LESSON ONE

Beary O'Mometer Learns About        Careers In Meteorology

Grade Levels:  Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth

Subjects:  Language Arts, Social Studies, Math, Science, Technology

Learner Outcomes:
    The students will:

• create a weather journal.
• brainstorm a list of words they have heard or read about from weather forecasts.
• add weather concepts to a concept map throughout the unit.
• locate facts and information pertaining to weather on various CD-ROM or online reference data bases which might include Encarta Concise Encyclopedia or Concise Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia,   related weather books, and the Internet.
• post data on a US map showing the location of the worst storms in the 20th century.
• graph the amount of snowfall that exceeded all time records in 1995-96 and find the mean, median, mode, and range.
• hypothesize and prepare an oral report telling why they think storms occurred in specific areas.
• read a poem , "Nature's Forecasters" by Helen Sattler.
• choose a proverb and research what factors in the atmosphere might play a role in whether the proverb is true or not.
• Make inferences about the skills and the training that are required of a weather forecaster
• associate the various careers in science through research.
• practice interviewing skills by interviewing a meteorologist.
• write a business letter
• write a job description about a weather related career.
• prepare a PowerPoint presentation about weather careers.
• make a timeline listing the advances in weather technology from 1900 to the present.

Materials:  World and US map, blank US map, elevation map, yarn, chart paper, The Rains Are Coming by Sanna Stanley, index cards, copy of Career Interview and Weather Clues questions, books and CD's about weather, graph paper, two copies of Ten of the Biggest Weather Stories of the 20th Century,"  list of weather related careers, example of a business letter, business letter rubric, charts:  KWHL - Careers in Meteorology, KWHL - Weather and Weather Forecasting Clues

Technology Tools/Courseware :  One or multiple computers with Internet connection, large screen, data projector, CD-ROM, calculator, Integrated software package (spreadsheet, database, word processor, PowerPoint), Inspiration software (concept mapping), Encarta Encyclopedia

Teacher Notes:

• This lesson is intended as an introductory lesson to encourage students to start asking questions about  weather.  The lesson can be taught throughout the day.  Teachers at the Middle School level can use this lesson/unit as an interdisciplinary unit.
• Prepare three charts: What Do You Want to Know About the Career of Meteorology?   What Do You Want to Know About Weather?  and Weather Forecasting Clues.
• Create a weather journal.  On the first page, have students create a K (Know);  W (Want to Know);  H (How Will You Find Out);  L (What I Learned) chart.  Use subsequent pages to record student answers, results of experiments, ideas for further study, and responses to journal questions throughout the unit.  Provide frequent opportunities for students to share journal entries.
• Post a world map on a bulletin board before beginning the weather unit to attach the articles students collect about weather phenomena.  Using a piece of yarn, connect each article with the location it describes on the map.
• Make two copies of the article "Ten Of The Biggest Weather Stories of the 20th Century."    Cut the stories apart, and give each pair of students a different story.
• Begin a concept map by putting weather in the middle circle.  Other circles could include:  air pressure, water cycle, precipitation, wind, etc.  Add to the concept map throughout the unit.  The concept map can be used as a final evaluation of the unit by leaving some areas blank.  By having students fill in the blanks, it is a good way to see if they are making connections among the weather concepts.
• Inspiration  software could also be used and projected on a large screen.  
• Contact a meteorologist several weeks in advance to set up a visit to the classroom.  Prepare a suggested list of  questions for the students ahead of time.  The meteorologist should be informed of the types of questions the students will ask.  Also, ask the meteorologist to bring a weather map, weather instruments, a list of names of employees and their specific line of work, and email address, etc., to help students understand his/her work.  Also, make arrangements to visit your local weather service as a culminating activity before completing lesson eight.
• Prepare a list of weather related careers.  Information about careers can be found at Careers in Meteorology and Q & A About Careers in  Meteorology .  Also see Additional Sites below.
• Contact local weather stations, TV weather stations, etc. to obtain Email addresses for students to use when they compose their business letters.
• Prepare an example of a business letter.  Pass out the business letter rubric so students will know what is expected.
• USA Today is a good site for students to ask questions about weather throughout the unit.
• Kids as Global Scientists is a collaborative on-line weather project that could be incorporated into this unit.
• Provide CD ROM and/or laser disc programs for students to use to gather data about weather throughout the unit.

1.  Have students look at a world map and ask them to identify different weather characteristics associated with various regions or countries.

2.  Each morning, for about a week, listen to the Weather Channel on television or show a videotape of a television weather forecast.  Have students write down weather terms they hear in their weather journal and any questions they have about weather.  Have students begin charting the daily weather on a blank calendar using the standard symbols found in the newspaper and used by meteorologists for clouds, rain, snow, wind, etc.  Pay special attention to the clouds each day and estimate the cloud cover in preparation for Lesson three.

3.  Encourage students to examine the newspaper, magazines, and/or the Internet to find articles that describe how  weather phenomena  (hurricanes, tornadoes, floods, storms, etc.) affect lives of people worldwide.  Post the articles on the bulletin board.  Ask, " What affects weather?"   Write the students' responses on chart paper labeled Weather Forecasting Clues .  Students can also explore some of the information on forecasting at this tutorial site .

4.  Pass out a copy of " Ten of the Biggest Weather Stories of the 20th Century. "  Students can work in pairs or groups of three to read the stories.  Have students locate their assigned story location on a US map and post an index card with the type of weather and date it occurred near the cities and states where the storms occurred.  They can prepare an oral report, showing the location, and hypothesize as to why the storms occurred in the specific areas.

5.  In 1995/96, 24 locations in the US received snowfalls exceeding all-time records.  Using the chart located at the end of the article, "Ten of the Biggest Weather Stories of the 20th Century," have students graph the data using graphing software or graph paper.  They can also find the mean, median, mode, and range using a calculator.  Pass out a blank US map and have students write in the city and state, amount of snowfall, and elevation.   Ask, "Does elevation have any affect on the amount of snowfall in an area?"

6.  Initiate a discussion on how people knew what the weather was going to be like before the days of radio, television and computers.  Read aloud The Rains Are Coming by Sanna Stanley and have students listen for weather clues in the story.  Add the clues to the Weather Forecasting Clues chart.

7.  Read the poem, " Nature's Forecasters " to introduce proverbs.  Pass out a list of proverbs  and let individual students or groups of students choose one and answer the questions.  Discuss exactly what a proverb is before beginning the activity.  After completing the activity, discuss how and why their chosen proverb came to be.  Allow time for students to use a word processor to type a one page report about what they found out.  They can illustrate their pages and make a class book on proverbs.

8.  Using the charts, What Do You Want to Know About Weather? and What Do You Want to Know About the Career of Meteorology?  brainstorm a list of questions to be asked while interviewing a meteorologist.  Go to Meet an Antarctic Meteorologist for a sample of interview questions.  Using a data projector, show the site on a large screen or connect to a large TV and discuss what questions would be relevant for their area.  Write their list of questions on the charts.  (Type and print out a list of questions from the charts leaving room for students to record their answers below each question.  Make one sheet titled "Career Interview" and one titled "Weather Clues.")

9.  Invite a meteorologist from the National Weather Service or local television station to the classroom.  Before his/her arrival, hand out the prepared "Career Interview" and "Weather Clues" sheets and inform the students that they will be interviewing the meteorologist by using the questions they designed.  Remind students that good interviewers take turns asking questions, that the questions do not need to be in order, and that they must listen very carefully and then record the meteorologist's answer as best they can under the question that was asked.  Also, remind them to say the question number so they can mark it off their sheet.  After the interview, instruct students to describe what they learned about weather from the interview in their weather journal and put their responses on the What I Learned About Weather chart.

10.  Develop a class report on the career of a meteorologist to use as a  model for individual interviews of meteorologists and support personnel who assist in gathering weather data.  Model the writing process (prewriting, drafting, revising, editing, and publishing) using a data projector and a word processor.  Show students how to use the spell check, save and retrieve their work, etc.

11.  To initiate a discussion on weather related careers , ask, "What careers are related to meteorology?"  Write their responses on the Career chart and have groups of three or four students choose a different weather related career and brainstorm ways to plan for an interview (E-mail, telephone, letters, field trips, etc.)  They can use the prepared "Career Interview " for this activity to assist in asking questions.  Have each group of students write a business letter and attach the "career interview."  They can email someone in their chosen career and attach their letter or send it by regular mail.  After the interviews are completed, have students write a job description for their selected career.

12.  Show the PowerPoint presentation on weather as an overview for the unit and to demonstrate how to prepare a presentation on weather careers.

13. After gathering all the information on weather careers, have the students analyze their data and prepare a PowerPoint presentation to explain their results to the rest of the class.  (This may take several days and may extend into the next lesson.)

14.  Using the article, " Weather in The 20th Century, " have students make a timeline listing the advances in weather technology from 1900 to the present.  There is ample space on the left and right side of the article for the students to write the answers to teacher prepared questions. Following are some examples of questions you might ask:  "How was weather a factor in the outcome of WWII?"  "How did weather affect the nation and world's economy during the 20th century?"   "Why is coping with a virtual data explosion a challenge as we move forward into the new century and millennium?")

15.  Brainstorm types of future weather careers and discuss what type of education will be needed.

16. Students can go to the weather glossary   and Dave's Dictionary to find definitions for their weather terms before going to the next lesson.  Bookmark the sites for future use.

Modifications:

• The activities should be modified according to the individual student's IEP.
• Pair students with a partner or a  peer helper.
• For students who have physical disabilities, they can dictate science journal entries and other writings to the teacher, a peer, or an adult classroom helper.
• Cooperative groups can be arranged so that students with learning disabilities are grouped with students who are on level or advanced.

• Students can begin a research project to check their assumptions about different weather characteristics in the world.
• After interviewing a meteorologist, students can put together a " Meteorology Exhibit. "  If some of the instruments are not available, use photos or drawings.
• Students can research contributions of men and women of diverse cultures in the development of weather science.

• Use 20 Questions:  A Weather Knowledge Test as a pretest before beginning the unit.  Ask students to write down concepts they would like to know more about to help in designing additional lessons.
• Give students the question, "What advice would you give someone who is training to be a weather forecaster or meteorologist?"  Have them write a paragraph.  Evaluate based on a rubric.
• Monitor the students during the interview process and assess the students for taking turns, being polite, using good listening skills, accurately writing what was being said, and following directions.
• Identify ways technology is used to access information for an understanding of weather phenomena.
• Fill in the blank areas of a concept map.
• Complete the  business letter rubric .

West Virginia Instructional Goals and Objectives:

Language Arts:

• Listening and Speaking:  4.10, 4.12, 4.13, 4.16, 5.5, 5.13, 6.2, 6.3. 5.4. 6.5. 6.8. 6.11
• Reading Comprehension:  4.40, 4.42, 5.15, 5.16, 5.27, 6.33, 6.34
• Writing:  4.49, 4.50, 4.51, 4.54, 5.54, 5.56, 5.57, 5.60, 5.61, 5.62, 5.64, 6.53, 6.54, 6.66
• Language: 4.78, 4.81
• Study Skills:  4.83, 4.85, 4.92, 5.162, 5.172, 6.136, 6.143, 6.150, 6.151
• Computer/Technology:  4.95, 4.96, 4.98, 4.99, 4.100,  5.182, 5.186, 5.188, 6.157, 6.159, 6.160, 6.162

• Study Skills:  4.43, 4.44, 4.45, 4.46, 4.47, 4.48, 4.49
• History:  WW2, 6.58
• Geography:  6.21
• Economics:  5.12, 5.32
• Computer/Technology:  5.65, 6.60, 6.61, 6.62, 6.68, 6.69

• Nature of Science:  4.2, 4.5, 5.4, 5.7, 5.8, 6.4
• Scientific Attitudes/Habits of Mind:  4.9, 4.13, 4.16, 4.26, 5.10, 5.11, 6.12
• Scientific Processes/Thinking Skills:  4.21, 4.22, 4.24, 4.26, 5.16, 5.17, 6.16, 6.17
• Science Themes and Subject Matter:  4.30, 4.32, 5.26
• Science History:  4.69, 4.70, 5.56, 5.58, 6.73, 6.75
• Science Technology and Society:  4.72, 5.59, 5.61, 5.62, 5.63, 6.76, 6.78, 6.80
• Computer/Technology:  4.77, 4.79, 4.80, 4.81, 4.83, 5.67, 5.68, 5.73, 5.74, 5.75, 5.76, 5.79, 6.83, 6.84, 6.88, 6.96, 6.97, 6.98

• Problem Solving/Statistics:  4.30, 5.23, 5.24, 5.26, 6.24, 6.25
• Computer and Technology:  4.56, 4.57, 5.52, 5.54, 6.54, 6.55, 6.58

a)  resources cited
Weather Proverbs by George D. Freier
Weather Wisdom by Albert Lee
The Rains Are Coming by Sanna Stanley
PowerPoint in the Classroom , ACT360 Media Ltd/Microsoft Corp., 1998

b)  additional resources
Project Wet Curriculum Activity Guide, 1995. The Watercourse and Western Regional Environmental Education Council.

c)  student resources:
Weather Glossary
USA Today Weather Index of Questions - Links to hundreds of weather related topic questions.
Merriman Webster Dictionary Encyclopedia Britannica
Thesaurus.com
Scholastic:  Career As a Meteorologist

d)  Internet links:
A Career Guide for the Atmospheric Sciences
Challenges of Our Changing Atmosphere/Careers
Becoming  a Meteorologist
Ten Biggest Weather Stories in the 20th Century
 

Authors:

Carol Mathis	cmathis@access.k12.wv.us	Lakewood Elementary
Donna Hebb	dhebb@access.k12.wv.us	2089 Lakewood Dr.
Yvonne Martin	ymartin@access.k12.wv.us	St. Albans, WV 25177