Forecasting the Weather

The following information is for the educator implementing this lesson.

TARGET AUDIENCE:  This lesson was designed for 8th grade students as a Middle Years Program assessment to culminate our weather unit.  We have investigated the components of weather and have used weather instruments:  psychrometers, anemometers, barometers, rain guages and the use of flags and trees as indicators for wind direction and velocity.  With the actual weather data, we analyzed the data for patterns. 

LESSON DESIGN:It is the responsibility of the teacher to facilitate the learning process by guiding and monitoring students to keep them on track, answer questions and provide encourage for each task.  Task are arranged in chunks that provide the scaffolding to the final product.  This WebQuest has been designed to take 3, 60 minute computer lab sessions and 1, 60 minute session in the classroom for presentations.   

DIFFERIENTIATION:  Differientiation  is addressed as students self select their partner and the role they assume.  They are also placed in pairs to cooperatively work together to be able to supporting each other's strengths and weaknesses, discuss ideas and readings, as well as share the work load.  Website arrangement and graphics will support reading to assist in comprehension.  The ability to work together and discuss ideas will facilitate learning as they use associated vocabulary.  There are different types of literacies and all students should be able to contribute positively to the final product. 

UNIVERSAL DESIGN for LEARNING:  Universal Design for Learning are included throughout the project.  The project has embedded support features in the form of readings and supportive graphics to aid comprehension for lower ability readers.  Practice of newly aquired information on air masses, fronts, etc., are followed by a practice sheet called Air Masses Challenge.  This worksheet is a formative assessment to be turned into the teacher online or as a hardcopy.  Teacher will provide feedback and remediation as needed based on the responses of the worksheet.

MULTIPLE INTELLIGENCES:  Multiple intellengences are addressed throughout the lesson.  Natural intellengences are developed as they become more sensitive to how weather effects the natural world.  Students will develop logical and mathematical intelligences as they recognize relationships and connections between weather patterns and data through deductive reasoning.  As they communicate verbally, read and write, the students will be developing linguistic intelligence.  Interpersonal  intelligences will be developed as the students interact with each other and the teacher through practicing good communication skills.  Students are also offered an opportunity to develop spatial intelligences as they use graphics and extend their artistic abilities in producing their final product.

HIGHER ORDER THINKING SKILLS:  Higher order thinking skills are used throughout the process.  Students will be evaluating website information as they read and select useful information.  Information has to be analyzed, patterns have to be found and ideas need to be expressed.  Students have to perform divergent thinking and extend it in order to bring all their information and formulate a prediction of the weather for 3 days into the future.

DIMENSIONS of LEARNING:  All the dimensions of learning are found in this lesson.  DOL 1, attitudes and perceptions, are found as the lesson is orderly and chunked into small easy pieces, so students can proceed step by step, tackling the project with a positive attitude.  Also, being in the computer lab is always perceived as a positive experience.  While in the computer lab, students will be advancing their technical knowledge, aquiring new knowledge and integrating it with their own for DOL 2.  Students will extend their knowledge, DOL 3, as theyanalyze information and data, find patterns and extend their knowledge to predict the weather.  DOL 4 is to use knowledge meaningfully by making decisions as they investigate what information is useful to their outcome, but that weather forecasting infomation is also useful in daily life in order to prepare for an occupation or dressing on a daily basis.  Productive habits of the mind, DOL 5, is experienced when the students have to think critically to develop a position on the future weather conditions based on their collected information and evaluating the websites, as well as the information's usefulness. 

MARYLAND SCIENCE CONTENT STANDARDS :

2.8.E.3.  Identify and describe the atmospheric and hydrospheric conditions related to weather systems.

2.8.E.3.a.  Identify and describe weather patterns associated with high and low pressure systems and frontal systems.

2.8.E.3.b.  Identify and describe the atmospheric and hydrospheric conditions associated with the formation and development of hurricanes, tornadoes and thunderstorms.

TECHNOLOGY STANDARDS:

1.0:  Technology Systems:  Develop foundations in the understanding and uses of technology systems

3.0:  Technology for Learning and Collaboration:  Use a variety of technologies for learning and collaboration.

5.0:  Technology for Information Use and Management:  Use technology to locate, evaluate, gather and organize information.

6.0:  Technology for Problem-Solving and Decision-Making:  Demonsrtate ability to use technology and develop strategies to solve problems and make informed decisions.

This WebQuest supports Anne Arundel County Public Schools goals in that it supports components of all the County initiatives that are outlined above:  differientiated instruction, higher order thinking skills, demensions of learning, multiple intelligences, technology instruction and supports the Middle Years Program philosophy. 

RESOURCES:

AccuWeather.  Daily Forecast and National Radar and Weather Maps.  updated daily.  www.accuweather.com.

American Meteorological Society. Selected Data Streme Atmosphere Weather Map Symbols. www.ametsoc.org/amsedu/dstreme/extras/wxsym2.html

National Geographic.  Weather 101 Video Clip. 

NOAA  Jetstream. "Online School for Weather." Air Masses. January 5, 2010. http://www.srh.noaa.gov/jetstream/synoptic/airmass.htm

NOAA  Jetstream. "Online School for Weather." Wind. January 5, 2010. http://www.srh.noaa.gov/jetstream/synoptic/wind.htm

NOAA Satellite and Information Service.  Celcius to Fahrenheit Conversion Chart.   August 20, 2008.  http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/oa/climate/conversion/tempconvert.html.

Northwestern University.  The Mentor Database.  Weather Visualizer.  September 10, 1996.  http://www.covis.nwu.edu/.

The Weather Channel.  Weather Glossary.  http:///www.weather.com/glossary/.

University of Illinois. WW2010. Intersurface Observation Symbols. http://ww2010.atmos.uiuc.edu/(Gh)/guides/maps/sfcobs/home.rxml.

University of Northern Iowa.  The Storm Project.  Updated daily.  http://www.uni.edu/storm/

MISCELLANEOUS INFORMATION:  The rubrics for evaluation were specifically designed for the Middle Years Program for as part of the International Bacaleaurate Program. 

*Once I test this program I will include notes on pointers and pitfalls.