LESSON FIVE Here Comes the Sun

Grade Levels:  Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth

Subjects:  Math, Science, Technology

Learner Outcomes:
    The student will:

• identify factors that affect weather.
• compute and convert custom and metric units of measure.
• enter weather data on weather charts and use the data to hypothesize about how air temperature and humidity affect air pressure.
• create a timeline on the history of the development of the thermometer and temperature scales.
• define dew point and wet bulb.
• explain how temperature and humidity are measured.
• use appropriate software to practice making predictions, form a hypotheses, and practice drawing a concussion based on data from a map, chart, and/or graph.
• track high and low temperatures and humidity in different cities and compare.
• identify variables that are affected by heat.
• read a heat index table.
• make a humidity meter and/or a wet bulb hygrometer.
• explain what causes the atmosphere to heat up in some places more than in others.
• recognize that atmospheric temperature generally decreases with distance from the equator.
• determine how color affects a planet's surface temperature.
• understand how temperature affects air pressure.
• determine the effect that temperature has on air movement.
• Design a travel brochure for a selected state or country.

Materials:

Map of North America and the United States,  world map, transparency of a Celsius and Fahrenheit thermometer, 3 thermometers, desk lamp, rulers, yardstick (meter stick), black and white construction paper, scissors, cellophane tape, 2 empty metal food cans (same size) freezer, glass soft drink bottle, balloon 9 in. (23 cm), tissue paper, thread, large world map, dark colored yarn, pushpins, felt tip marker, 3 jars/beakers of the same size, sand, soil, straight pin, drinking straws, cork board, human hair, 2-liter plastic soda bottle, 2 calibrated thermometers, 20-30 cm white cotton shoestring, 2 rubber bands

Technology Tools/Courseware:   graphing software, Internet connection

Teacher Notes:

• Prepare for the high temperature readings around the world by mounting a world map on a large bulletin board and attaching dark colored yarn along the Equator.  When pre-selecting cities, one for each student, choose cities from a wide range of latitudes and several from each continent.
• Print out the Development of the Thermometer and Temperature Scales.  Make copies for each group to create a timeline.  Also, print out the directions for making a Wet Bulb Hygrometer.
• Post a map of North America before beginning the lesson.
• Several activities take one week to gather data.  You can choose to extend one or two of the investigations to the next lesson.
• Continue to add to the concept map and charts from lesson one.
• A good lesson plan on Travel Brochures can be found at " Ask Eric ."  (Click on Lesson Plan and search for travel brochure).   Print out the lesson plan and make copies for groups of students before beginning the lesson.  A Travel Brochure Rubric can be found at Webquest.

1.  Ask, "What factors affect temperature."  Point out locations on a map of the United States and have students describe what they think the weather patterns (temperature and precipitation) of an area are.  Have students list factors in their weather journal that contribute to an area's weather.  For one week, use the sites located across the United States to track the high and low temperatures and precipitation (rain or snow) in each of the following cities.

Denver, Colorado
Montpelier, Vermont
Brownsville, Texas
San Francisco, California

2.  Tell students to locate the above cities on a US map.  At the end of the week, create a graph, using graphing software, to track both temperature and precipitation.   Have students look for similarities and differences in temperatures and precipitation within the states.  Ask, "Are there any major changes?  If so, can you figure out what caused these changes?  Are there any differences across regions?"

3.  Students can work in groups to develop a timeline on the development of the thermometer and temperature scales.  Pass out the history page to each group and ask, "How do you think technology will change in the future to record the temperature readings?"

4.  Read about heat in the atmosphere and discuss why heat causes the atmosphere to warm up in some places more than others.  The students can compare their local area to the areas in the previous activity.  Have them research if and how the angle of sunlight, temperature, number of daylight hours, type of ground cover, water sources, latitude, elevation, ocean and air currents, and mountains affect their assigned area's temperature and precipitation.  Next, have them chart their findings.  Print out the travel brochure lesson plan for students to begin designing a travel brochure for their study area.

5.  Ask the students to define wet bulb and dew point ?"  Review humidity and relative humidity .   They can measure the amount of water vapor in the air for a week and discuss their findings after making a Humidity Meter or a wet bulb hygrometer.

6.  Post a map of North America on the bulletin board and identify several major cities.  Do not pick cities in coastal areas.  Pick some cities in the United States and Canada .  The students can access Weather Underground and obtain the daily predicted high and low temperatures and relative humidity for the identified cities.  Post the temperature and humidity on the map by the location of the city.  Look at the temperatures on the map and look for patterns.  (You should see the temperatures are generally lower as you go north.)

7.  Read one or more weather stories about weather happenings around the world and ask, "Where do you think this place is?"  Encourage students to make some predictions.  "Where do you think it will be cool?  "Where do you think it will be warm?"  Have each student choose a different city from a prepared list of cities around the world.  In their weather journal, have them write their selected city and make a chart labeled Date, Temperature, and Amount of Change.  Have students find their chosen city's high temperature for the previous day, by accessing The Weather Channel.  They should record it in their journal and post the city name with its temperature on the world map.  Students should continue doing this for five days.  Hold a discussion each day about the changes and new observations.  Ask, "What factors affected the temperature of your chosen city?"

8. Do the following activities while the students are gathering their data on highs around the world and amount of water vapor:

• A.  Put a transparency of a thermometer on the overhead, or access Celsius and Fahrenheit, and explain how to read the thermometer.  The Globe Program also has a diagram of a min/max thermometer.  Take the temperature at five different times during the day using a thermometer mounted outside.  Ask, "What is the hottest and coolest time of the day?  What is the average temperature for the day?  What adjectives would you use to describe the day's temperature?"
• B.  Ask, "Do all materials absorb the sun's heat equally?"  Write their responses on chart paper.   Using three jars or beakers of the same dimensions, fill one jar or beaker about half way with sand;  another with an equal amount of soil;  and a third with an equal amount of water.  Insert a thermometer well into each jar and make sure that the three readings are initially the same.  Place the three jars on a sunny window sill and let them heat for 20 minutes.  Ask the students to predict what changes will occur in the thermometer readings of each of the jars.  After the jars have been exposed to the heat source for 20 minutes, read the thermometers and record the new temperatures.  Ask,  "Which jars registered the highest temperature?  The lowest?  What conclusions can be drawn from the data obtained?"
• C.   Ask, "Does distance from the Sun affect atmospheric temperature?"  Allow time for discussion.  Set up the demonstration by placing one thermometer on the 4 in. (10 cm) mark of a ruler and the second thermometer on the 36 in (100 cm) mark of the ruler.  Position the lamp at the 0 end of the ruler.   Turn the lamp on and read and record the temperatures on both thermometers after 10 minutes.  The students will see that the thermometer closer to the lamp receives more energy and thus gets hotter.  As the light moves away from the lamp, rays leaving at an angle do not hit the distant thermometer.  Explain that the atmosphere of a planet is heated in a similar way.
• D.  To show how temperature affects air pressure, place a glass soft drink bottle in the freezer for 1 hour.  After 1 hour, remove the bottle from the freezer and stretch the opening of the balloon over the mouth of the bottle.  Allow the bottle to stand at room temperature for 15 minutes.  The balloon partially inflates because the air inside the bottle contracts when cooled which allows more air to enter the bottle.  As the air inside heats, it expands and moves into the balloon, causing it to inflate.  Air in the atmosphere contracts and expands as it is cooled and heated as did the air in the bottle.  Expanding warm air rises and decreases atmospheric pressure; the pressure increases as the air cools and descends.
• E.  To determine the effect that temperature has on air movement, cut a 2 in. (6 cm) diameter spiral from tissue paper and a piece of thread 6 in. (15 cm) long.  Tape one end of the piece of thread to the center of the paper spiral.  Turn the desk lamp so that the light points upward.  Holding the end of the thread, position the paper spiral about 4 in (10 cm) above the light.  The paper spiral will twirl because the energy from the light heats the air above it.  The air molecules move faster and farther apart as they absorb energy.  The separation of the molecules makes the air lighter and it rises upward.  Cooler air rushes in to take the place of the warmer rising air.  As long as the lamp is on, warm air rises and cooler air moves in to take its place producing air movements called convection currents.

10.  Continue to record temperature and humidity readings in a data base throughout the unit.

Modifications:

• The lessons should be modified according to the individual student's IEP.
• 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.

Enrichment Activities:

• Have each student make a line graph of the week's temperature for their selected city.
• Repeat the temperature activities during several seasons and make comparisons.
• Students can collect, record, and graph the daily high and low temperatures in their area for approximately a month in order to determine the average high and low temperatures for their city or state for that month.  They can use a thermometer to collect their data or check the Weather Channel.
• Students can choose one of the following research questions.

Evaluation/Assessment:

• Students research and identify factors that influence their region's temperature, humidity, and precipitation. The factors should include latitude, season, elevation, large bodies of water, ocean and air currents, and mountains.
• Use the rubric identified in Teacher Notes for assessing the travel brochure.
• Have students use the information they charted about the factors that cause air temperature to increase in some places more than others to write a report and draw a conclusion.

West Virginia Instructional Goals and Objectives:

Language Arts:

• Listening/Speaking:  4.18, 5.5, 5.12, 6.14
• Reading Comprehension:  4.40, 4.49, 4.50, 5.23, 5.33, 6.16, 6.16
• Writing:  4.49, 4.50, 5.56, 6.53, 6.54, 6.66
• Study Skills:  4.83, 4.85, 5.162, 6.143, 6.147, 6.148
• Computer/Technology:  4.95, 4.96, 4.98, 5.180, 5.186. 6.157, 6.160, 6.162

• Problem Solving/Statistics:  4.30, 5.23, 5.24, 5.26, 6.24, 6.25
• Measurement:  4.49, 5.43, 5.44, 6.45, 6.46
• Computer/Technology:  4.52, 4.56, 5.52, 5.53, 5.54, 6.49, 6.54, 6.55, 6.56

• Nature of Science:  4.5, 4.6, 4.7, 5.7, 5.8, 6.5, 6.7
• Scientific Attitudes/Habits of Mind:  4.13, 4.16, 5.10, 5.13, 6.10, 6.11
• Scientific Processes/Thinking Skills:  4.25, 5.16, 5.17, 5.18, 5.20, 6.16, 6.17, 6.20
• Science Themes and Subject Matter:  4.30, 4.32, 4.58, 4.59, 4.68, 5.53, 5.54, 5.49, 6.52, 6.53, 6.59, 6.64, 6.70, 6.71
• Science History:  5.56, 6.73
• Science Technology and Society:  6.78
• Computer/Technology:  4.79, 4.80, 4.81, 4.83, 4.84, 4.85, 5.67, 5.68, 5.70, 5.71, 5.79, 6.83, 6.84, 6.86, 6.88, 6.93, 6.98

References:

    a)  resources cited

Units of Temperature

    b)  student resources

Weather Glossary  http://www.glacier.rice.edu/misc/glossary.html
Ruffner, James A., and Frank E. Blair, eds. 1985.  Weather of U.S. Cities, 2nd ed. Detroit, Mich.,  Gale Research Co.
Classroom Connect, www.classroom.com , February 1999, Volume 5, Number 5.
Here Comes the Sun http://vortex.plymouth.edu/sun.html

    c)  Internet links

Temperatures on Earth
Heat  
Current Satellite Readings  
 

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