Aspects of Weather

Janine Garrett                 Crown Academy
Anthony Love                   Fulton Elementary
Zoris Soderberg                Daniel Webster Elementary
Therese R. Tobecksen           St. Andrew the Apostle School
Amelia Witherspoon             Mays Academy 

Objectives:

 1. The student will recognize various aspects of weather.
 2. The student will listen to a story about weather.
 3. The student will recognize and identify weather symbols.
 4. The student will observe a thermometer.
 5. The student will learn to read a thermometer.  
 6. The student will distinguish between hot and cold.
 7. The student will graph temperature results.                                 
 8. The student will discover that freezing point is 0 degrees and that boiling
    point is 100 degrees.
 9. The student will understand where clouds are formed in the atmosphere.
10. The student will observe how air and moisture form a cloud.
11. The student will observe how moisture condenses.
12. The student will review various words relating to weather unit.
13. The student will visualize the amount of air pressure per square inch that 
    is exerted on a trace hand print.
14. The student will observe air pressure "push" an egg into a bottle.         

Materials Needed:

Small posters with picture symbols of sun, rain, cloud, and snow
Umbrella, beach ball, beach towel, sunglasses, wool hat, scarf, mittens
Blank calendar pages (one per student)
Book entitled What Will the Weather Be Like Today? by Paul Rogers
4 centigrade thermometers
4 jars or glass dishes
Large display centigrade-fahrenheit thermometer
Glass jar with lid
Kitchen matches
Gallon glass jug (apple juice)
Sheet of paper towel
Shelled hard-boiled egg
Sheet of one inch grid graph paper 
Bunsen burner

Strategy:

Part A (Primary Level)
1.  Show and discuss weather symbols.
2.  Match props to correct symbol (i.e. umbrella to rain).
3.  Read story, What Will the Weather Be like Today? and have students clap each 
    time they hear a weather symbol.
4.  Draw appropriate weather symbol on calendar to match described weather 
    scenario.


Part B (Primary Level)
1.  Display large centigrade-fahrenheit thermometer insure that students know 
    how to "read" a thermometer.
2.  Divide students into groups to measure ice water, room-temperature water and 
    boiling water.  Record and graph readings.
3.  Discuss findings and allow students to conclude that 0 degrees centigrade is 
    freezing and that 100 degrees centigrade is boiling point.
4.  Show conversion formula and conversion chart for centigrade-fahrenheit.

Part C (Intermediate Level)
1.  Ask the question "Where does rain come from?"
2.  Briefly explain the interaction between warm and cold air.
3.  Drop a lighted kitchen match into a jar with about an inch of water on the 
    bottom and immediately cover the jar.
4.  Have students observe and report that warm moist air has risen and condensed 
    forming a "cloud" in the jar.
5.  Introduce the types of clouds and show cloud models made from cotton balls.
6.  Allow students to make cotton ball cloud models.

Part D (Junior High Level)
1.  Review weather vocabulary words.
2.  Play weather word "Bingo".
3.  Trace hand print onto one-inch grid paper to emphasize 14.7 p.s.i. of air 
    pressure pushing on each part of hand.
4.  Show jug, match, tightly-rolled piece of paper towel, and hard-boiled egg.
5.  Light paper towel, drop into jug, and immediately place egg on top.
6.  Watch as egg is "sucked" into bottle.
7.  Blow back into bottle to remove egg.

Performance Assessment:

Using weather symbols, cloud types, temperature, and air pressure knowledge, 
have students describe the day's weather.