Grade Level: 4-6

Subjects: Mathematics, Science, and Language Arts

Learners Outcomes:

• The student will record temperatures in a similar area and discuss the results.
• The student will demonstrate how to find the average temperature of an area.
• The student will build their own weather instruments and will show how these instruments are used to predict the weather.

Materials:    Outdoor thermometers, calculators, clear jars, white paper, clear Con-Tact, empty two-liter pop bottle, modeling clay, scissors, pieces of light cardboard, plastic drinking straws, a pencil with an eraser on top, light wire, straight pins, a small container, Play-doh, directional compass, four paper cups with handles, a paper plate, a stapler, a 1-inch-diameter dowel or wooden stick, pinecone, string, rubber bands, tape, markers, balloon, and ruler.

Technology Tools/Coursework: computer, printer, Internet access, calculator, Microsoft Excel

Teacher Notes:

• Each child could make an instrument or the students could work in groups.
• Material can be adapted to comply with the students' IEPs.
• Students will need a signed AUP on file.

1. Introduce thermometer by reading from Barron's Science Wizardry for Kids by Margaret Kenda and Phyllis S. Williams, page 139.
2. Using an outdoor thermometer, write the outdoor temperature each hour for 10 hours from one specific location.  (You can keep track for less hours, but you need a good long sample of highs and lows.) Also select a second sight to record another set of numbers.  Use a calculator to add the numbers and then divide by 10.  Now you have the average temperature.  Do the same with the second set of numbers.  Compare the temperatures with the temperature listings in the newspaper or from the news broadcast on television or on the radio.
3. Divide the class into groups.  Make sure the groups are equally divided by skill levels and according to the students' IEPs. Each group will select one of the following instruments to make and to place in a weather station near the classroom.  Records will be kept for 10 to 15 days at the same time of the day. Records can be kept on a chart that the students generate in Microsoft Excel.

• Directions on how to make a rain gauge.

• Optional, an activity on precipitation to do prior to making the rain gauge, if desired.
• How to read a rain gauge.



B. Wind Vane

• Directions on how to make a wind vane.
• Another set of directions for a weather vane.
• A brief history of the weather vanes.



C. Anemometer

• Directions on how to make an anemometer.
• Another set of directions to build an anemometer. (Note: a little more complicated)
• The history of anemometers and other weather instruments.


D. Hygrometer

• Directions on how to make a hygrometer.


E. Barometer

• Directions on how to make a barometer.
• How to read a Mercury Barometer.
• Another way to build a barometer using a clear plastic tubing and gum.

1. When each group has made its instrument, then set up the weather station outside and start recording data on the chart.
• Cover the bottom and two sides of a plastic milk crate with material to create shade, yet still allow air to circulate.
• Cover the top surface with a piece of wood or a piece of strong plastic.
• Use clay and duct tape to mount the weather instruments.  The rain gauge, weather vane, and anemometer are on the top of the station. The hygrometer, the thermometer, and barometer are inside the crate.
• Choose a location on the school grounds for the weather station.  Make sure the instruments have enough room to operate without interfering with each other, and that the rain gauge will not receive run-off rainwater from a building or tree.  Place each station so that its thermometer faces north.
• Use the chart for 10 to 15 days to record the readings from their instruments.  Try to record the information at the same time each day.
2. Discuss the results each day and record in their weather journals their predictions and the actual weather.  Have someone check the newspaper, the television, and the computer sites for the listings that are given.  Record this data on the chart as well.  The students can compare and contrast the differences in the weather predictions and the actual outcomes in their weather journals or in Microsoft Word.

• If the teacher decides to do the activity with the rain gauge, prior to making the instrument, an adult will need to handle the boiling water.
• If one can't heat the water to boiling, then show condensation by placing a cup of ice on the table a couple of hours before class. Water droplets should form on the outside of the glass.
• Modifications need to be adapted according to students' IEPs.

1. There are winds that blow so regularly in the same place that they've been given names.  The students can write up a report on the following winds.  They can search the Internet for data on these winds and give a report.
• Chinooks
• Bhoot
• Kwat
• Simoom
• Xlokk
2. Discuss how solar energy can make a difference.  Complete the following activity to show how solar panels will provide heat for homes.
• Collect the following materials - a white cup or jar, a black cup or jar, water, thermometer, weather journal.
• Fill each cup with an equal amounts water of the same temperature. Cover the jar. Set the cups in a sunny window.
• Measure the temperature of the water in each jar. The water in the white cup should be lower than that in the other cup.
• Discuss the results and the properties of solar energy.
• Then visit this Internet site for further information on solar energy for young kids.
3. Use the wind speed chart to help determine wind speed for your weather journal.

 WV State Standards:

• Science 4.5; 4.7; 4.24; 4.25; 5.16; 5.17; 6.13; 6.16; 6.17; 6.70; 6.76

• Math 4.28; 4.57; 5.14; 5.50; 5.39; 5.53; 5.54; 6.11; 6.24

• Language Arts 4.16; 4.50; 5.61; 6.34; 6.35

• Technology 4.79; 4.80; 4.81; 4.52; 5.60; 5.69; 5.70; 6.49; 6.54

• Science
1.Understands atmospheric processes and the water cycle.
4.Understands and applies basic and advanced properties of the concepts of measurement.
9.Understands the sources and properties of energy.
• Math
3.Uses basic and advanced procedures while performing the processes of computation.
6.Understands and applies basic and advanced concepts of statistics and data analysis.
• Technology
6.Understands the nature and uses of different forms of technology.
• Language Arts

Job/Career Clusters: Science and Natural Resources

References:
        a)Resources cited

• Barron's Science Wizardry for Kids by Margaret Kenda and Phyllis Williams (ISBN 0-590-69326-3)
• Weather by Valerie Wyatt and Brian Share (ISBN 0-439-21782-2)
• "Weather Whys, Weather-Wise", Mailbox Feb/Mar 97, page 20-26.

b)Additional resources

• Simple Weather Experiments With Everyday Materials by Muriel Mandell (ISBN 0-8069-7296-3)
• The Wow's and Why's of Weather by Mary Kay Carson (ISBN 0-590-36508-8)
• Weather and Climate by Toni Albert, M.Ed., published by Carson-Dellosa Publishing Company, Inc., Greensboro, North Carolina 27425
• Microsoft Excel tutorial