Forecasting the Future: How Weather Works
A Collaborative Classroom Project
Key Elements
Engage, Activate Prior Knowledge and Build Context
Day 1-2
Day 1: Engage
Preparation: Print out the word cards from Weather Word Sort. Cut apart the cards and mix them up. Draw a
large t-chart on the chalkboard, labeling columns YES and NO.
Tell students that they are going to be figuring out the learning focus of their new unit of study through a
word sorting game. Their job is to determine what all of the YES words have in common.
Call students one at a time to pick a word card. Ask each student volunteer to follow the following procedure:
1.
2.
Read the word aloud.
Follow your directions to place the word into either the YES or NO column.
Explain to students that when they think they have figured out what the YES words have in common they
should not tell the others. Instead, they should volunteer to get a word and then guess which column it goes
into. Tell the student whether or not they have placed the word correctly, but do not explain why. Once all of
the words have been sorted, ask students to turn to a partner and reveal what they think the topic is for their
new unit of study. Confirm that the topic is weather and congratulate your students on their good observation
skills! Tell them that their good observation skills will come in handy during their study of weather.
Explain that during the weather unit the class is going to be working with another class who is also studying
weather. Tell students that they will have the opportunity to write email exchanges with students in the other
class to learn more about weather around the world. Get them excited about the culminating activity by
telling them that at the end of the unit the classroom is going to turn into a television studio as they work
together to write and produce a weather broadcast forecasting the weather in their ePals location.
Show National Geographic’s video, Weather 101, on how to know when intense weather is likely to occur.
Consider showing a weather broadcast – You can find international broadcasts online
at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/weather/broadband/nb_wm_console.shtml?show=world
Begin Daily Weather Routine
Students need to spend time every day during this unit observing the weather and comparing it to the
forecast. If you don’t already have one in place, add a mini-weather report to your morning welcome routine.
This routine should only take about 2-5 minutes per day. Although all students need to observe the weather
conditions – choose only one student per day to report orally on the conditions they observed. Decide ahead
of time what your expectations for the report will be. Cleary communicate which weather conditions you want
students prepared to report on. (It would be helpful to have a thermometer attached to a classroom window
so that the outside temperature can be easily measured.) Choose another student (assigned on a rotating
schedule) to be prepared with the forecasted weather (having written it down from a tv weather report,
brought in the newspaper weather forecast or printed it out from a weather or news website). Discuss the
similarities and differences between the forecasted weather and actual weather. Discuss why there are
differences. You may want to chart how many days the meteorologists get it right! At some point during the
unit, enrich these discussions about actual vs. predicted weather by sharing these articles that explore
reasons for the disparity between the two.
1.
2.
This article includes an interesting discussion on the accuracy (and future) of weather forecasting:
http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/0506/feature5/
This article discusses the increasing accuracy of weather forecasting due to improving
technology:http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2005/08/0829_050829_supercomputer_2.ht
ml
Day 2: Activate Prior Knowledge
Post the essential questions in a prominent place in the classroom. Read over the questions and share with
students that they are going to show what they already know about these questions by beginning a chart for
each question. Distribute copies of the handout what I know/ how I know it/ what I learned charts to each
student. Explain to students that they are to read the question at the top of each page and think about what
background knowledge they already have dealing with that question. Then, they need to list the things they
know related to that question in the “what I know” column. Right next to each fact in the “how I know it”
column, students should write how they know that information – did they learn it from a book? Another
class? Personal Experience? A television program? Someone else told them? The Internet? Remind
students that they are not expected to know complete answers to these questions – the purpose of the unit
is to explore these questions!
Note: This chart exercise is an alternative to the traditional KWL chart. If you prefer, you can replace this
activity with a KWL chart on the essential questions. See http://www.readingquest.org/strat/kwl.html for an
explanation of the KWL strategy.
Now, give students an opportunity to watch the video (National Geographic Weather) on their own (multiple
times if needed) and add information to their chart. This will help them all develop base knowledge of
weather, and their interest, before starting into emails and other activities.
This activity will help you to assess what your students already know so that instruction can build on that
knowledge. Tell students that these charts will be returned to them at the end of the unit for them to add the
information that they’ve learned regarding each essential question.
Build Context: Set up a weather exploration center in your classroom.
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2.
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Stock the center with a wide variety of weather related informational texts.
Display tools that meteorologists use to measure weather (for ideas on how you or your students
can make these tools, visit: http://www.fi.edu/weather/todo/todo.html)
Create a weather word wall. Post the words from the weather word sort and challenge students to
find and post the definitions. Have index cards available for students to add weather words (and
their definitions!) to the word wall as they learn them. Invite students to try the weather word search
at: http://kids.nationalgeographic.com/Games/PuzzlesQuizzes/Weather-word-search
Start a weather photo album – Invite students to bring in pictures of different types of weather. It’s
especially fun if they are in the pictures! You can find great online pictures
at: http://www.photolib.noaa.gov/nssl/
Make a “weather questions” board. Allow students to post questions they have about weather. Tell
students that they not only have the opportunity to ask questions but that they can also answer
questions. Invite them to take a question whenever they have time and research the answer and
post the answer back on the board – always naming their source of course! Monitor this board to
make sure that questions are appropriate and that answers are factual.
Students exchange 6 emails with their ePals
Email #1: How Do We Get Information About The Weather?
Day 3-4
Classroom Instruction: Day 3
“How do we get information about current weather conditions and weather forecasts?” Pose that question to
your students and record their answers on chart paper. Answers could include, but are not limited to,
television, radio, internet, and newspapers. Share the article, “At Your Fingertips”, which explains several
reliable sources for weather information. Explain to students that they are going to choose any two sources
from their brainstorming to compare the quantity and quality of information that is available through the
different sources. Remind students that they are going to be creating their own weather television broadcast
at the end of this unit as their culminating project. For that reason, explain that they will be required to use a
television broadcast as one of their sources to increase their familiarity with this format. The other source
can be their choice from their brainstormed list of sources. Hand out a copy of the Weather Information
Comparison Chart to each student. Show a pre-recorded weather broadcast from your local television
station. Instruct students that as they watch, they should be completing the left side of the chart dealing with
the television broadcast. After the class has completed viewing the television broadcast, discuss the
pros/cons of getting weather information from this source. Students should take notes during this discussion
onto their chart. After students have completed the left side of their chart based on the broadcast, ask them
to choose and record the other source that they would like to use on the right side of their chart. Either
provide class time and resources for students to complete this side of the chart or assign the chart’s
completion for homework. Regardless of if charts are completed in class or at home, require students to
answer the follow-up question: Which source do you prefer for getting weather related information? Why?”
Writing Email: Day 4
Start getting to know your ePal by asking some personal weather questions such as:
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Did you wear a coat to school today?
What are three ways weather affected the choices you made today?
1.
Share with your ePal the two weather information sources that you evaluated and your opinions
about those sources.
Consider using these questions to guide your discussion:
a. Which two sources did you evaluate?
b. In your opinion, which source provided you with the best information?
c. Which source was the easiest to understand?
d. Which source would you recommend to a friend who wanted to know about the weather?
Why?
e. Do you think you’ll use both of the sources to find out about weather in the future? Why or
why not?
f. Was there anything you didn’t like about either of the sources? Explain why.
g. Do you have any suggestions for improving the sources? Explain.
h. Which source was easier to use if you were in a hurry? Why?
Ask your ePal questions about what weather information sources people use in his/her country.
2.
Email #2: What are the conditions that make up weather?
Day 5-14
Classroom Instruction: Day 5
Lead students in a discussion about the first emails they received. Allow students to share any fascinating
information they learned about their ePal or weather information sources in their ePal’s country.
Explain to students that the conditions that make up weather are both observable and measurable. In the
following weather journal activity students will learn how to observe and measure four of these conditions.
Weather Journal: Students will need to keep a weather journal for one week. Keeping the journal will
heighten your students’ awareness of the weather while encouraging them to practice their observation skills.
Use the weekly weather journal, create one of your own, or have the students create their own. Regardless
of how the journal looks, be sure to have students include observations of these components: temperature,
precipitation, cloud cover and wind speed. Explain to them how they will determine their responses for each
of these categories:
1.
2.
temperature: Students can use a thermometer to take the daily temperature or find out the
temperature from another source. (Discuss valid sources: a television weather report, newspaper
or weather web report.) Ask students to not only record the temperature, but also to record their
source. For practice reading a thermometer, use the interactive thermometer at Interactive
Thermometer. (Based on your ePals location, your students may need to understand how to
convert temperatures from Celsius to Fahrenheit or vice versa. At this time, teach students to use
the Celsius/Fahrenheit converter or chart found in the related resources. Then, refer them to these
resources throughout the project as they communicate with their ePal.)
precipitation: Discuss with students the many possible types of precipitation. Check out this
site http://content.scholastic.com/browse/article.jsp?id=5182 to increase your own background
3.
knowledge of precipitation. Remind students that it is ok to write “none” in their journal if there is no
precipitation!
cloud cover: Students will need to observe the sky and then classify the cloud covering in one of
the following ways:
SCATTERED CLOUDS -covered one quarter of the way with clouds
PARTLY CLOUDY - half with clouds
MOSTLY CLOUDY - mostly with clouds
OVERCAST - all the way covered with clouds For a cloud photo gallery,
visit: http://science.nationalgeographic.com/science/photos/clouds.html
Students can record cloud cover using symbols. Here’s one idea on how to teach cloud cover
symbols: http://www.sciencenetlinks.com/pdfs/measuring_teachsheet.pdf Since symbols are
frequently used in reporting weather (and will be used in the culminating activity weather broadcast)
it is a good idea to introduce students to this concept.
Invite students to check out “Eye on the Sky”, a weather map filled with weather symbols. Students
try to match the symbol to the explanation! If students demonstrate interest in types of clouds,
direct them to read “The Namer of Clouds”.
4.
wind speed: Students should observe and report on wind conditions using the Beaufort wind scale,
which ranks the force of the wind as #1-12 based on the appearance of the winds’ effects. Invite
students to view the Beaufort scale at “Admiral Beaufort Scales the Gale”.
or http://www.spc.noaa.gov/faq/tornado/beaufort.html.Make sure students understand the basics of
what causes wind by having them read What Makes Wind.
For the same week, students will be monitoring the weather in their ePals location by checking weather
reports. Students will record the information they find on their ePals location on their ePals location: Weather
Research handout. Share this recording form with your students and discuss expectations for completion.
Discuss possible sources that they can use for finding their data. Provide students with reliable worldwide
weather report sites:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/weather/world/
http://www.weather.com/common/welcomepage/world.html
http://www.worldweather.org/
Determine if students will be given class time to complete this daily research or if this is a homework
expectation.
After you have explained both assignments, review to make sure that students understand that they are
required to:
1.
2.
monitor their OWN weather and record their data for one week
research the weather in their EPALS location and record the information they find for one week
At this point, pause to explain the purpose of this data collection – give students a view of where they are
heading by telling them how they will be using the two sets of data that they will collect:
1.
2.
They will share their summary of the weather in their ePals location with their ePal in their first
email.
After reading their ePals email saying what they think the weather was like here, students will
compare that information with the weather data they collected on their own.
Allow students to ask clarifying questions about the assignment.
Data Collection: Day 6-13
Throughout the data collection week, ask students how their data collection is going. Invite them to share
any problems they are having and discuss solutions to their problems.
At the end of the week, have students reflect on both sets of their weather journal data.
Here are some ideas for how they can make sense of their own data:
1.
2.
3.
Calculate the average temperature.
Calculate the percentage of days with/without precipitation.
Count the number of days for each cloud cover type and make a bar graph with the results.
Invite students to share their journals with each other. Ask them questions such as:
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Why does some of our data differ when we were all observing the same 7 days?
What was the most interesting thing you learned from keeping your weather journal?
What was the coldest/hottest temperature you recorded?
Discuss the sources you used to determine the daily temperature. What source do you think is the
most accurate? Why?
Next, guide students in reflecting on their information about their ePals location. You may want to use
the Summarizing the Weather in my ePals Location handout to guide students in this process.
Share with students that they will be using the information that they have collected in their first ePal email
exchange. Tell students they will need to write a description of the key weather information they collected
about their ePal’s location. You will want to come up with specific requirements for what you’d like to see in
your students’ description of the week’s weather.
Explain the purpose of the two sets of data that they have collected:
1.
2.
They will share their summary of the weather in their ePals location with their ePal in their first
email.
After reading their ePals email saying what they think the weather was like here, students will
compare that information with the weather data they collected on their own.
Writing Email #2: Day 14
1.
2.
3.
Respond to your ePals’ questions from email #1.
Refer to your weather research on your ePal’s location. Explain what you were able to find out
about their weather for the past week.
a. the average temperature for the week.
b. observations about their precipitation.
c. observations about their cloud cover.
Ask your ePal questions about their experiences with collecting weather information.
Email #3: What causes changes in weather?
Day 15-17
Classroom Instruction: Day 15
When your students receive their emails from their ePals, you'll want to lead them in a discussion about how
to compare their ePals data with their own. As an example, make and distribute copies of one student’s data
and email.
Ask students first to make observations about what they notice. "I notice that Juan's ePal reported the
average temperature here last week to be 58 degrees. Juan's data shows that the average temperature here
was 62 degrees." Write the things that the students notice onto big chart paper. (Remind them that they're
first just noticing.)
Once students are done making observations, reread the entire chart aloud. Then, ask them to think about
why these differences may have occurred. What reasons can they think of to explain why data about the
same place would not be exactly the same? (If students need help, guide their thinking by asking probing
questions such as: Are the differences minor or major? Did you consider the exact location of their report
data vs. where you were when you collected your data?)
Then have students go through this process individually, writing down their observations and hypothesizing
why there may be differences. They will share this information with their ePal in their next email exchange.
Weather Definition Activity:
Now, share with students several definitions of climate. Lead students in a discussion of the differences
between weather (short-term conditions) and climate (long-term conditions). Give small groups of students
each 5 different definitions of weather. (Searching “define: weather” will give you many to choose from)
Have the students read the definitions and rank them in order of what they think is the best/most informative
definition to the worst/least informative definition. Then, ask them to consider if they would like to modify
their top definition in any way. Suggest that students may want to: 1) add a part from another definition that
they also liked, or 2) change some words to make the definition easier to understand 3)insert some of their
own words to improve the clarity or quality of the definition. Invite the groups to share their final definition of
weather and explain how they arrived at choosing that definition/why they modified it as they did. Tell
students that as this unit progresses they will continue to build on their understanding of what weather is and
the conditions that create weather.
Classroom Instruction: Day 16
To understand why changes in weather take place, students need to understand the different components of
weather. This lesson focuses on these 3 major components of weather: temperature, air pressure and
humidity.
For this lesson, we suggest you use the jigsaw grouping technique. Put students in groups of three. Allow
group members to divide the three topics so that one student in each group is responsible for one of the
following: temperature, air pressure or humidity. Next, give the students time to research their topic. During
the exploration time, students will focus on gathering information about their assigned topic using the web as
well as print materials. After the exploration time, invite students to meet with all of the other students who
shared the same focus. (For example, all of the students assigned the topic of “temperature” will meet
together.) Have these groups share what they learned so that they all become “experts” on their topic.
Students may want to take notes during this time so that they can share them with their original group. Then,
have the original groups of three get back together. Each expert will take a turn teaching the other members
of the group about their weather component. You will need to circulate around to the groups to listen in,
answer questions and monitor the information that is being shared.
Websites for exploration:
How does changing temperature and humidity affect weather? (**all
groups)http://teacher.scholastic.com/activities/wwatch/investigate/weather_maker.htm
air pressure resources:
http://eo.ucar.edu/webweather/basic.html
http://library.thinkquest.org/C0112425/child_airp_1.htm
http://kids.earth.nasa.gov/archive/air_pressure/
http://www.edheads.org/activities/weather/glossary.htm#t1
http://www.factmonster.com/ipka/A0769510.html
temperature:
http://www.edheads.org/activities/weather/glossary.htm#t1
http://www.kidsgeo.com/geography-for-kids/0074-latitude-effects-temperature.php
http://eo.ucar.edu/webweather/basic.html
http://funphysics.jpl.nasa.gov/adventures/temperature-game.html
humidity:
http://www.kidsgeo.com/geography-for-kids/0106-humidity.php (with song!)
http://www.factmonster.com/ipka/A0769510.html
http://library.thinkquest.org/C0112425/child_airm_wa_1.htm#3
http://www.wildwildweather.com/humidity.htm
http://www.bbc.co.uk/weather/weatherwise/activities/weatherstation/humidity_what.shtml
As a whole class, discuss this learning experience. Allow students to ask any questions that they may still
have about air pressure, temperature or humidity. Tell students that they will need to complete an “exit card”
or “ticket to leave” for this lesson. Ask them to write on their card (using their own words) definitions for air
pressure, temperature and humidity. (Explanation of “exit card” strategy can be found
at:http://www.saskschools.ca/curr_content/mathcatch/mainpages/assess_tools/exit_cards1.html)
Collect the cards. Sort cards based on who seems to have an understanding of the concepts and who still
needs additional reinforcement. Meet with the additional reinforcement group and review the terms.
Give homework assignment: Tell students that their assignment to prepare for their next email exchange is
to watch a television weather broadcast at home and make a list of everything that is included in the
broadcast. (You probably want to give more than one day to complete this assignment) Give students
handout Weather Broadcast Notes to provide guidance and structure for this assignment.
Email #4: How Does Weather Affect Our Daily Choices? Day 18-19
Classroom Instruction: Day 18
Allow students to talk about their emails. How did their ePals respond to their questions?
Weather inevitably affects aspects of our lives – including what we do, what we wear and where we go. To
help students to understand this, have them divide a piece of paper into 6 equal sections. Ask students to
label each section with one of the following words: clothing, activities, mood, transportation, environment or
food. Then, describe for them a hot, summer day: “You wake up in the morning, pull back your curtains and
the sun comes flooding in. There are blue skies as far as you can see and your outdoor thermometer reads
78 degrees Fahrenheit. Even through the window you can feel the sun’s warmth on your skin and you notice
only a slight breeze blowing through the green leaves on the tree outside your window”
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Clothing: Ask students to draw or describe their clothing choice for the day.
Activities: List 3 different things you’d like to do on this day.
Mood: How are you feeling on this morning?
Transportation: You want to get to your friends house 3 blocks away. How would you get there?
Environment: Explain what you see happening in nature today – Describe the plants and animals
you might see.
Food: What do you want to eat today?
At this point, ask students to turn over their paper. Describe a cold, winter day or a stormy rainy day. Have
students respond to the same questions.
Lead a discussion about how the responses for each category varied based on the weather. Broaden
students understanding of how each of these categories are affected by weather in the bigger world picture.
(for example – transportation can become difficult or impossible in some types of weather – airplanes
grounded in fog, roads impassable in ice storm….) Also make them aware of how extreme weather events
can have devastating, much more drastic consequences on these things. (How would a hurricane affect
each of these things?)
Share with students the article “Home Sweet Weatherproof Home” to show how even our homes reflect the
weather! Continue learning about the impact of weather on our lives with this interactive world map
showing how weather affects housing, activities and sports around the world (begin by comparing your
location to your ePals' location):
http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/whatisweather/weatherandpeople/index.shtml
Writing Email #4: Day 19
1.
2.
3.
Respond to your ePals’ questions from email #3.
Share with your ePal how weather impacts your daily life by answering the following questions:
o What aspect of your life do you feel weather impacts the most? Describe the impact with
your ePal.
o What type of weather conditions forces you to make changes in your daily life the most?
How often do those weather conditions occur in your location?
o What information is included in a weather broadcast in your area that impacts the
decisions you make for that day?
Ask questions to find out how weather impacts the daily life of your ePal and people in his country.
Email #5: How Can Weather Be Predicted?
Day 20-21
Classroom Instruction: Day 20
Allow students the opportunity to discuss the emails they received from their ePals.
(This lesson is best completed in a situation where each student/pair of students has access to a computer.
However, the lesson can be completed as a guided activity with all students watching one computer.)
Tell students, “Today we will explore the question “How Can Weather Be Predicted?”
Students should all go to:
http://www.edheads.org/activities/weather/index.htm
Give them the following directions: Click on “start” and complete the “Predicting the Weather” Activity Series,
levels 1-3. Since the levels increase in difficulty, you will want to complete the levels in order. You will want
to take notes on how to predict weather while you are completing the activities since you will be predicting
the weather for your culminating activity.
This interactive activity series will provide your students with a solid basic understanding of weather
prediction – what meteorologists look for in weather patterns, fronts, temperature, air pressure, humidity, etc.
and how those weather components affect their forecast.
In addition, share with students one or more of the following articles about meteorologists. These articles all
provide personal insight into the field of weather science:
“My Father, Al Roker”
“Why I Am a Meteorologist”
“The Magic In Weather”
“How’s The Weather Up There”
You can complete the activity below to deepen students understanding of forecasting weather, or pick one of
the alternative predicting activities from the related resources section of the lesson elements.
Show class video: “Forecasting Your Weather
http://www.on.ec.gc.ca/greatlakeskids/glk-video-e.html
This video is based on how daily weather forecasts are created in Toronto, Canada by climatologist David
Phillips. Follow-up by taking a virtual tour of their weather center at
http://www.on.ec.gc.ca/skywatchers/ontario/wx_office_tour/outside_e.html. (click on weather office tour)
Email #5: Day 21
1.
Respond to your ePal’s questions from email #4.
2.
3.
Teach your ePal what you’ve learned about how weather is predicted by doing the following:
a. What weather factors are important to know when predicting the weather?
b. What specific skills do you need to be able to predict the weather?
c. If you were going to predict tomorrow’s weather, explain exactly what information you
would need to have to make the most accurate prediction.
Ask them any questions you still have about predicting weather.
Email #6: Culminating Activity
Day 22-27
Culminating Activity: Day 22
Direct students attention to the essential and supporting questions of the unit:
Essential Questions:
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What conditions create weather?
What factors make the weather change?
In what ways does weather affect our lives?
What methods should we use for predicting the weather?
Supporting Questions:
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How and why do people study weather?
Why can the weather change so suddenly?
What makes different kinds of weather?
How do people use weather forecasts?
Why aren’t weather forecasts always right?
What makes the weather so difficult to predict?
Tell students that they will be using the knowledge they gained from exploring these questions to predict the
weather for their culminating project.
Explain to students that students are going to work together to write and produce a television weather
broadcast for their ePals location. What follows is a list of suggested steps for facilitating this project. (You
can do this project as a whole class with several students on each team, or in groups of 4 with one person
for each “team” as they are described below.)
1.
2.
3.
Provide students with time to research current weather conditions and anticipated fronts, etc. in
their ePals location.
Ask students to independently record their predictions for the next day’s weather based on the
information they have gathered. (You decide what you’d like them to include – temperature (high
and low), cloud cover, precipitation, etc.) Consider having students explain their reasoning next to
each prediction. (“I know that a high pressure system is moving in so I predicted….”)
For the next phase, students will need to divide into teams to create the broadcast –
o forecast team: this team will go through the individual weather predictions and determine
the group’s prediction based on majority. Then, they will write up the prediction facts that
will be shared in the forecast and distribute them to the other three groups.
o Script-writing team: This team will write the actual script for the broadcast and insert the
facts provided by the forecast team. You may want to have this team view an additional
weather broadcast off which to model their script.
o Technology team: This team will be responsible for the filming of the broadcast, but also
for making a digital visual display to accompany the broadcast (for example, a power point
slide show).
o
Design team: This team will be responsible for creating the “set” – including large maps
of the area with weather symbols based on the information from the forecast team.
Consider having this team complete the “report the weather” activities at
http://www.edheads.org/activities/weather/index.htm
This will give students a clear understanding of how to use symbols on a map for reporting
the weather.
Rehearsal: Day 23-25
You will need several rehearsals to bring it all together. Your class could have "tryouts" for the talent to
actually give the broadcast OR it could be filmed many times with pairs giving the report until everyone has a
chance to be the meteorologist.
Videotaping the performances allows
1.
2.
students can watch and reflect on their project
students the ability to share their weather report with their family, friends and ePals
Sharing the Video or Scripts: Day 26-27
Classes will share their videos or scripts of their weather broadcasts. After video/script exchange has been
made and students have viewed their ePals broadcast, students will write about their experience/their role in
creating the broadcast and comment on their ePal’s broadcast.
Reflection and Assessment: Day 28
Student:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Have students complete the (Learned) column on their “what I know/how I know it/what I learned
charts”. By evaluating these charts, you will see how students’ knowledge of weather has increased.
Redistribute the students’ weather definition (email #3, day one). Ask them to reread their definition
and ask students to revise/ rewrite their definition in their own words based on what they have
learned.
Have students write a reflection on the unit. Possible Writing Prompts:
o Would you like to be a meteorologist? Why or why not?
o What have you learned about forecasting weather? Why do you think sometimes the
meteorologists get it wrong?
Have students watch National Geographic’s video, Global Warming 101, and evaluate what
happens if the weather of an area changes.
Have students evaluate their culminating project
Teacher:
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Throughout the unit, informally observe students understandings of the key concepts. You may
want to keep a checklist or anecdotal records.
Evaluate student contribution to the culminating project using the rubric located in handouts. (note:
The culminating project rubric located in the handouts was designed for evaluating individual
culminating projects. Since this unit's culminating project is a flexible grouping cooperative activity,
you may want to make adjustments to the rubric to match your chosen grouping practice.)
Monitor email exchanges to check for insights that students are gaining/sharing with their ePals.
Use ePals email rubric located in handouts.
Review students weather definitions and “Learned” columns from their reflections.