms that modified the atmosphere via
photosynthesis. Scientists can infer these changes from geological evidence.
Natural factors that cause climate changes over human time scales (tens or hundreds of years) include variations in the
sun’s energy output, ocean circulation patterns, atmospheric composition, and volcanic activity. (See ESS3.D for a
detailed discussion of human activities and global climate change.) When ocean currents change their flow patterns, such
as during El Niño Southern Oscillation conditions, some global regions become warmer or wetter and others become
colder or drier. Cumulative increases in the atmospheric concentration of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases,
whether arising from natural sources or human industrial activity (see ESS3.D), increase the capacity of Earth to retain
energy. Changes in surface or atmospheric reflectivity change the amount of energy from the sun that enters the
planetary system. Icy surfaces, clouds, aerosols, and larger particles in the atmosphere, such as from volcanic ash, reflect
sunlight and thereby decrease the amount of solar energy that can enter the weather/ climate system. Conversely, dark
surfaces (e.g., roads, most buildings) absorb sunlight and thus increase the energy entering the system.
Grade Band Endpoints for ESS2.D
By the end of grade 2. Weather is the combination of sunlight, wind, snow or rain, and temperature in a particular region
at a particular time. People measure these conditions to describe and record the weather and to notice patterns over time.
By the end of grade 5. Weather is the minute-by-minute to day-by-day variation of the atmosphere’s condition on a local
scale. Scientists record the patterns of the weather across different times and areas so that they can make predictions
about what kind of weather might happen next. Climate describes the ranges of an area’s typical weather conditions and
the extent to which those conditions vary over years to centuries.
Benchmarks for Science Literacy
(recommended grade band benchmarks)
There are many ways to acquaint children with earth-related phenomena that they will only come to understand later as being cyclic. For
instance, students can start to keep daily records of temperature (hot, cold, pleasant) and precipitation (none, some, lots), and plot them by
week, month, and years. It is enough for students to spot the pattern of ups and downs, without getting deeply into the nature of climate.
They should become familiar with the freezing of water and melting of ice (with no change in weight), the disappearance of wetness into the
air, and the appearance of water on cold surfaces. Evaporation and condensation will mean nothing different from disappearance and
appearance, perhaps for several years, until students begin to understand that the evaporated water is still present in the form of invisibly
small molecules.
By the end of the 2nd grade, students should know that:
 The temperature and amount of rain (or snow) tend to be high, low, or medium in the same months every year. 4B/P1*
 Water can be a liquid or a solid and can go back and forth from one form to the other. If water is turned into ice and then the ice is
allowed to melt, the amount of water is the same as it was before freezing. 4B/P2
 Water left in an open container disappears, but water in a closed container does not disappear. 4B/P3
Unpacked Content (for students)
K.E.1.1
Students know how to use observation skills to note characteristics of their environment on a daily basis. Students know
that the weather may be sunny one day and cloudy another day. Students know how to compare their observations and
describe how each observation is similar to or different from a previous observation.
K.E.1.2
Students know that weather changes from day to day. Students know how to maintain a daily weather journal and
describe how the weather changes daily.
K.E.1.3
Students build on the concept that change is something that happens to many things in the environment to include
weather. Change can happen quickly or slowly. By observing daily weather changes, students can infer patterns that
occur from season to season. Some weather patterns include sunny days, rainy days, windy or cloudy days, snowy days
and stormy days. Students compare the weather patterns associated with each season: winter, spring, summer and fall
(autumn). Students know seasons occur in a particular order and therefore the weather patterns associated with seasons
occur in a particular order.
Identify Student Misconceptions
* Formative probes should be adapted to a format that is suitable for your grade level and students
*Construct formative assessment probes – see ‘how to’ on pages 85, 102, and 183 in Science Formative Assessment by
Page Keeley.
Use formative probes: Uncovering Student ideas in Science, Volumes 1-4, by Page Keeley
Volume 3 Rainfall p. 171
Formative Assessment Probes (articles, how-to, free-online) by Page Keeley, et al
http://pal.lternet.edu/docs/outreach/educators/education_pedagogy_research/assessment_probes_uncovering_student_id
eas.pdf
http://www.ode.state.or.us/teachlearn/subjects/science/resources/msef2010-formative_assessment_probes.pdf
North Carolina Connections: (local and state resources)
Imagination Station Science Museum
Interactive programs are designed to promote student investigation into various science concepts. 224 East Nash Street,
Wilson, NC 27894 Phone (252) 291-5113.
North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences
11 West Jones St. Raleigh, NC 27601 919-733-7450
North Carolina Museum of Life and Science
Experience how inquiry-based teaching energizes your students and encourages science discovery. 433 West Murray
Avenue (street address), P.O. Box 15190, Durham, NC 27704, (919) 220-5429
SciWorks, the Science Center and Environmental Park of Forsyth County
Enjoy interactive, hands-on special exhibits and programs in spacious exhibit halls. 400 West Hanes Mill Rd., WinstonSalem, (336) 767-6730
Annotated TEACHING Resources
http://classic.globe.gov/fsl/elementaryglobe/docs/EGLOBE_CloudBook_LowRes.pdf
Elementary Globe K-4 Resources
Download the Cloud Module storybook and learning activities.
http://www.pbs.org/teachers/earlychildhood/theme/weather.html
Rain activities, books and programs from PBS for early childhood.
http://beyondpenguins.ehe.osu.edu/issue/weather-and-climate-from-home-to-the-poles/hands-on-science-andliteracy-lessons-about-weather-and-climate
Hands on literacy lessons about weather and climate
http://beyondpenguins.ehe.osu.edu/issue/weather-and-climate-from-home-to-the-poles/weather-and-climate-unitoutlines
K-2 Unit outline for weather and climate
http://beyondweather.ehe.osu.edu/stories-for-students
weather stories grouped K-2
http://beyondweather.ehe.osu.edu/issue/understanding-earths-climate/setting-the-stage-for-understanding-theclimate-system%E2%80%99s-complex-interactions
Weather patterns and what its like outside today activities
http://beyondweather.ehe.osu.edu/issue/the-sun-and-earths-climate/the-sun-and-earth%E2%80%99s-climatevirtual-bookshelf
Virtual bookshelf, recommends some books and states misconceptions to look for in others
http://beyondpenguins.ehe.osu.edu/issue/polar-patterns-day-night-and-seasons/investigating-the-cause-andeffect-relationships-of-seasonal-change
Seasonal changes, observations, nature walks
http://www.ket.org/education/video/kevsc/kevsc_000014.htm
learn about different types of clouds and the relationship to weather
http://www.teachersdomain.org/resource/ess05.sci.ess.watcyc.lp_whatweather/
Weather can change and has patterns over seasons.
http://www.teachersdomain.org/resource/evscps.sci.ess.watcyc.dress/
Dress for the weather. Drag clothes over for the appropriate season.
http://www.exploringweather.com/
Exploring Weather (teacher) Exploring Weather is a comprehensive website that explores all of the different types of
weather from hurricanes to winter storms.
http://www.weatherwizkids.com/
Weather Wiz Kids A website especially for kids to allow them to learn more about the fascinating world of weather.
NOAA Education – Teachers
http://www.education.noaa.gov/teachers.html
Teachers can access a variety of materials for use in the classroom, or as background reference material. The materials
are grouped according to topic: Weather, Climate change, Oceans, Satellites and space, and Training.
Smart Exchange http://exchange.smarttech.com/search.html
A directory of Smart Board lessons that teachers can download and use.
Teachers Domain http://www.teachersdomain.org/
Free digital media for educational use.
Quick-Write Prompts
1) Using words and pictures create an opinion piece telling about your favorite season and why.
2) With guidance and support from adults create a graphic organizer for different kinds of weather.
3) Use digital tools to create a class book showing things to do on a sunny (any type of weather) day.
4) Choose a schoolyard tree or outdoor setting to focus on as you create an observation logbook to note seasonal
changes. Add digital pictures of the tree.
5) Write about seasonal changes in some animal’s appearance.
READING Resources (scroll to informational text)
http://www.ncpublicschools.org/docs/acre/standards/common-core-tools/exemplar/ela.pdf
http://www.ncpublicschools.org/acre/standards/common-core-tools/