7 th grade, Atmosphere 2 -3 weeks

1. Rain, Rain Go Away! 7th grade, Atmosphere2 -3 weeks Why are were we so wet this spring?

2. NC Standard course of study, 7th grade Science • 1.01 Explain the composition, properties, and structure of the atmosphere. • 1.02 Analyze the properties that can be observed and measured to predict air quantity. • 1.03 Examine evidence that atmospheric properties can be studied to predict atmospheric conditions and weather. • 1.04 Evaluate human impact on the atmosphere. • 1.05 Assess the use of technology in predicting, monitoring, and recording atmospheric phenomena.

3. NC Strands • Nature of Science Studying rules patterns and cycles of the natural world including the atmosphere and the weather created there. How does it relate to student? • Science as Inquiry Active experience in problem solving, reasoning and making sense of collected evidence by asking questions and finding answers about weather. • Science and Technology Learning the technology needed for weather forecasting, and how it relates to the student and the community. • Science in personal and social perspectives. Using scientific principles to make personal decisions. How will learning about the atmospheric weather help in students life and his/her decisions about their future.

4. Invitation • Talk with students about the problems you had putting in a garden this year. Relate problems from past years experience. (Examples: Too wet, too dry) • Ask students if their family has a garden and how they did with their garden this year. Discuss why it was productive/nonproductive. How could nature have helped make the gardens better? • Lead students in the direction of weather. What do we know about weather? How else can it affect us? Be ready to talk about and show different examples of weather with video segments and charts. • Ask students to break into groups and come up with questions about weather. Come together after a short time and share questions on the board.

5. Student Questions • Why was it so wet this spring and summer? Why was it so dry in past years? How has the rain affected people in this area? What effect does the sun have on rain? What is rain a form of? • What is weather?What causes weather to change? Why is weather different in different areas of the world or nation or neighborhood? • What are some of the elements of weather? What is rain? What is snow? What is lightning? What is thunder? What is wind? What is sleet and hail? Why does weather change? How does the weather in this area affect me and other people? • What causes these elements? How are they related together? Why are they related? How are they related to me? Why should I learn about weather? • What are storms? What causes storms? What is a hurricane? What is a tornado? Where do these storms come from? Why do my ears pop before a storm? Why do my ears pop going up a mountain? What do I do during a storm? Why do I have to know what to do during a storm? • What is happening in the sky? What is the (sky) atmosphere? What is in the (sky) atmosphere? Why do we need to know? What are clouds? How do they form? How high do they go into the sky? Can we tell the weather from the clouds? How can we tell the weather? What do we use to predict the weather?

6. Learning Activities • Make a barometer to test air pressure while learning how it relates to weather and elevation. Take barometers to different areas, including mountain counties. Compare and contrast readings. Are they different? Why? • Make a rain gauge to measure precipitation. Why is this important? Who might this affect? • Track hurricanes with the local TV station. • Record humidity, air pressure, ozone, and pollen each day with paper or local TV station. • Ask local weather man to speak to class about his job as a weather man, what he is expected to present each day to the viewing audience, his experiences with his job and the weather, what does he use to help him forecast the weather and what kind of education did he have to have to be a weather man.

7. Learning Activities Continued • Send up helium balloons with notes to send cards back to school. This would help track dated wind currents. • Make rain, snow, frost, lightning, thunder and tornadoes in class. • Ask local owner of ski lodge to come in or take a field trip to the lodge and talk with him/her about making snow, how it is done and the conditions needed to make it. Have the kids compare homemade snow to the real thing. • Learn to read a weather map. • View movies on different types of weather. Tornadoes/ Hurricanes. View the wizard of oz and compare that with a real tornado. • Make cloud representations.

8. Learning Activities continued • Compare farmers almanac to the local weather forecasts. How is the information from the almanac found? Can it be a true gauge of weather forecasting as compared to satellites and radar. • Ask Caldwell county agricultural specialist to come in and speak with the kids about how all this rain has effected the local farmers. • Have students create a weather project of their choosing. • Have Caldwell County Water Specialist come in and talk about how all the rain has effected the local water supply. • Take a field trip to the water storage and water treatment facility. • Take water samples from local rivers and from the tap to find out if the rain has contributed to pollution. • Research on the internet how pollution has affected rain. • Check the ph in your rain gauge.

9. Resources • Science Voyages, Glencoe McGraw-Hill, Grade 7. • Local Television Station weather forecasts. • National Geographic videos on weather. • Wizard of Oz video. • Local Television News Forecaster. • Caldwell County Water Specialist. • Caldwell County Agricultural Specialist. • Farmer’s Almanac. • Local Ski lodge owner/manager. • Internet

10. Internet Sites www.wunderground.com/ www.cnn.com/WEATHER www.srh.noaa.gov/ftproot/FFC/html/metcalc.shtml www.ag.ohio-state.edu/~weather www.nhc.noaa.gov/ www.fem.gov/kids/hurr.htm , www.fem.gov/kids/tornako.htm www.tornadoproject.com/ www.chaseday.com/tornadoes.htm

11. social Action • One way the students can get involved with the community regarding this weather module is after talking with the Caldwell County Agricultural Specialist, students can interview local farmers and see their perspective of all this rain. They can interview locals with substantial gardens and ask them what has happened with their crops and how they have dealt with it. • After gathering information, students can get into groups and come up with a plan on how to deal with the rain and the effect it has had on crop reproduction. (Example: Water drainage and irrigation.) • After research and special planning, these plans can be submitted to the Caldwell County Agricultural Center. Local news can also be notified of the students plan along with a news letter sent to farmers, parents, neighbors and locals in the community.

12. More Social Action • Since this weather module will include tornadoes and hurricanes, the students can focus on how they can help the community be a safer place when dealing with severe weather. • Students can gather data from the internet, local hospitals, local TV stations, the red cross and other disaster organizations on safety during severe weather. • With this data have the students create a news letter, hot line or pamphlet for distribution into the community. Use local newspapers and TV stations to promote. • Students can also put together a program for parents and members of the community on a certain night. This can include guest speakers, role plays and information for the community. Local business can be asked to donate snacks.

13. Science Concepts • Students will be able to learn and understand the make up of the atmosphere, what is technically found in the atmosphere, along with being able to analyze air quality. • Students will be able to understand why the weather is acting a certain way from studying the conditions in the atmosphere. • Students will be able to understand what weather and the atmospheric conditions have on human impact while understanding what human impact has on the atmosphere. • Students will be able to view and understand how weather is predicted monitored and recorded. • Students will be able to understand their role in the gathering, learning and applying of the information on the atmosphere with significance to the outside world.

14. Projected Outcomes • Students will know about safety during severe storms. • Students will know what kind of education is needed to predict and work with in the weather industry. (TV weather forecaster/ski lodge technician/agricultural specialist/water specialist) • Students will have a basic understanding of weather prediction which can help them in their daily lives from hanging out laundry on a cloudy day, to planning an outing or vacation, to aiding people before, during and after a severe storm disaster. • Students will be able to see the significance of having the knowledge from this unit by talking with the different human resources in the community and taking action.

15. Assessment • Collect all written materials (labs and worksheets) from students after activities along with a written summery of the day and what they have learned. • Give a pencil test at the end of the unit for concept knowledge and understanding. This would include multiple choice short answer and essay questions for application of knowledge. Formal Summative. • Give warm-up quizzes each morning from yesterday’s lesson. (Example: Ask questions, or have students write down everything they remembered from yesterdays lesson.) Formal informative. • Observe students during research and activities for participation. • Have students keep a science journal or log to relate their research and findings and how it relates to them and the unit. • Have personal interviews with each student at different times. Have them explain what they are doing or learning, and why. Ask them informal summative and formative questions.

16. Lynn Berry The End