AMSTI-GLOBE
TEACHER’S
GUIDE
Kindergarten Year 1
Clouds
Revised Fall 2008
Kindergarten Year 1 GLOBE
Revised Fall 2008
Alabama Math, Science, and Technology Initiative (AMSTI)
Acknowledgments
Lynn Vaughan (AMSTI-GLOBE Co-Director), K-5 writer
Jerry W. Cobbs (AMSTI-GLOBE Co-Director) and Judy Reeves (AMSTI-GLOBE
Specialist, Alabama Department of Education), 6-8 writers
Robin Nelson, AMSTI-GLOBE Director, Alabama Department of Education
National Space Science and Technology Center, Huntsville, Alabama; AMSTI-GLOBE
web server and network services. www.amsti.org
GLOBE Protocols, Site Definition Sheets, Data Sheets, Lab and Field Guides, and
Learning Activity Guides courtesy of The GLOBE Program, Boulder, CO,
www.globe.gov
Dichotomous Cloud Key courtesy of Dr. Tina Cartwright, West Virginia State
Climatologist
“A Key to Common Trees of Alabama”, Alabama Cooperative Extension Service
“Environmental Education Activity Guide”, Project Learning Tree 2006 Alabama
Forestry Association
Thanks to the numerous AMSTI-GLOBE trainers and specialists who contributed ideas,
activities, and suggestions.
“Tree Posters”, International Paper
“100 Forest Trees of Alabama”, Alabama Forestry Association
“Long Leaf Pine Posters”, Long Leaf Alliance
2
Kindergarten Year 1 GLOBE
Revised Fall 2008
Alabama Math, Science, and Technology Initiative (AMSTI)
AMSTI SCIENCE SUMMER INSTITUTE FRAMEWORK
Kindergarten Year 1 GLOBE (Clouds)
Day 1
Time
Activity
8:00 – 8:30
What is GLOBE?
8:30 – 8:50
What Are Clouds Made Of?
8:50 – 9:10
Cloud in a Bag
9:10 – 9:30
Little Cloud
9:30 – 9:45
Break
9:45 – 10:00
Two Little Clouds
10:00 – 10:30
Did You Know Clouds Have Names?
10:30 – 11:00
Estimating Cloud Cover
11:00 – 11:15
Cloud Observation
11:15 – 12:15
Lunch
To Spread or Not to Spread
12:15 – 12:45
GLOBE Data Entry
12:45 – 1:30
1:30 – 1:45
Cloud Hats
1:45 – 2:00
Break
2:00 – 2:15
Cloud Hats (continued)
2:15 – 2:30
Meet the Clouds
2:30 – 3:00
Cloud Card Game
3:00 – 3:30
Wrap Up and Implementation
3
Kindergarten Year 1 GLOBE
Revised Fall 2008
Alabama Math, Science, and Technology Initiative (AMSTI)
Kindergarten Year 1 GLOBE (Clouds)
Overview
Activity Name
Time
Brief Description
Trainer Materials Needed
Making It All Fit Together
PowerPoint (AMSTI-GLOBE CD
or www.amsti.org)
Thematic Framework for AMSTIGLOBE (p. 22)
COS Alignment (pp. 23-24)
Shaving cream
Pictures of clouds
Word wall words (p. 25)
Participant Materials Needed
A. What is GLOBE?
30 minutes
The participants will be
introduced to the GLOBE
program.
B. What Are Clouds Made
Of?
20 minutes
The participants will learn what
clouds are made of and the
names of various cloud types.
20 minutes
The participants will identify
water vapor as the major
component of clouds.
What Makes Clouds? A Poem to
Solve by Edith Greene Brabham
http://www.globe.fsu.edu/books_pd
f/a_poem_to_solve.pdf
20 minutes
The participants will be
introduced to the various types
of clouds.
Little Cloud by Eric Carle or It
Looked Like Spilt Milk by Charles
G. Shaw
Chart paper
White drawing paper
Pencil
15 minutes
The participants will act out a
poem about clouds.
Copy of the poem “Two Little
Clouds” (p. 11) & the addendum
(p. 12)
1 poster board sun (pre-made)
2 poster board clouds (pre-made)
Yellow, green, blue, & violet tshirts (pre-made)
1 rainbow (pre-made)
1 clothesline and clothespins
Raindrop patterns (p. 27)
½ sheet of yellow poster board
Handkerchief
2 white poster boards
Yellow, blue, green, & violet
construction paper
T-shirt pattern (p. 28)
F. Did You Know Clouds
Have Names?
30 minutes
The participants learn how to
identify objects in the sky.
Is the Sky a Book? PowerPoint
(AMSTI-GLOBE CD or website)
Chart paper
G. Estimating Cloud Cover
30 minutes
The participants will learn how
to identify the amounts of
clouds covering the sky.
Blue construction paper (dark)
White copy paper
Tape
C. Cloud in a Bag
D. Little Cloud
Break
E. Two Little Clouds
Kindergarten Year 1 GLOBE
Kindergarten GLOBE Year 1
Teacher’s Guide
Science notebook
Shaving cream
Paper towels
Metal spoons
Straw
Re-sealable plastic sandwich bag
Making Clouds (p. 26A)
3 tablespoons of wet soil
Tape
15 minutes
Revised Fall 2008
Blue construction paper
White tissue paper
Watered down glue
Paintbrushes
Blue construction paper (dark)
White copy paper
Glue or glue stick
4
Alabama Math, Science, and Technology Initiative (AMSTI)
Kindergarten Year 1 GLOBE (Clouds)
Overview (continued)
Activity Name
H. Cloud Observation
Lunch
I.
J.
To Spread or Not to
Spread
GLOBE Data Entry
K. Cloud Hats
Time
15 minutes
Trainer Materials Needed
The participants will observe
clouds and learn their scientific
names.
Cloud Protocols (pp. 29-43)
Our Clouds data sheet (p. 44A)
GLOBE Cloud chart
My Cloud: A Dichotomous Key
(pp. 45-46)
Participant Materials Needed
Cloud Protocols (pp. 29-43)
Our Clouds data sheet (p. 44A)
GLOBE Cloud chart
My Cloud: A Dichotomous Key
(pp. 45-46)
Pencil
60 minutes
30 minutes
The participants will investigate
how human activity affects
cloud conditions.
3 pictures of jet planes (p. 47A)
Paper towels
45 minutes
The participants will learn the
procedures for entering data.
The participants will submit data
to the GLOBE student server.
Entering Our Data PowerPoint
(AMSTI-GLOBE CD or website)
Computer lab
Entering Our Data Kindergarten
Year 1 GLOBE (p. 48 or AMSTIGLOBE website)
15 minutes
The participants will design a
cloud hat.
Example of a cloud hat
Glue gun
Pictures of jet planes (p. 47A)
The participants will read a
poem and review the correct
names and descriptions of
clouds.
Copy of the poem “Meet the
Clouds” (see p. 19)
Break
15 minutes
K. Cloud Hats (continued)
15 minutes
L. Meet the Clouds
Brief Description
15 minutes
Straws
Cup for paint
White Tempera paint
Blue construction paper
Small paint brush
3 pictures of jet planes (p. 47A)
Access to the computer lab
Completed Our Clouds data sheet
(p. 44A from previous activity)
Entering Our Data Kindergarten
Year 1 GLOBE (p. 48 or AMSTIGLOBE website)
Ball cap
Cotton balls
Polyester fiberfill
Fabric glue
Black marker
Yellow or gold pipe cleaners
White pipe cleaners
Pictures of jet planes (p. 47A)
5
Kindergarten Year 1 GLOBE
Revised Fall 2008
Alabama Math, Science, and Technology Initiative (AMSTI)
Kindergarten Year 1 GLOBE (Clouds)
Overview (continued)
Activity Name
Time
M. Cloud Card Game
30 minutes
N. Wrap Up and
Implementation
30 minutes
Brief Description
The participants will play a
cloud game to review the types
of clouds.
The participants will review
how to implement GLOBE in
the classroom.
Trainer Materials Needed
Participant Materials Needed
Cloud game (p. 49 or AMSTIGLOBE CD)
Cloud game (p. 49 or AMSTIGLOBE CD)
Kindergarten Year 1 GLOBE
Literature Connections (p. 50)
Kindergarten Year 1 GLOBE
Literature Connections (p. 50)
6
Kindergarten Year 1 GLOBE
Revised Fall 2008
Alabama Math, Science, and Technology Initiative (AMSTI)
Kindergarten Year 1 GLOBE (Clouds)
Plans for the Day
A. Title of Activity/Lesson
Time Allotment
Objective
Outline/Plans
What is GLOBE?
30 minutes
Rationale/Helpful Hints
1. Explain that during Kindergarten Year 1
GLOBE students will observe and identify
various types of clouds.
2. In the GLOBE program, students who take and
report cloud data are called student scientists.
They are called student scientists because they
act like a scientist and work with scientists.
When GLOBE students enter data on the
computer, everyone in the world can see the
data and use it to understand weather. It is fun
and it is important.
3. Introduce the participants to GLOBE by using
the “Making It All Fit Together” PowerPoint.
4. Show the participants the Thematic
Framework for AMSTI-GLOBE so that they
can see how GLOBE activities are divided
among the various grade levels and years.
5. Review the following Alabama Science Course
of Study Standard covered during
Kindergarten Year 1 GLOBE:
• COS #10: Identify objects in the day sky
with the unaided eye, including the sun,
clouds, moon, and rainbows.
The PowerPoint can be found on the AMSTIGLOBE CD or on the AMSTI website
www.amsti.org.
The Thematic Framework for AMSTI-GLOBE
can be found on page 22 or on the AMSTI
website www.amsti.org.
See pages 23-24 for a copy of the Alabama
Kindergarten Course of Study Alignment to
Science Modules, GLOBE, and “Fill in the
Holes” Activities.
6. Explain the term protocols. Protocols are the
precise instructions on how to conduct the
measurements.
7
Kindergarten Year 1 GLOBE
Revised Fall 2008
Alabama Math, Science, and Technology Initiative (AMSTI)
Kindergarten Year 1 GLOBE (Clouds)
Plans for the Day
B. Title of Activity/Lesson
Time Allotment
Objectives
Outline/Plans
1. A cloud is a large collection of very tiny
droplets of water or ice crystals. Clouds form
when the air rises. As the 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 clumps called
cloud droplets. At this point, the 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.
2. Give each participant a squirt of shaving cream
on his/her desk. Ask: What if clouds were
made of shaving cream?
3. Have the participants describe their shaving
cream cloud. (fluffy, puffy)
4. Explain that scientists call this type of cloud a
cumulus cloud. Show the participants a
picture of a cumulus cloud.
5. The show the participants a picture of a cirrus
cloud. Ask them to make their shaving cream
cloud look wispy like a cirrus cloud.
6. Show the participants a picture of a stratus
cloud. Ask them to make their shaving cream
cloud look low and layered like a stratus cloud.
7. We know that clouds are not made of shaving
cream. Ask: What do you think clouds are
made of?
8. Have the participants cup their hand around
their mouths and exhale into their hands.
Repeat several times. Ask: What did you
notice? (That your breath is warm and moist.)
9. Give a metal spoon to each participant. Ask:
How does the spoon feel? (Cold.)
10. Hold the spoon close to your mouth and
exhale. Repeat several times. Ask: What do
you see? (A tiny cloud will appear.) This tiny
cloud is like the clouds in the sky since they
form when warm, moist air and cool air come
together.
What Are Clouds Made Of?
20 minutes
Rationale/Helpful Hints
Make color copies of cumulus, cirrus, and
stratus clouds before doing this activity with
your students. Some great cloud pictures can
be downloaded from:
http://eo.ucar.edu/webweather/cloud3.html
Shaving cream will make your tables/desks
squeaky clean!
Put the words up on your word wall as you
describe the clouds. Copies of the word wall
words can be found on page 25.
Have the participants draw pictures of their
shaving cream clouds in their science
notebooks.
Math Extension: Draw a raindrop and put
numerous droplets inside. Have each
participant estimate how many droplets are
inside the raindrop. Have them circle groups of
five or ten or just count all of the droplets.
Art Extension: Mix glue and shaving cream in
a cup until it has the consistency of whipping
cream. Add the mixture to blue construction
paper to create a model cumulus cloud.
8
Kindergarten Year 1 GLOBE
Revised Fall 2008
Alabama Math, Science, and Technology Initiative (AMSTI)
Kindergarten Year 1 GLOBE (Clouds)
Plans for the Day
C. Title of Activity/Lesson
Time Allotment
Objectives
Outline/Plans
Cloud in a Bag
20 minutes
Rationale/Helpful Hints
1. Explain that young students often have
problems understanding that water can exist as
the invisible gas, water vapor. This
experiment will demonstrate the process.
2. Read the book What Makes Clouds? A Poem
to Solve by Edna Greene Brabham.
3. Demonstrate how to properly close a resealable bag. Instruct participants to seal the
bag and see if anything happens. Wait a
minute or two, then have them open the bag
just enough to insert the straw and gently blow
into the bag. Slip the straw out and finish
sealing the bag to capture the warm moist air
inside. Participants can then observe the
“cloud” of water vapor that condenses inside
the bag. Ask: Where do you think the cloud
came from?
4. Using the Making Clouds sheet (page 26A)
have participants draw what they saw after
they blew into the bag.
5. Questions for discussion: Why did the cloud
form? Where did the moisture come from?
6. Clouds are part of the water cycle. Water in
the soil or bodies of water, even puddles,
evaporates into the air. When it reaches colder
air, water droplets form and make clouds.
When the clouds get heavy, water droplets fall
as rain.
7. Make a cloud in a bag. On the outside of the
bag, draw the water cycle using a permanent
marker. Put three tablespoons of wet soil into
the bag. Stick a straw through the opening and
blow in air. Take the straw out of the bag then
re-seal the bag. Hang the bag in a sunny
window.
8. Anther option is to hang a clothesline outside
allowing some of the line to be in the shade
and some in the sun. Let the participants hang
their bags on the clothesline. Do not tell them
were to put their bag on the line. Revisit the
bags later in the day and discuss why some
bags had more or less “rain” than others.
This book can be downloaded and printed from:
http://www.globe.fsu.edu/books_pdf/a_poem_t
o_solve.pdf
Materials Needed: straws, re-sealable plastic
sandwich bags, & a copy of the Making Clouds
sheet (page 26A). Note there are two copies so
that the participants will have one to use during
training and one to keep.
Materials Needed: straws, re-sealable plastic
sandwich bags, & three tablespoons of wet soil.
Rationale: Air, soil, and water all contribute to
the formation of clouds. Evaporation is when
water changes from a liquid to a gas.
Condensation is when water changes from a
vapor to a liquid.
9
Kindergarten Year 1 GLOBE
Revised Fall 2008
Alabama Math, Science, and Technology Initiative (AMSTI)
Kindergarten Year 1 GLOBE (Clouds)
Plans for the Day
D. Title of Activity/Lesson
Time Allotment
Objectives
Little Cloud
20 minutes
COS #10: Identify objects observed in the day
sky with the unaided eye, including the sun,
clouds, moon, and rainbows.
Rationale/Helpful Hints
Outline/Plans
1. Children are fascinated with clouds and the
shape they make.
2. Read aloud Eric Carle’s book Little Cloud or It
Looked Like Spilt Milk by Charles G. Shaw.
3. After reading the story, give each participant a
piece of white drawing paper and a pencil.
Take a mini field trip outside.
4. Find a comfortable spot outside and observe
the sky and the clouds floating high above.
Focus on one cloud, and imagine it to be
something else. Have the participants draw
their cloud shape in their science notebooks.
5. Return to the classroom and make a list of
words to describe their clouds.
6. Have the participants fill in the following in
their science notebooks:
My Cloud
It looked like a _______.
But it wasn’t a _________.
It was just a _________ cloud in the sky.
Emphasize that there are no right or wrong
answers. Some possible responses might
include:
• Size – small, large, heavy, light,
dense, or thick.
• Shape – fluffy, cottony, lumpy,
smooth, patchy, or torn.
• Color – gray, white, or milky.
• Description – gloomy, swirling,
moving, or foggy.
7. Share their descriptions of the clouds.
10
Kindergarten Year 1 GLOBE
Revised Fall 2008
Alabama Math, Science, and Technology Initiative (AMSTI)
Kindergarten Year 1 GLOBE (Clouds)
Plans for the Day
E. Title of Activity/Lesson
Time Allotment
Objective
Outline/Plans
Two Little Clouds
15 minutes
Rationale/Helpful Hints
1. The teacher will read the following poem and
the participants will act out the play.
Two Little Clouds
Author Unknown
Two little clouds one summer day
Went floating through the sky
They went so fast they bumped their heads
And they began to cry.
Two participants will put their heads into the
pre-made poster board clouds. They step out
before the audience, coming from opposite
directions. They float by and then bump into
each other. They then hang strings of raindrops
from the clouds. See page 27 for raindrop
patterns.
Old Father Sun, looked down and said,
“Never mind, my dears,
I’ll send my little fairy fold
To dry your falling tears.”
A participant puts his/her head into the opening
of the pre-made yellow poster board sun and
recites.
One fairy came in red so fine
Then one in orange bright,
Then yellow, green, blue, and violet
At once appeared in sight.
They wiped the clouds’ tears all away
And then from out of the sky
Upon a line the sunbeams made
They hung their gowns to dry.
A participant wearing a pre-made red poster
board t-shirt enters. The t-shirt pattern can be
found on page 28. He/She is holding a
handkerchief. Another enters wearing the
orange t-shirt. Participants wearing a yellow tshirt, a green t-shirt, a blue t-shirt, and a violet
t-shirt enter.
The fairies wearing their colored t-shirts take
the raindrops off of the clouds.
Another participant wearing the other yellow
poster board sun comes out and goes up to the
big sun. A yellow yarn sunbeam is pulled from
the sun and held out like a clothesline.
Each fairy hangs his/her t-shirt on the
clothesline using a clothespin.
11
Kindergarten Year 1 GLOBE
Revised Fall 2008
Alabama Math, Science, and Technology Initiative (AMSTI)
Kindergarten Year 1 GLOBE (Clouds)
Plans for the Day
E. Title of Activity/Lesson
Time Allotment
Objective
Outline/Plans
Two Little Clouds (continued)
15 minutes
Rationale/Helpful Hints
2. Note that the following has been added to the
original poem:
Addendum to “Two Little Clouds”
Everyone exits the stage except the clouds.
Clouds are made of water molecules in the air.
When the molecules stick together, they make
raindrops.
When the drops become heavier than air, they
fall as rain.
When the sun shines through raindrops, the
light is bent and colors are made.
The first color from light is red
Then orange
Then yellow
Then green
Then blue
And finally violet
A rainbow is made. This can only happen
when raindrops and sunlight are together.
The sun hears rain that has fallen to the ground.
It evaporates and goes into the air.
In the cold air, the water in the air turns to
drops, and it starts all over again.
The sun comes back.
Then the fairies enter as follows:
• Red Fairy
• Orange Fairy
• Yellow Fairy
• Green Fairy
• Blue Fairy
• Violet Fairy
A participant enters holding a pre-made
rainbow made of poster board.
The sun steps forward.
The clouds step forward.
Everyone recites in unison.
“It’s the water cycle!”
12
Kindergarten Year 1 GLOBE
Revised Fall 2008
Alabama Math, Science, and Technology Initiative (AMSTI)
Kindergarten Year 1 GLOBE (Clouds)
Plans for the Day
F. Title of Activity/Lesson
Time Allotment
Objective
Did You Know Clouds Have Names?
30 minutes
COS #10: Identify objects observed in the day
sky with the unaided eye, including the sun,
clouds, moon, and rainbows.
Rationale/Helpful Hints
Outline/Plans
1. Show “Is the Sky A Book?” PowerPoint.
2. Take a mini field trip outside and have the
participants look for cumulus clouds.
The PowerPoint can be found on the AMSTIGLOBE CD or on the AMSTI website
www.amsti.org.
3. Have the participants report to the group the
words that would describe the clouds and
record on a piece of chart paper titled:
“Cumulus Clouds Look Like”
You could also identify cirrus and stratus
clouds using the same procedure.
4. After the chart has been completed give each
participant the following materials: a piece of
dark blue construction paper, pieces of white
tissue paper, scissors, watered-downed glue,
and paintbrushes.
Background Information: Clouds take many
different forms. There are three main groups of
clouds: cumulus, stratus, and cirrus. Cumulus
clouds are heaped and puffy. They have been
described as looking like cotton balls or
cauliflower. Stratus clouds are long and stretch
themselves across the sky in gray, lengthy,
horizontal layers. Cirrus clouds are seen high
in the sky and are very thin. They are often
referred to as “horse tails” in the sky. Clouds
affect our weather and climate.
5. The participants will recreate their cloud using
pieces of white tissue paper. Have the
participants draw the outline of a cloud on the
blue paper. Afterwards, they will paint
watered down white glue onto their blue paper.
Next, they will place pieces of white tissue
paper on the blue paper in order to complete
their cloud collages.
6. After the participants have completed their
cloud formations, gather again as a large
group. At this time describe the kind of
weather they experienced outside observing
the clouds.
Other options for making clouds include:
• using white cotton balls instead of the
tissue paper
• using white paint and sponges
• use ivory snow detergent flakes with
white paint for a more textured look
13
Kindergarten Year 1 GLOBE
Revised Fall 2008
Alabama Math, Science, and Technology Initiative (AMSTI)
Kindergarten Year 1 GLOBE (Clouds)
Plans for the Day
G. Title of Activity/Lesson
Time Allotment
Objectives
Outline/Plans
Estimating Cloud Cover
30 minutes
Rationale/Helpful Hints
1. The amount of clouds covering the sky is
always changing. Scientists have special
words to describe how much of the sky is
covered with clouds.
Note: This activity is to show the teachers how
to determine what percent of the sky is covered
with clouds.
2. Give each participant a sheet of blue paper and
a sheet of white paper. Explain that the blue
paper will represent the sky and the white
paper will represent the clouds.
Materials Needed:
• Blue construction paper
• White copy paper
• Glue
3. No clouds: When there are no clouds in the sky
the sky is all blue. Ask the participants to hold
up their blue paper. Explain that this would be
“no clouds” or 0% cloudy.
4. Clear: Tear off a small corner of the white
paper and lay this little cloud on the blue sky.
This is called “clear” or 10% cloudy.
5. Scattered: Fold your piece of white paper in
half. When you lay it on the blue sky, it covers
half of the sky. Demonstrate tearing the paper
in half. Let the participants describe how it
looks. (Example: There are lots of clouds, but
there is more blue than white.) This is called
“scattered” or 25-50% cloudy.
6. Broken: Demonstrate how to fold the white
paper into fourths. Tear off one-fourth. Lay
the remaining three-fourths on the blue paper.
Let the participants describe how it looks.
(Example: There are lots of clouds. Now there
is more white than blue.) This is called
“broken” or 50-90% cloudy.
7. Overcast: Now take all of the white paper and
lay it on top of the blue sheet. Ask: Can you
see any blue? You will probably see just a tiny
bit or none at all. This is called “overcast” or
more than 90% cloudy.
8. Give each participant three sheets of blue
paper and two sheets of white paper. Model
how to create a Dinah Zike “Layered-Look
Book” foldable. Use the white paper to cut
“clouds” to represent the percentage of clouds
in the sky for each description.
Example:
My Cloud Cover Foldable
No Clouds
Clear
Scattered
Broken
Overcast
14
Kindergarten Year 1 GLOBE
Revised Fall 2008
Alabama Math, Science, and Technology Initiative (AMSTI)
Kindergarten Year 1 GLOBE (Clouds)
Plans for the Day
H. Title of Activity/Lesson
Time Allotment
Objectives
Outline/Plans
Cloud Observation
15 minutes
Rationale/Helpful Hints
1. The participants will conduct the Cloud Type
and Contrail Type Protocol.
See pages 29-43 for detailed instructions on
how to conduct the Cloud Protocols.
2. Have the participants bring their “Our Clouds”
data sheet (page 44A) and a GLOBE Cloud
Chart with them outside.
Note there are two copies so that the
participants will have one to use during training
and one to keep.
3. In the field, complete the top of the data sheet.
Helpful Hint: Cloud cover is a subjective
estimate, but an important one. Students will
get better with practice. This measurement
needs to be taken every day as other grades will
use the cloud data.
4. Look at the clouds in the sky. Be sure to look
in all directions, including directly overhead.
Remind participants that they should never
look directly at the sun.
5. Identify the types of clouds that you see by
using the GLOBE Cloud Chart or the “My
Cloud: A Dichotomous Key” (pages 45-46).
Helpful Hint: Explain that solar noon is when
shadows are the shortest. This occurs when the
sun is halfway between sunrise and sunset. It is
different from clock noon.
6. Record your findings on your data sheet.
7. Be sure to count the contrails. Record the
number of contrails in the box at the bottom of
the data sheet.
Extension: Make a cloud calendar chart to
record the cloud type and the weather
conditions each day.
Math Extension: Make a graph of the clouds
to determine which type of cloud appears most
often.
15
Kindergarten Year 1 GLOBE
Revised Fall 2008
Alabama Math, Science, and Technology Initiative (AMSTI)
Kindergarten Year 1 GLOBE (Clouds)
Plans for the Day
I. Title of Activity/Lesson
Time Allotment
Objective
Outline/Plans
1. Human activities also can affect cloud
conditions. One specific example is the
formation of contrails. In some areas, jet
traffic is causing a noticeable change in
cloudiness, which may affect both weather and
climate.
2. When jet planes fly high is the sky, they put
warm air from the engines into the cold air of
the sky. This makes ice in the sky and leaves a
white trail we call a contrail. (One continuous
contrail across the sky covers about 1% of the
sky.)
3. When 9-11 occurred, all air traffic was halted
over the U.S. for several days. This was an
unprecedented opportunity for atmospheric
scientists to gauge the effect of contrails on the
energy budget. When there are few or no
contrails in the sky, more sunlight reaches the
ground, which results in higher temperatures.
This prompted the addition of contrails to the
GLOBE protocols.
4. Provide participants with:
A. A small cup of water mixed with a tiny
bit of white paint
B. A small cup of thin white paint
C. A cup of thick white paint
5. Sometimes contrails are short-lived. To model
that, dip the brush into cup A and make a line
across the paper. Take the straw and blow on
it. The line will slowly go away.
6. Now dip the brush into cup B and make a line
in a different direction across the paper. The
line will spread out, blow on it, and the line
will remain. This is a persistent spreading
contrail.
7. Now dip the brush into cup C, being sure to
stir the brush well. Then make a line across
the page. The line will remain white and
distinct. It is a persistent non-spreading
contrail.
8. Emphasize that all contrails eventually go
away. Add a jet plane picture (page 47A) to
the front of each contrail.
To Spread or Not to Spread
30 minutes
Rationale/Helpful Hints
Background Information: Contrails are linear
clouds made of ice crystals formed around
small particles in jet airplane exhaust. The
word “contrail” is an abbreviation of the term
“condensation trail”.
Materials Needed: straws, cups for paint,
white tempera paint, small paint brushes, and
absorbent blue construction paper.
Note there are two copies so that the
participants will have one to use during training
and one to keep.
16
Kindergarten Year 1 GLOBE
Revised Fall 2008
Alabama Math, Science, and Technology Initiative (AMSTI)
Kindergarten Year 1 GLOBE (Clouds)
Plans for the Day
J. Title of Activity/Lesson
Time Allotment
Objective
Outline/Plans
1. We live on a changing planet. All of us,
especially scientists, want to understand the
changes happening around us. To understand
change or predict it we must measure our
environment, but we cannot measure
everything happening in our environment,
everywhere, all the time.
2. GLOBE student data will provide important
new data to help scientists.
3. GLOBE students contribute their own analyses
of local study sites, becoming in a very real
sense the world’s experts on their study areas.
This will in turn help scientists in their
research.
4. Follow the videos to enter your data in the
computer lab.
5. Explain to the participants that there is a
practice site where they can practice entering
data to become familiar with the program
before entering the real data that will be used
by scientists. Every school will be given a
unique user name. The password will always
be SGLOBE2. (Please be sure to use all caps.)
6. Use the following steps to enter your data:
1) Go to www.globe.gov or to the practice
site http://training.globe.gov.
2) Click on “Log In” (located in the upper
right hand corner).
3) Enter your school’s user name.
Remember to use all caps.
4) Enter the password SGLOBE2.
5) Click on “For Students”, then scroll
down to “Data Entry”.
6) Select Atmosphere Measurements.
7) Fill in the date, time, site, and click
proceed.
8) Use the data collection sheet to fill in the
data.
9) When you finish click “Send Data”.
GLOBE Data Entry
45 minutes
Rationale/Helpful Hints
Reminder: On the GLOBE website, the school
definition is completed when you are given
school identification. You will need to define
the clouds under the Atmosphere/Climate icon.
Remind the participants to bring their
completed cloud data sheet (page 44A) with
them to the computer lab.
The Data Entry Videos can be found on the
AMSTI-GLOBE CD or on the AMSTI website
www.amsti.org.
Be sure to give participants time to open the
AMSTI-GLOBE CD and the GLOBE site
during training.
Reminder: Your students can practice entering
data on the training website numerous times
(http://training.globe.gov).
Reminder: Step by step directions for entering
data can be found on page 48. Remember to
use all CAPS when entering your user name
and password.
Explain GLOBEMAIL.
Show your participants where to find the videos
on the GLOBE website.
10) If you get a smiley face, you are
finished.
17
Kindergarten Year 1 GLOBE
Revised Fall 2008
Alabama Math, Science, and Technology Initiative (AMSTI)
Kindergarten Year 1 GLOBE (Clouds)
Plans for the Day
K. Title of Activity/Lesson
Time Allotment
Cloud Hats
30 minutes
(15 minutes before break & 15 minutes after break)
Objective
Outline/Plans
Rationale/Helpful Hints
1. Buy an inexpensive ball cap at a discount or
craft store.
2. Gather the materials needed for this activity.
3. Use the glue to attach the polyester fiber fill to
the top of the hat so that it looks like big
billowy clouds. You can use the markers to
shade the bottom part of the clouds so that they
look stormy.
Materials Needed: ball caps, cotton balls,
polyester fiber fill, a white pipe cleaner, gold or
yellow (metallic looking) pipe cleaner, fabric
glue, black markers, and a jet plane picture
(page 47A).
4. Attach cotton balls around the sides of the hat.
Pile them close together and use the markers to
shade them as well. On one side, glue a
yellow or gold pipe cleaner. Bend the pipe
cleaner so that it zigzags down, resembling a
lightning bolt.
5. Glue a jet plane picture (page 47A) to the end
of the white pipe cleaner. Then glue the pipe
cleaner to the hat so that the plane is “flying
away” from your hat. Look, you now have a
contrail.
Note there are two copies so that the
participants will have one to use during training
and one to keep. This is the same sheet that the
participants cut jet plane pictures from in the To
Spread or Not to Spread activity.
18
Kindergarten Year 1 GLOBE
Revised Fall 2008
Alabama Math, Science, and Technology Initiative (AMSTI)
Kindergarten Year 1 GLOBE (Clouds)
Plans for the Day
L. Title of Activity/Lesson
Time Allotment
Objective
Outline/Plans
Meet the Clouds
15 minutes
Rationale/Helpful Hints
1. Copy the poem “Meet the Clouds” onto chart
paper. Read the poem aloud as a group.
Meet the Clouds
by Christine Lock
Cirrus Clouds
These icy clouds are way up high.
They’re just like feathers in the sky
or silky strands of cotton curl.
The sun shines through these painted whirls.
Cumulus and Cumulonimbus Clouds
Some clouds look like an ocean whale,
a flock of sheep, a dragon’s tail.
Although these clouds are lots of fun,
sometimes tornadoes hide in one!
Stratus Clouds
The clouds that hang low to the ground
often foretell that snow is bound
to fall, or rain, or icy sleet.
They look like soft gray woolly sheets.
It’s fun to look at clouds all day
and guess their names each time you play.
Whale or dragon, sheep or feather,
all clouds help predict the weather!
2. Review the cloud names and their descriptions.
19
Kindergarten Year 1 GLOBE
Revised Fall 2008
Alabama Math, Science, and Technology Initiative (AMSTI)
Kindergarten Year 1 GLOBE (Clouds)
Plans for the Day
M. Title of Activity/Lesson
Time Allotment
Objective
Outline/Plans
Cloud Card Game
30 minutes
Rationale/Helpful Hints
1. Print several color copies of the Cloud Game
Pictures (page 49). Make enough copies so
that each group of two participants has a
complete set of pictures.
Please note that during Summer Institute
teachers will play the Cloud Game in groups of
four instead of pairs.
2. Have the participants turn the cards face down.
Put the participants in groups of two and have
them take turns turning over two cards at a
time, attempting to locate a match.
Additional Activity: Have the participants tell
you the names of each of the cloud types
represented in the pictures.
3. A successful match results in another turn.
Play continues until all of the matched pairs
have been found.
4. The winner is the partner with the most
matched pairs.
20
Kindergarten Year 1 GLOBE
Revised Fall 2008
Alabama Math, Science, and Technology Initiative (AMSTI)
Kindergarten Year 1 GLOBE (Clouds)
Plans for the Day
N. Title of Activity/Lesson
Time Allotment
Objective
Outline/Plans
Wrap Up and Implementation
30 minutes
Rationale/Helpful Hints
1. Answer the participant’s questions for
clarification.
Share the Kindergarten Year 1 GLOBE
Literature Connections (page 50) with the
participants.
2. Questions for further investigation:
• Do contrails appear in the area? If so,
how many and how often?
• Do cloud patterns change during the
year?
Reminder: Contact Lynn Vaughan
([email protected]) or Jerry Cobb
([email protected]) if you need help.
3. Reiterate: The AMSTI sites and the GLOBE
specialists will help them anytime.
Visit the GLOBE site and find another school
to communicate with and compare data.
4. Clean up the room.
Note: AMSTI-GLOBE only provides 15
GLOBE cloud charts per school.
21
Kindergarten Year 1 GLOBE
Revised Fall 2008
Alabama Math, Science, and Technology Initiative (AMSTI)
Thematic Framework for AMSTI-GLOBE
Grade
GPS (Global
Positioning
System)
Yr 1
Yr 1
Yr 1
Yr 1
Yr 1
Yr 1
Yr 1
Yr 1
Yr 1
K
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
Atmosphere
Hydrology
Land
Cover
Soil
Earth as
a System
Yr 1
Yr 1
Yr 2
Yr 2
Yr 1 & 2
Yr 1 & 2
Yr 1 & 2
Yr 1
Yr 1
Yr 1 & 2
Yr 2
Yr 1 & 2
Yr 2
Yr 1
GRADE MEASUREMENTS
K
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
Cloud types, cloud cover (1), Budburst (2)
Precipitation (1), Green-up/Green-down (2)
Soil Characterization (1 and 2)
Air Temperature and Atmosphere Site (1), Clouds, Weather Maps, & Weather Patterns (2)
Hydrology (site mapping, GPS, turbidity) (1), Temperature, Conductivity (2)
Soil & Water pH (1), Soil Temperature and Surface Temperature (2)
Atmosphere (relative humidity, barometric pressure) (1), Earth as a System (2)
Land Cover (classification) (1), Land Cover (photosynthesis & respiration) (2)
Hydrology (surface water pH, alkalinity, nitrate, DO) (1), Remote Sensing (2)
GLOBE Activities/COS Objectives (2005 COS)
Grade
K
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
GLOBE Activity
Clouds (Y1), Budburst (Y2)
Precipitation (Y1),
Green-up/Green-down (Y2)
Soil Horizons/Characterization (Y1,2)
Daily Temp/Atmosphere Site (Y1),
Clouds, Weather Maps, Patterns (Y2)
Hydrology Site, Turbidity (Y1),
Surface Water Temp (Y2)
Water, Soil pH (Y1), Soil Temp and
Surface Temp (Y2)
Rel. Humidity, Baro Pressure, GPS
(Y1); Earth As a System (Y2)
Land Cover (Y1,2)
Hydrology (ph, alk, nitrate, DO) (Y1),
Remote Sensing (Y2)
COS Objective
O10 (Y1), O6 (Y2)
O8 B1,2 (Y1); O4, B1,2,3 (Y2)
O1 B1,3; O7 B2 (Y1,2)
O12 B2,3,5 (Y1); O12 B1,4 (Y2)
O3,7,8 (Y1); O1 B3, O3 B1 (Y2)
O3 (Y1); O4 B10, O10 B1 (Y2)
O1 B1,2,3,4 (Y1); O7 B1 (Y2)
O1,6,7; O4 B1; O5 B1 (Y1,2)
O6,7 (Y1); O12 (Y2)
Y=year trained O=COS objective B=COS bullet point
Example: O12 B2 (Y1) =objective 12, bullet 2 is covered in Year 1.
Refer to the COS for objective & bullet point descriptions.
22
Kindergarten Year 1 GLOBE
Revised Fall 2008
Alabama Math, Science, and Technology Initiative (AMSTI)
Alabama Kindergarten Course of Study
Alignment to Science Modules, GLOBE, and "Fill in the Holes" Activities
Science Module, Lesson
GLOBE, Lesson
"Fill in the Holes" Activity
Course of Study Objective
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Classify objects as solids or liquids.
Identify the sun as Earth's source of light and heat.
● Predicting the effect of the sun on living and nonliving things
"Fill in the Holes" Activity: Matter is Everywhere
"Fill in the Holes" Activity: The Sun is an Important Star
Trees 2 extensions
Living Things 3, 7, 9
● Identifying relationships between light and shadows
● Predicting the occurrence of shadows
Relate a variety of sounds to their sources, including weather,
animal, and transportation sounds.
Examples: weather - thunder; animal-dog bark; transportation truck horn
"Fill in the Holes" Activity: What Makes a Shadow?
"Fill in the Holes" Activity: When Do Shadows Occur?
Weather 2, 4
Living Things 1, 2, 4, 8
Identify properties of motion, including change of position and
change of speed.
Predict whether an object will be attracted by a magnet.
Balls and Ramps 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13
Compare size, shape, structure, and basic needs of living
things.
Balls and Ramps 2
"Fill in the Holes" Activity: Magnets Are Attractive
Trees 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 1.4, 1.5, 1.6, 1.7, 1.8, 2.1, 2.2, 2.3, 2.4, 2.5,
2.6, 2 ext., 3.2, 3.4, 3.5, 3.6, 3.7, 3.8, 3.9, 3 ext.
Living Things 2, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13
GLOBE Y2
● Identifying similarities of offspring and their parents
"Fill in the Holes" Activity: Are You My Mother?
23
Kindergarten Year 1 GLOBE
Revised Fall 2008
Alabama Math, Science, and Technology Initiative (AMSTI)
Science Module, Lesson
GLOBE, Lesson
"Fill in the Holes" Activity
Course of Study Objective
7.
8.
9.
Classify objects using the five senses.
Weather 2, 4
Trees 1.7, 2.1, 2.2, 2.3, 2.4, 2.5, 2.6, 2 ext., 3.1, 3.2, 3.4, 3.7,
3.8
Living Things 1, 2, 4, 5, 6
● Grouping objects according to color, shape, size, sound,
taste, smell, texture, and temperature
Weather 7, 9, 13, 14
Trees 1.7, 2.1, 2.2, 2.3, 2.4, 2.5, 2.6, 2 ext., 3.1, 3.2, 3.4, 3.7,
3.8
Living Things 2, 4, 5
Balls and Ramps 2, 3, 12, 13
GLOBE Y2
"Fill in the Holes" Activity: Land or Water?
Weather 16 (LA ext. pg. 145)
Trees 3.1, 3.3, 3.4, 3.5, 3.6, 3.7, 3.8, 3.9, 3 ext.
GLOBE Y2
Identify features of Earth as landmasses or bodies of water.
Identify seasons of the year.
● Describe seasonal changes in the weather
10.
Identify objects observed in the sky with the unaided eye,
including the sun, clouds, moon, and rainbows.
Weather 16
Trees 3.6
Weather 2, 3, 13
GLOBE Y1 all lessons
24
Kindergarten Year 1 GLOBE
Revised Fall 2008
Alabama Math, Science, and Technology Initiative (AMSTI)
Cirrus
Clouds
Cumulus
Stratus
Contrails
Nimbus
25
Kindergarten Year 1 GLOBE
Revised Fall 2008
Alabama Math, Science, and Technology Initiative (AMSTI)
Making Clouds
Draw what you saw in the bag after you blew into it.
26A
Kindergarten Year 1 GLOBE
Revised Fall 2008
Alabama Math, Science, and Technology Initiative (AMSTI)
Making Clouds
Draw what you saw in the bag after you blew into it.
26B
Kindergarten Year 1 GLOBE
Revised Fall 2008
Alabama Math, Science, and Technology Initiative (AMSTI)
27
Kindergarten Year 1 GLOBE
Revised Fall 2008
Alabama Math, Science, and Technology Initiative (AMSTI)
28
Kindergarten Year 1 GLOBE
Revised Fall 2008
Alabama Math, Science, and Technology Initiative (AMSTI)
Cloud Protocols
To observe the type and cover of clouds including contrails
Overview
Student Outcomes
Students learn how to make estimates from
observations and how to categorize specific
clouds following general descriptions for the
categories.
10 minutes
Level
All
Frequency
Daily within one hour of local solar noon
In support of ozone and aerosol measurements
At the time of a satellite overpass
Additional times are welcome.
Materials and Tools
Atmosphere Investigation Data Sheet or
Cloud Data Sheet
GLOBE Cloud Chart
Observing Cloud Type (in the Appendix)
Prerequisites
None
GLOBE® 2005
Kindergarten Year 1 GLOBE
Cloud Protocols - 1
Revised Fall 2008
Appendix
Physical Science
Materials exist in different states – solid,
liquid, and gas.
Time
Learning Activities
Science Concepts
Earth and Space Science
Weather can be described by qualitative
observations.
Weather changes from day to day and
over the seasons.
Weather varies on local, regional, and
global spatial scales.
Clouds form by condensation of water
vapor in the atmosphere.
Clouds affect weather and climate.
The atmosphere has different properties
at different altitudes.
Water vapor is added to the atmosphere
by evaporation from Earth’s surface and
transpiration from plants.
Protocols
Students learn the meteorological concepts
of cloud heights, types, and cloud cover and
learn the ten basic cloud types.
Scientific Inquiry Abilities
Use a Cloud Chart to classify cloud types.
Estimate cloud cover.
Identify answerable questions.
Design and conduct scientific
investigations.
Use appropriate mathematics to analyze
data.
Develop descriptions and predictions
using evidence.
Recognize and analyze alternative
explanations.
Communicate procedures, descriptions,
and predictions.
Introduction
Students observe which of ten types of clouds
and how many of three types of contrails are
visible and how much of the sky is covered by
clouds (other than contrails) and how much is
covered by contrails.
Geography
The nature and extent of cloud cover
affects the characteristics of the
physical geographic system.
Welcome
Purpose
29
Atmosphere
Alabama Math, Science, and Technology Initiative (AMSTI)
Cloud Protocols –
Introduction
Clouds and the Atmosphere
Water in the environment can be a solid (ice and
snow), a liquid, or a gas (water vapor). As water
moves from place to place it can melt, freeze,
evaporate, or condense. These changes happen as
the water is warmed or cooled.
Water in the atmosphere exists in all three phases
(solid, liquid, gas) and changes phase depending
on temperature and pressure. Like most other
gases that make up the atmosphere, water vapor is
invisible to the human eye. However, unlike most
other gases in our atmosphere, under the right
conditions water vapor can change from a gas into
solid particles or liquid drops. If temperatures are
above freezing, the water vapor will condense into
water droplets. If temperatures are below freezing,
as they always are high in the atmosphere, tiny ice
crystals may form instead. When a large number
of water droplets or ice crystals are present, they
block light enough for us to see them – they form
clouds. So, clouds tell us something about air
temperature and water up in the sky. They also
affect the amount of sunlight reaching the ground
and how far we can see.
In the troposphere, the lowest part of the atmosphere, temperature decreases with increasing
altitude. As ice crystals form at high altitudes, they
are often blown away from the region where they
formed by the strong winds of the jet streams.
Through this process of formation and movement
ice crystals often merge into larger crystals and then
begin to fall. These falling or windblown crystals
create streaks, which we see as wispy clouds. These
streaks are often curved by the wind, which can
blow at different velocities at different altitudes.
Other types of clouds are blown about by the wind,
too. Updrafts help form towering clouds; downdrafts tend to create clear spaces between clouds.
Horizontal winds move clouds from place to place.
Clouds that form over lakes and oceans are blown
over the dryer land, bringing precipitation. Strong
winds high in the atmosphere sometimes blow the
tops off clouds creating anvil shapes or carrying
ice crystals far downwind to clear areas.
GLOBE® 2005
Kindergarten Year 1 GLOBE
Ice crystals and water drops scatter light differently. Thick clouds absorb more sunlight than
thin ones. The types of clouds, phases of water,
and amount of clouds, ice, and water drops all affect the amount of sunlight that comes through
the atmosphere to warm Earth’s surface. Clouds
also affect how easily heat from the surface can
escape through the atmosphere back to space.
By observing clouds, we can get information
about temperature, moisture, and wind conditions in different places in the atmosphere. This
information helps in predicting the weather.
Observations of clouds also help us know how
much sunlight is reaching the ground and
how easily heat from the ground and lower
atmosphere can escape, and this information is
important in understanding climate.
Clouds and Weather
Which types of clouds you see often depends on
the weather conditions you are experiencing or
will soon experience. Some clouds form only in
fair weather, while others bring showers or thunderstorms. The types of clouds present provide
important information about vertical movement
at different heights in the atmosphere. By paying
attention to the clouds, soon you will be able to
use cloud formation to forecast the weather!
Cloud types may indicate a trend in the weather
pattern. For example, altocumulus clouds are
often the first indicator that showers may occur later in the day. In middle latitudes, one
can often see the advance of a warm front by
watching the cloud types change from cirrus to
cirrostratus. Later on, as the front gets closer, the
clouds thicken and lower, becoming altostratus.
As precipitation begins, the altostratus clouds
become nimbostratus, immediately before the
front passes your location.
Cloud types are an important sign of the processes
that are occurring in the atmosphere. Clouds
indicate that moist air is moving upward, and
precipitation can only happen when this occurs.
Clouds often provide the first signal that bad
weather is coming, although not all clouds are
associated with bad weather.
Cloud Protocols - 2
Revised Fall 2008
30
Atmosphere
Alabama Math, Science, and Technology Initiative (AMSTI)
Clouds play a complex role in climate. They are the
source of precipitation, affect the amount of energy
from the sun that reaches Earth’s surface, and insulate Earth’s surface and lower atmosphere.
Cloud Protocols - 3
Revised Fall 2008
Appendix
GLOBE® 2005
Kindergarten Year 1 GLOBE
Learning Activities
Human activities also can affect cloud conditions.
One specific and obvious example is the formation
of contrails, or condensation trails. These are the
linear clouds formed when a jet aircraft passes
through a portion of the atmosphere having the
right combination of moisture and temperature.
The jet exhaust contains some water vapor as
well as small particles – aerosols – that provide
condensation nuclei that help ice crystals begin to
form. In some areas, jet traffic is causing a noticeable change in cloudiness, which may affect both
weather and climate.
Protocols
Conditions on Earth affect the amount and types
of clouds that form overhead. This helps to shape
local climate. For example, in rain forests, the
trees release large amounts of water vapor. As
daily heating causes the air to rise, clouds form
and intense rainstorms occur. Over three-quarters of the water in tropical rain forests is recycled
in this way and cloud cover is almost complete
for most of the year. In contrast, in a desert there
is no surface source of moisture and clear conditions are typical. These clear conditions allow for
more heating by sunlight and larger maximum
temperatures. In both cases, the local climate
– precipitation and temperature – is tied to cloud
conditions.
Many official sources of weather observations
are now using automated equipment to observe
clouds. These automated measurement systems
do not take cloud type observations. This makes
cloud observations by GLOBE students and
other amateur weather observers unique as a data
source. Since 1960, scientists have also used satellites to observe clouds. These observations began
with simple pictures of clouds, but more advanced
techniques are always being added. Scientists are
working to develop automated methods to infer
cloud types from visible and infrared weather satellite images. This task is hard, and observations
from the ground are needed for comparison. Contrail detection from space is especially challenging,
since many contrails are too narrow to see in satellite images. Accurate cloud type observations from
GLOBE students are an important source of these
ground-based observations.
Introduction
At any given time, over half of Earth’s surface is
shadowed by clouds. Clouds reflect some of the
sunlight away from Earth, keeping the planet
cooler than it would be otherwise. At the same
time, clouds absorb some of the heat energy
given off by Earth’s surface and release some of
this heat back toward the ground, keeping Earth’s
surface warmer than it would be otherwise. Satellite measurements have shown that, on average,
the cooling effect of clouds is larger than their
warming effect. Scientists calculate that if clouds
never formed in Earth’s atmosphere, our planet
would be over 20˚ C warmer on average.
How will cloud conditions change if Earth’s surface becomes warmer on average? If the surface
water of oceans and lakes warms, more water will
evaporate. This should increase the total amount
of water in the atmosphere and the amount of
cloud cover, but what type of clouds will form?
Will the increase in clouds happen mostly at high
altitudes or low altitudes? Clouds at all altitudes
reflect sunlight helping to cool Earth’s surface, but
high clouds release less heat to space and thus
warm the surface more than low clouds. So, the
changes in surface temperatures may depend on
how cloud conditions change.
Welcome
Clouds and Climate
31
Atmosphere
Alabama Math, Science, and Technology Initiative (AMSTI)
Teacher Support
Every one looks at clouds. Children often stare up
and imagine that they see the shapes of various
objects in the sky. In GLOBE, students will be shifting what they look for in the sky to some specific,
scientifically meaningful properties – cloud type
and cover. A great habit to develop is looking up at
the sky every time you go outdoors. Pay attention
to what is going on in the atmosphere. You might
be surprised at how much is happening!
Students take cloud observations with their eyes.
The only equipment needed is the GLOBE Cloud
Chart, so these protocols are easy to get started,
but identifying cloud cover and cloud types is a
skill. Students will get better with practice; the
more frequently you and your students take
cloud observations, the more comfortable you
will become with these measurements, and the
better will be the quality of your data.
With the advent of automated weather stations which only have instruments capable of
viewing clouds at heights up to 3,000 to 4,000
meters, many middle and high clouds, including
contrails, are no longer observable. The GLOBE
cloud observations will provide a useful data set,
continuing visual observations that have been
collected for over 100 years that are now being
replaced with automated observations.
Good questions to help students start determining the best place to take their measurements
would be:
Where on the school grounds would you see the
most clouds? Where would you see the least?
As you walk around the school grounds, have the
students draw a map of the area. The youngest
students could just sketch the main features,
such as the school building(s), parking lots, playgrounds, etc. Older students should fill in more
detail, such as what the playground surface is
(e.g. paved, grassy, or bare ground). Have them
note any streams or ponds and indicate areas
of trees. They could measure how much of the
sky is hidden by buildings and trees using the
clinometer and techniques given in Documenting Your Atmosphere Study Site. The goal is to
have a drawing of the school grounds so that
GLOBE® 2005
Kindergarten Year 1 GLOBE
students understand why the site for cloud observations was chosen. Each year, the new class
of students can repeat this mapping to gain this
understanding.
Measurement Hints
Cloud Cover
Cloud cover is a subjective estimate, but an important scientific one. Meteorologists and climate
scientists must have accurate cloud cover observations to correctly account for the amount of solar
radiation which is reflected or absorbed before
sunlight reaches Earth’s surface, and the amount
of radiation coming up from Earth’s surface and
lower atmosphere which is reflected or absorbed
before it can escape to space.
As the Learning Activity Estimating Cloud Cover
makes clear, the human eye tends to overestimate the percentage of the sky covered by
clouds. Having students do this activity is the
best first step to taking accurate measurements.
The other key to accuracy for cloud cover is to
have students observe the entire sky that is visible from your Atmosphere Study Site.
Once students begin to take cloud cover observations, it is important that the observations
be done by small groups in which a consensus can be achieved. One useful way to do
the observation is to divide the sky into four
quadrants, estimate the fractional coverage in
each quadrant, and then find the average. This
can be done using decimal values, or fractions,
depending on students’ mathematical abilities.
The biggest discrepancies will usually occur
for borderline situations, where one category
is close to another. Cloud cover categories are
given in Table AT-CL-1.
As students become more expert in this measurement, they will begin to realize that clouds are
three dimensional and have thickness. As one
looks toward the horizon, the sky can appear to
be more cloud covered than it really is because the
spaces between clouds are hidden from view. This
effect is more pronounced for low clouds than for
middle and high clouds (these categories are discussed under Cloud Type). It is also more of an issue
for cumulus clouds than for stratus clouds. If when
Cloud Protocols - 4
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Atmosphere
Alabama Math, Science, and Technology Initiative (AMSTI)
Table AT-CL-1
If less than
Clear
Isolated
Scattered
Broken
• Haze
Haze is caused by a collection of very
small water droplets, or aerosols (which
may be water droplets, pollutants or
natural dust particles suspended in the
atmosphere), which collectively give
the sky a reddish, brown, yellowish, or
white tint. Smog would be placed in
this category. GLOBE has a new Aerosols
Protocol for teachers who wish to learn
more about haze and its causes. Most
of the time measurable haze is present,
clouds will still be observable. This
category is only checked when the haze
is so extreme that clouds cannot be seen.
• Smoke
Smoke particles, from forest fires or other
sources, often severely restrict visibility
along and above the ground. If smoke is
• Sand
Blowing or suspended sand, or
sandstorms, generally require stronger
winds than dust events, but they can
GLOBE® 2005
Kindergarten Year 1 GLOBE
Cloud Protocols - 5
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Appendix
• Fog
Fog is a collection of small water droplets
which is based at the ground, and restricts
visibility along the ground and above
it. Stratus clouds are often associated
with fog. In coastal areas, mountains,
and valleys, fog may be prevalent during
the midday GLOBE observations. This
category will include ice fog or diamond
dust which is prevalent in cloud-free
weather at high latitudes.
• Dust
Wind will often pick up dust (small soil
particles – clay and silt) and transport
them thousands of kilometers. If the sky
cannot be discerned because of dust
falling or blowing, please report this
category. Severe duststorms may restrict
visibility at some locations, and they
would be reported in this category as
well, for example, if students cannot go
outdoors because of a severe duststorm,
the sky would be reported as obscured
and dust would be the reason.
Learning Activities
• Volcanic Ash
One of the greatest natural sources of
aerosols in the atmosphere occurs when
a volcano erupts. In such cases, it is
conceivable that schools may have ash
falling, or other restrictions to visibility
(perhaps a plume overhead).
Protocols
This protocol includes a category of “No Clouds”
which should be reported whenever there
are no clouds visible in the sky and a category
“Obscured Sky”. This condition is to be reported
when weather phenomena restrict the observer’s
ability to clearly see and identify the clouds
and contrails in the sky. There are ten possible
reportable obscurations. If your students have
difficulty seeing the clouds and contrails in more
than one-quarter of the sky, they will not report
cloud or contrail cover using one of the normal
categories, rather, they should report that the sky
is Obscured, and then report one (or more) of the
obscuring phenomena that are responsible for
the limited visibility of the sky. Metadata should
be reported for cloud and contrail cover for the
part of the sky that is visible if the sky is only
partially obscured. The obscuring phenomena
are defined below.
present, there will be a distinct odor of
smoke, distinguishing it from haze or fog.
Introduction
looking directly overhead students see a pattern
of cloud cover with individual puffs or long rolls
of cloud separated by clear areas, and the general
appearance of the clouds is similar looking toward
the horizon, it is reasonable to infer that there are
spaces between these clouds as well and the cloud
cover is not 100% toward the horizon.
If greater than or equal to
Isolated
Scattered
Broken
Overcast
Welcome
Percentage
10%
25%
50%
90%
33
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Alabama Math, Science, and Technology Initiative (AMSTI)
make it just as difficult for observers to
see the sky.
• Spray – (also called sea spray)
Near large bodies of water, strong winds
may suspend drops of water which will
be sufficient to reduce the visibility so
that the sky cannot be clearly discerned.
This category generally is restricted to
the area immediately adjacent to the
coast, once inland, salt particles may
be suspended after the water drops
evaporate, leaving aerosols behind.
• Heavy Rain
If rain is falling intensely at the time
of the observation, the sky may not
be visible. Even though it may seem
overcast, if you cannot see the entire sky,
you should report the sky as obscured,
and heavy rain being the cause.
• Heavy Snow
Snow may also fall at rates sufficient to
prevent the observer’s clear view of the
sky and cloud cover.
• Blowing Snow – In the event the wind
is blowing with sufficient strength to
lift fallen snow off the ground, it may
prevent observation of the sky. If blizzard
conditions are occurring (strong winds
and snow is still falling intensely), both
of these last two categories should be
reported.
Contrail Cover
The same technique of dividing the sky into four
quadrants described above for cloud cover can
also be used in the estimate of contrail cover. One
single persistent contrail crossing the sky covers
less than 1% of the sky (see Estimating Cloud Cover
Learning Activity). Therefore, counting contrails
can also be a good tool in the estimation. When
the sky is obscured, as described above, contrail
cover measurements cannot be taken.
Remember contrail cover is measured separately
from cloud cover. So when you estimate cloud
cover, you should not include contrails. When
you observe contrails that overlap with clouds,
you should report this in the metadata.
GLOBE® 2005
Kindergarten Year 1 GLOBE
Cloud Type
Cloud type is a qualitative measurement. The
GLOBE Cloud Chart, the cloud quiz on the
GLOBE Web site, and other cloud information
attainable in textbooks and from online sources
may be useful in helping students learn the many
different ways clouds can appear. However, twodimensional images look quite different compared
to actual sky observations, which are three-dimensional, and there is no substitute for experience in
taking cloud observations.
The cloud type system is organized into 3 categories depending on the height or altitude of
the base of the cloud. High clouds (cirro- or cirrus) are universally composed of ice crystals, and
hence are more delicate in appearance. Because
they are farther from the observer, they will also
appear smaller than other cloud types, in general. The wispy trails often seen in high clouds
are ice crystals falling and subliming (turning
from a solid into a gas). Generally, the sun can be
seen through high clouds and the ice particles in
cirrostratus clouds scatter the sunlight to form a
bright ring, called a halo, around the sun.
Middle clouds always begin with the prefix
alto- and are predominantly comprised of water
droplets. They may contain some ice. Sometimes
the sun can be seen through these clouds as well,
but without a ring.
Low clouds are closest to the observer, and they
will often appear to be quite large in comparison
to higher clouds. They may be much darker, appearing more gray than high or middle clouds.
Low clouds may extend to much higher altitudes, which can be seen when there are clear
gaps between the clouds.
Once this basic distinction is clear to you (high/
middle/low), the next thing to decide is the
shape or form of the cloud. If the cloud feature
is a fairly uniform layer, it will be a stratiform,
stratus-type cloud. Most clouds that have shape
or forms such as puffs, rolls, bands, or tufts, are
cumuliform, from the cumulus family. Finally, if
a cloud is producing precipitation (which the
observer can see), it must have nimbus in its
name. The wispy shapes produced by ice clouds
almost always occur at high altitudes and so
Cloud Protocols - 6
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Atmosphere
Alabama Math, Science, and Technology Initiative (AMSTI)
1. Practice cloud type observing by taking
the GLOBE cloud quiz, available from
the Resource Room of the GLOBE Web
server, or by spending a lot of time
looking at and identifying examples of
the predominant cloud types for your
location;
2. Do the following Learning Activities from
the GLOBE Atmosphere Teacher’s Guide
• Estimating Cloud Cover
• Observing, Describing and Identifying
Clouds
• Cloud Watch
These activities are designed to give students
plenty of opportunities to gain proficiency in
identifying cloud type and cloud cover.
Sometimes there may be disagreement among
students taking observations of clouds, and
the process of students coming to a consensus
is an important part of the scientific discovery
process. However, it may be useful to include
some commentary in the Metadata section of
your Data Sheet.
Cloud Protocols - 7
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Appendix
Practicing simulations with classmates will help
build students’ confidence. Be sure to have them
check the entire sky. One of the best ways to do
this is with groups of four students, standing backto-back, one facing north, one east, one south,
and one west. Now, each student is responsible
for estimating the amount of cloud from the
horizon to directly overhead in their quadrant.
Learning Activities
GLOBE® 2005
Kindergarten Year 1 GLOBE
Here are two effective ways to help train your
students to take the most accurate cloud observations possible:
Protocols
Short-lived contrails form when the air at the
elevation of the airplane is somewhat moist. Persistent contrails form when the air at the elevation
of the airplane is very moist, and are more likely to
affect climate than short-lived contrails are.
The estimates of cloud type and cloud cover are
subjective measurements, so involving several
students in this task is good. Each student should
take his or her own readings; then, students should
come to an agreement as a group. Do not be surprised if your students initially have difficulty with
these estimates. Even seasoned weather observers
debate which type of cloud they are seeing, or
exactly how much of the sky is covered by clouds.
As your students get used to these observations,
they will begin to recognize the subtle differences
in cloud types.
Introduction
Contrail Type
Contrails generally occur at high levels like
cirro- or cirrus clouds. However, as human-induced clouds, contrails are reported in a separate
category. There are three types of contrails for
students to classify. These are:
• Short-lived – contrails that disappear
shortly and form short line segments
in the sky that fade out as the distance
away from the airplane that created them
increases.
• Persistent Non-Spreading – these
contrails remain long after the airplane
that made them has left the area. They
form long, generally straight, lines of
approximately constant width across the
sky. These contrails are no wider then
your index finger held at arm’s length.
• Persistent Spreading – these contrails
also remain long after the airplane that
made them has left the area. They form
long streaks that have widened with time
since the plane passed. These contrails
are wider than your index finger held at
arm’s length. This type is the only type
that can currently be seen in satellite
imagery; and only when they are wider
than four fingers held at arm’s length.
Therefore, noting the equivalent finger
width of these contrails in the metadata
will be very useful for the scientists.
Refer to the Web site of the contrail team for additional pictures of the various contrail types.
Student Preparation
Welcome
they are called by the same name as high clouds
– cirro- or cirrus. By performing the Cloud Watch
Learning Activity from time to time with your
students, you (and they) will gain more confidence in their ability to identify the cloud types
in a complex sky!
35
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Alabama Math, Science, and Technology Initiative (AMSTI)
Make sure they are all defining their quadrant in
the same way. Once each student has an estimate
(use 10% increments, or fractions like eighths or
tenths), take the average of the four estimates by
summing them and dividing by 4. This method
will be particularly useful when you have a difficult sky that leads to different estimates among
group members.
The following tip may help your students determine the heights of cumulus clouds. Have them
extend their arm away from their shoulder parallel to the ground, and align their fingers with the
cloud feature they are observing. A good rule of
thumb to use is that if the individual puffs, rolls,
waves, etc., of the clouds are smaller than one finger width, they are cirrocumulus. If they are not
as wide as two fingers, but wider than one finger,
it is most likely an altocumulus. If wider than two
fingers, it will be cumulus (look for isolated puffs),
stratocumulus (clouds are wider than tall, and
there are many, perhaps elongated in bands),
or cumulonimbus (with precipitation).
For distinguishing the different heights of stratus
clouds, remember the following. Cirrostratus is
the only cloud type which can produce a halo
around the sun or moon. The halo will have all
the rainbow colors in it. Altostratus will produce
a thinly veiled sun or moon, and will often be
darker in appearance, a medium gray color.
Stratus will usually be very gray and often very
low to the ground. Fog is actually a stratus cloud
at zero altitude.
Questions for Further Discussion
Do cloud patterns change during the year?
How?
Does the amount of cloud cover affect the local
temperature?
How reliable are local weather forecasts based
on cloud type observations alone? Can they
be improved by using other GLOBE measurements?
Do cloud conditions and phenomena that block
our view of the sky influence the types of vegetation and soil in our area? If so, how?
How do our cloud observations compare with
satellite images of clouds?
Are contrails often seen in the local area? Why or
why not?
Are the types of clouds and contrails you observe
related?
How do the clouds you see relate to nearby mountains, lakes, large rivers, bays, or the ocean?
Here are some questions that students may be
thinking about (or asking) as they take cloud
observations:
What kind of sky do I see?
What kind of sky do other students from
nearby schools see?
Should they be the same?
Cloud cover in particular can be a very local
phenomenon, and therefore cloud type may
vary significantly from one place to another
nearby. When viewed as an aggregate for a large
grouping of GLOBE schools, cloud observations
become more useful. Also, local cloud observations are important to several other GLOBE
protocols.
GLOBE® 2005
Kindergarten Year 1 GLOBE
Cloud Protocols - 8
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Atmosphere
Alabama Math, Science, and Technology Initiative (AMSTI)
Cloud Cover and Contrail Cover
Protocol
Field Guide
Task
Observe how much of the sky is covered by clouds and contrails.
What You Need
❑ Atmosphere Investigation Data Sheet OR Cloud Data Sheet OR Ozone Data Sheet OR Aerosol Data Sheet
In the Field
1. Complete the top section of your Data Sheet.
2. Look at the sky in every direction.
3. Estimate how much of the sky is covered by clouds that are not contrails.
4. Record which cloud classification best matches what you see.
5. Record which contrail classification best matches how much of the sky is covered by contrails.
Cloud Cover Classifications
Contrail Classifications
No Clouds
None
The sky is cloudless; there are no clouds visible. There are no contrails visible.
Clear
0-10 %
Clouds are present but cover less than one-tenth Contrails are present but cover less than
(or 10%) of the sky.
one-tenth (or 10%) of the sky.
Isolated Clouds
10-25 %
Clouds cover between one-tenth (10%)
Contrails cover between one-tenth (10%)
and one-fourth (25%) of the sky.
and one-fourth (25%) of the sky.
Scattered Clouds
25-50%
Clouds cover between one-fourth (25%)
Contrails cover between one-fourth (25%)
and one-half (50%) of the sky.
and one-half (50%) of the sky.
Broken Clouds
> 50%
Clouds cover between one-half (50%)
Contrails cover more than one-half (50%)
and nine-tenths (90%) of the sky.
of the sky.
Overcast
Clouds cover more than nine-tenths (90%)
of the sky.
Obscured
Clouds and contrails cannot be observed because more than one-fourth (25%) of the sky cannot be
seen clearly.
6. If the sky is Obscured, record what is blocking your view of the sky. Report as many of the
following as you observe.
• Smoke • Haze
• Volcanic Ash • Dust
• Fog
• Sand
• Spray
• Heavy Rain
• Heavy Snow
• Blowing Snow
GLOBE® 2005
Kindergarten Year 1 GLOBE
Cloud Protocols - 9
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Atmosphere
Alabama Math, Science, and Technology Initiative (AMSTI)
Cloud Type and Contrail Type
Protocol
Field Guide
Task
To see which of the ten types of clouds and how many of each of the three types of contrails are visible
What You Need
❑ Atmosphere Investigation Data Sheet OR
❑ GLOBE Cloud Chart
Cloud Data Sheet OR
Ozone Data Sheet OR
Aerosol Data Sheet
❑ Observing Cloud Type (in Appendix)
In the Field
1. Look at all the clouds in the sky, look in all directions, including directly overhead. Be careful
not to look directly at the sun.
2. Identify the types of clouds that you see using the GLOBE cloud chart and the definitions
found in Observing Cloud Type.
3. Check the box on your Data Sheet for each and every cloud type you see.
Contrails
4. There are three types of contrails. Record the number
of each type you see.
Clouds
Cirrus
Short-lived
Cirrostratus
Cirrocumulus
6000 m
Altostratus
Alto
Altocumulus
2000 m
Stratus
Persistent Non-Spreading
Stratocumulus
Nimbostratus
Cumulus
Cumulonimbus
Persistent Spreading
GLOBE® 2005
Kindergarten Year 1 GLOBE
Cloud Protocols - 10
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Atmosphere
Alabama Math, Science, and Technology Initiative (AMSTI)
GLOBE® 2005
Kindergarten Year 1 GLOBE
7. I am not sure whether what I see is cirrus or
old, spreading contrails?
At some point the distinction between the two cannot be made. In this situation, please report cirrus,
but also note in your comments that the cirrus
looks like it may have started from a contrail.
Cloud Protocols - 11
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Appendix
4. We have trouble figuring out if we are
correct when we call a certain cloud one of the
ten types. How do we know if we are correct?
6. What do I report if only part of the sky is
obscured, but I can determine cloud types for
part of the sky?
If more than one-quarter of the total sky is obscured, report ‘obscured’, and report the cloud
types that you see in metadata. If less than
one-quarter of the total sky is obscured, record
the cloud cover and cloud types and state in the
metadata how much of the sky is obscured.
Learning Activities
3. Is there any way to make sure
that our observations are accurate,
since there is no instrument to calibrate?
These data are important, and practice will help
you to become proficient in estimating cloud
cover. You can compare your own observations
with nearby neighbors’ observations, and compare them with “official” observations, too, to
learn how accurate your own observations are,
but remember that on some days the cloud conditions will be different even over short distances
and they may change in minutes. If you do them
diligently every day, you should become very
comfortable with your efforts!
Protocols
2. Can’t an instrument be designed to measure
cloud cover?
Yes, in fact, lasers are used to measure this and
the instrument is called a ceilometer. Ceilometers measure the portion of the sky covered by
clouds, but they are very expensive. Furthermore, many of the ceilometers in use today
only provide accurate estimates of cloud cover
up to heights of about 3.5 kilometers, which
makes them useless for most middle clouds
and
all high clouds. Cloud cover is an aggregate of
all clouds at all levels, and human observations
are still the best way to measure this from the
ground. Also, ceilometers take only a single
point or profile measurement that may not be
representative of the overall cloud cover.
5. Is this cloud type observation system in
GLOBE unique or new in some way?
This system is the same one that meteorologists have been using for two hundred years.
Many scientists report becoming interested in
science because they started to observe the sky
and note how it was different (in terms of cloud
types) from one day to another. The scientific
basis of this cloud type observing system has not
changed substantially since it was first devised.
The systematic breakdown of clouds into ten
basic types was motivated, at least in part, by
the classification of species of living things into
the Animal and Plant Kingdoms by biologists.
In fact, meteorologists often further divide the
cloud types into other specific variations within
each cloud type. Castellanus refers to castle-like
turrets in a cloud formation, an indicator that
the atmosphere is becoming unstable, perhaps
foretelling precipitation. Lenticularis means
lens-shaped, a cloud often formed over high
mountains. And cumulus are often separated
into humilis (fair weather, puffy) or congestus
(towering, heaped like cauliflower, very tall).
Introduction
1. Why do we have to report cloud cover
observations even if there are no clouds?
It is just as important for scientists to know when
there are no clouds in the sky as when there are
clouds. Please always report the cloud cover,
even on a beautiful day with blue sky! How could
you accurately calculate average cloud cover if
data were always missing for completely clear
days? Also be aware that clear sky is the easiest
measurement from the ground, but the hardest to determine with confidence from satellite
imagery.
You can’t know for sure. The most
important thing to do is to practice identifying cloud types as often as you can. If you have
access to the World Wide Web, you can take the
Interactive GLOBE cloud quiz, which you will find
online as part of the GLOBE Web site. Also, you
may wish to obtain another copy of the GLOBE
Cloud Chart, cut it up, and make flash cards to
help quiz your classmates.
Welcome
Frequently Asked Questions
39
Atmosphere
Alabama Math, Science, and Technology Initiative (AMSTI)
Cloud Protocol –
Looking At Your Data
Are the data reasonable?
Given the subjective nature of cloud observations,
it can be very difficult to determine if they are
reasonable.
The internal consistency of the observations can
be used to determine whether cloud type and
cover data are reasonable. For instance, if there
is overcast cloud cover with stratus, stratocumulus, or nimbostratus clouds, reports of alto or
cirro cloud types would be unlikely as observers
on the ground would not be able to see higher
altitude clouds through the thick lower cloud
cover. Another example would be reports of only
cirrus clouds with overcast skies; cirrus clouds are
only very rarely present in the amounts needed
to cover 90% of the sky. The same is true for cumulus clouds as there must be breaks between
the clouds for them to be cumulus (rather than
stratocumulus).
What do scientists look for in these
data?
Many official weather observing stations across
the world have effectively stopped taking cloud
observations. National meteorological organizations have two primary reasons for this change.
First, weather satellites are constantly monitoring
Earth’s surface and atmosphere, and we have become much better at determining cloud cover from
satellite pictures in recent years. Second, many
weather stations are taking their observations using
automated instruments. These instruments cannot
determine cloud type, and are often limited in their
ability to distinguish middle and high cloud layers.
The automated instruments can only sense clouds
up to about 3.6 km in altitude and many cloud
types are too high for most of these ceilometers to
see them. So, they can only see half of the cloud
types (cumulus, cumulonimbus, stratus, stratocumulus, and nimbostratus).
teorologists to forecast the weather. By watching
a clear sky change to a sky with isolated cumulus
clouds, which may grow to scattered cumulus and
broken cumulonimbus clouds, you can expect
that thundershowers may begin soon. When an
overcast stratus cloud thins out to stratocumulus,
you might expect clearer weather to follow. Climate scientists like to watch cloud changes over
long periods of time, to see if there is an increase
or decrease in cloud cover or a change in type.
Since the early 1960’s, meteorologists have had
weather satellite pictures that can be used to see
clouds (generally shown as white areas on satellite pictures), such as Figure AT-CL-1, a visible
photograph from the NOAA 15 polar-orbiting
weather satellite of the Gulf of Mexico, near the
southeastern United States. Clouds are seen over
the waters to the west of Florida, in the Bahamas
and on the eastern edge of the picture, off the
coast of North Carolina. The land areas of the
southeastern United States are fairly clear along
the Atlantic Ocean, but further to the west we
see some clouds that are not as bright. This tells
meteorologists that these clouds are probably
lower and/or not as thick as the bright white
ones in this mid-afternoon picture.
Scientists who work with satellite data need
good surface observations of clouds to provide
what is called ground truth for their satellite
observations. These observations are important
because they help meteorologists to understand
Figure AT-CL-1: Satellite Image
Clouds have been observed and associated with
weather changes for centuries; in fact our cloud
classification system is over 200 years old. The
changes that you observe in the clouds help meGLOBE® 2005
Kindergarten Year 1 GLOBE
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Alabama Math, Science, and Technology Initiative (AMSTI)
GLOBE® 2005
Kindergarten Year 1 GLOBE
Designing an Investigation
Natalie has always been interested in clouds. She
is always drawing them and making shapes out of
them in her mind. Natalie is one of the students
in her class who volunteers to take GLOBE Atmosphere measurements and really likes to observe
the clouds. Natalie decides to make her own cloud
chart for the class, using cotton balls, white paper,
blue construction paper, and glue. Her teacher
decides to make that a class project, and they
make a beautiful display board with cloud cover
examples on it (from the Estimating Cloud Cover
Learning Activity), and pictures of each of the ten
cloud types.
Natalie wonders if the sky that she sees is the
same sky that others see at nearby schools. The
class decides to compare their cloud observations each day to those of two other schools
in their area, another elementary school and a
middle school. Some of the children think that
it is a game that has to be won by finding the
most cloud types, but that is quickly corrected
by the teacher. She tells the students that they
Cloud Protocols - 13
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Appendix
Each cloud cover observation also contains a
cloud type observation, where students identify
each of the ten possible cloud types present.
Making a map of such observations would be
very complicated, since there are so many pos-
An Example of a Student Research
Investigation
Learning Activities
Note the large number of gray boxes near the
center of the state of Ohio in the map above.
From the map legend, we see that these indicate
areas of overcast skies. There are a few stations
nearby that are not overcast, including one
observation of an obscured sky, one broken,
and one scattered. Perhaps a storm system is
affecting a fairly large area of northern Ohio
and western Pennsylvania. To the west of this
area, the observations are mostly of clear skies.
The same is true on the far eastern edge of the
map, where skies are also mostly clear. Note how
similar the cloud type observations are to each
other within a region.
If you look to the eastern edge of the map, there
are many schools reporting high clouds, middle
and high clouds, or low and high clouds. Perhaps
these schools are in the path of a storm system
that is moving their way from eastern Ohio.
Protocols
Let’s look at some maps to see how we might
proceed with such investigations. Figure AT-CL2 shows some cloud cover observations for a
spring day in 2001 over part of the United States
and Canada, near the Great Lakes. The Great
Lakes are large bodies of water that provide
ample moisture to the atmosphere through
evaporation. High levels of water vapor often
lead to cloudy skies. The weather map for that
day will also be useful to understand what type
of cloud systems were present for that day since,
in general, air must be rising to produce clouds
and low pressure systems and fronts are the most
likely areas for clouds to form.
Let’s concentrate on eastern Ohio once again.
Note that almost all of the observations are
red, with a couple of green squares, a couple of
blue squares, and one purple square. The map
legend shows that red squares are low clouds (L),
green squares are middle clouds (M), and blue
squares are high clouds (H). The purple square is
for an observation of low and high clouds (L+H)
combined. Once again, the cloud observations
are generally similar to each other, with most
GLOBE schools reporting that low clouds were
present.
Introduction
Satellite photographs do not always give scientists a clear idea of which cloud types are present.
This is particularly true for contrails, which are
often too narrow to be seen from space. For this
reason, it is important for scientists to be able to
find areas of low, middle, and high clouds, since
each cloud layer will have different abilities to
block sunlight and trap infrared radiation.
sible combinations. GLOBE maps of cloud cover
are drawn by dividing all cloud types into their
height categories – low, middle, and high – and
combinations of these. See Figure AT-CL-3.
Welcome
how accurate their satellite observations continue to be. In general, the more GLOBE schools
that produce cloud observations, the better for
scientists who wish to use these data, because
they can assess how accurate and consistent the
observations are by making such comparisons.
41
Atmosphere
Alabama Math, Science, and Technology Initiative (AMSTI)
are collecting data that scientists will be using
in research work, and that it is important that
they do this job well. It does not take long for
the students to all pitch in and do a good job
collecting their observations.
Collecting and Analyzing Data
After they have made their cloud observations for
about three weeks, the students use the GLOBE
visualization tool to find other nearby schools
with many cloud observations. They decide to
limit their search to schools within 50 km of their
school and they find 7 other schools. One of the
students has a big sister that goes to a middle
school they found, and another attended a different elementary school last year, so they choose
those two schools.
The students decide to compare data first by
printing out maps for each day for cloud cover
and cloud type. Using these maps, they make an
observation that the cloud cover observations
at the nearby schools are not always the same
as theirs.. In particular, the other elementary
school, which is near the mountains, seems to
have more cloud cover and more observations
of cumulus clouds than Natalie’s school. They
decide that this will be a good investigation.
The middle school reports cloud observations
similar to theirs.
The students read about mountain weather and
discover that in mountain areas there usually are
more clouds, because as the air is blown across
the mountains it has to rise, and rising air often
leads to cloud formation. Because strong upward
motions form the clouds, they tend to be cumulus and even cumulonimbus clouds. This seems
to explain what they are seeing, and Mrs. Jones
suggests that they test this explanation.
After examining data for an entire year, the
students find the following data for 240 observations:
Natalie’s
school
Mountain View
school
No clouds
15
10
Clear
33
27
Isolated
18
14
Scattered
32
35
Broken
64
66
Overcast
71
79
Obscured Sky
7
9
It is clear indeed that the Mountain View school
has more overcast days and fewer clear days (or
days with no clouds) than Natalie’s school. The
students are happy that they have been able to
test their explanation with observations.
Future Research
Another curiosity they observe, with their teacher’s
help, is the larger number of observations of
low cloud (23 more days with low cloud types
at Mountain View School than Natalie’s school),
and they wonder if they are cumulonimbus or cumulus clouds? They also wonder if the Mountain
View school has more precipitation than Natalie’s
school, if they have more cumulonimbus clouds.
The students are eager to begin their next investigation!
The students expect to find that GLOBE schools
near the mountains have more cloud cover
and more observations of cumulus clouds than
other nearby schools farther away from the
mountains.
GLOBE® 2005
Kindergarten Year 1 GLOBE
Cloud Protocols - 14
Revised Fall 2008
42
Atmosphere
Alabama Math, Science, and Technology Initiative (AMSTI)
Figure AT-CL-2
Figure AT-CL-3
GLOBE® 2005
Kindergarten Year 1 GLOBE
Cloud Protocols - 15
Revised Fall 2008
43
Atmosphere
Alabama Math, Science, and Technology Initiative (AMSTI)
Our Clouds
Student Scientist ____________________________
Data______________________________ Local Time________________________
N
W
Latitude __________________________
Longitude ________________________
Circle the Cloud Type: (Pick all the types that you see)
High in the Sky:
Cirrus
Cirrocumulus
Cirrostratus
Middle of the Sky:
Altocumulus
Altostratus
Low in the Sky:
Cumulus
Stratocumulus
Rain or Snow Producing Clouds:
Nimbostratus
Stratus
Cumulonimbus
Number of Contrails: _____ Short-lived
_____ Persistent Non-Spread
_____ Persistent Spreading
44A
Kindergarten Year 1 GLOBE
Revised Fall 2008
Alabama Math, Science, and Technology Initiative (AMSTI)
Our Clouds
Student Scientist ____________________________
Data______________________________ Local Time________________________
N
W
Latitude __________________________
Longitude ________________________
Circle the Cloud Type: (Pick all the types that you see)
High in the Sky:
Cirrus
Cirrocumulus
Cirrostratus
Middle of the Sky:
Altocumulus
Altostratus
Low in the Sky:
Cumulus
Stratocumulus
Rain or Snow Producing Clouds:
Nimbostratus
Stratus
Cumulonimbus
Number of Contrails: _____ Short-lived
_____ Persistent Non-Spread
_____ Persistent Spreading
44B
Kindergarten Year 1 GLOBE
Revised Fall 2008
Alabama Math, Science, and Technology Initiative (AMSTI)
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45
Kindergarten Year 1 GLOBE
Revised Fall 2008
Alabama Math, Science, and Technology Initiative (AMSTI)
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46
Kindergarten Year 1 GLOBE
Revised Fall 2008
Alabama Math, Science, and Technology Initiative (AMSTI)
47A
Kindergarten Year 1 GLOBE
Revised Fall 2008
Alabama Math, Science, and Technology Initiative (AMSTI)
47B
Kindergarten Year 1 GLOBE
Revised Fall 2008
Alabama Math, Science, and Technology Initiative (AMSTI)
Entering Our Data
Kindergarten Year 1 GLOBE
1. Go to the GLOBE website: www.globe.gov.
2. Log-in located on the right hand side of your screen.
3. Your User Name is __________________. The password is SGLOBE2.
4. Click on “For Students”, scroll down to Data Entry. Click on Data Entry.
5. Click on Atmosphere/Climate Data.
6. Select Define Atmosphere Study Site. (Do this only if you do NOT have a
third grade.)
7. Fill in the appropriate information and click SEND DATA. (You should get a
smiley face before going on.) The questions with a red * are required for
your data to be accepted. Click SEND DATA. Wait for the smiley face. If
you do not get one, read what needs to be corrected and scroll down to make
the changes.
8. Return to the “For Students” scroll down to Data Entry. Click it on. Select
Atmosphere/Climate select Cloud Observations.
9. Fill in data. As you complete each page, click Proceed.
NOTE: If you have an adult or older student entering data, you may enter it
weekly.
At the Atmosphere Data location, select Atmosphere Seven Days.
The AMSTI website (www.amsti.org) contains teaching resources including
PowerPoints, Internet links, new materials, etc.
48
Kindergarten Year 1 GLOBE
Revised Fall 2008
Alabama Math, Science, and Technology Initiative (AMSTI)
Cloud Game Pictures
All cloud pictures were downloaded from http://eo.ucar.edu/webweather/cloud3.html.
Kindergarten Year 1 GLOBE
Revised Fall 2008
49
Alabama Math, Science, and Technology Initiative (AMSTI)
Kindergarten Year 1 GLOBE Literature Connections
Title
Author
ISBN
Cloud Dance
Thomas Locker
0152045961
Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs
It Looked Like Spilt Milk
Little Cloud
The Cloud Book
Judi Barrett
Charles G. Shaw
Eric Carle
Tomie dePaola
0689707495
0064433129
0698118308
0823405311
50
Kindergarten Year 1 GLOBE
Revised Fall 2008
Alabama Math, Science, and Technology Initiative (AMSTI)