|
|
When
we were recently asked to write an article on weather, it caused me to dig
through our bookmarks on the topic and review them again. The process made
me think that if I took just a bit more time, I could annotate a few of them
and share them with you. There are more, but I've run out of time at the moment.
I hope these help you with your teaching efforts.
Weather Eye at KGAN News 2
Lessons and resources at the Weather Eye site cover grades two through
twelve. Topics for the lessons include: (1) climate; (2) clouds; (3) El Nino;
(4) natural disasters; (5) flash floods; (6) forecasting; (6) hurricanes;
(7) lightning; (8) tornadoes; and, (9) weather consulting. The varied lessons
include information, activities, science experiments, and online quizzes.
There's even an experts section that uses many of the same lessons and adds
a few more topics (http://weathereye.kgan.com/expert/lessons.html).
The "Explore" link in the expert section has some excellent information primarily
from the the WW2010 site at the University of Illinois. You'll find diagrams
of common weather occurrences and details on what the people on the ground
will be experiencing before, during, and after the various weather phenomena.
For Teachers: http://weathereye.kgan.com/lounge/lessons.html
Weather regions in the US: http://weathereye.kgan.com/cadet/climate/climate.html
General Site: http://weathereye.kgan.com/
The Weather Unit
The Weather Unit uses a cross-disciplinary approach to the use of weather
information. In the math connection, you see a way to have students record
their local temperatures at their home in the evening and then combine that
data to calculate minimum, maximum and average temperatures then use that
data to discuss some of the science behind what might be producing similarities
or differences.
There are a few dead links at the site but there is no shortage of ideas
on ways that you can incorporate one of the most readily available sources
of data any teacher could ask for. None of us are ever short on weather!
Main Site: http://faldo.atmos.uiuc.edu/WEATHER/weather.html
Open Directory Project
These search results from the Open Directory Project have a large number
of links connected to resources focusing on hurricanes. There are some additional
topics, but the majority of the links on this page will provide you with
a wide range of resources on a topic of major interest here in South Carolina.
http://dmoz.org/Science/Earth_Sciences/Meteorology/Weather_Phenomena/Hurricanes/Education_and_FAQs/
Weather Here and There
Here's a direct quote from the main page for the site as I could hardly
explain it better myself:
"WEATHER HERE AND THERE is an integrated weather unit which incorporates
interaction with the Internet and hands-on collaborative, problem solving
activites for students in grades four through six. This unit is divided
into six lessons. The lessons integrate math, science, geography, and language
arts in the process of teaching and learning about weather phenomena. Students
will become involved in collaborative problem solving using e-mail as well
as through joining projects offered via the Internet. The Global Education
Project will help students see the relevance of science by interacting
with scientists and other students across the world, as they collaborate
in the study of weather in their environment."
Lessons include the following topics:
Each lesson includes objectives, materials and maangement,
background information, key questions, vocabulary, procedures, and a suggested
evaluation.
http://archive.ncsa.uiuc.edu/edu/RSE/RSEred/WeatherHome.html
Project SkyMath: Making Mathematical Connections
An extended description of the activities available for middle grades
is available at the website. However, this brief quote from the site captures
the essence of what they are providing:
"The SkyMath Module, "Using the Science and Language of Patterns to Explore
Temperature", calls for the development of several mathematical concepts
using a single central concept from weather --- temperature. The SkyMath
curriculum uses real-time weather data, involves classrooms in hands-on
mathematics, elicits higher-level thinking, engages students in purposeful
projects, and calls for reflection and communication. "
http://www.unidata.ucar.edu/staff/blynds/Skymath.html
Clickable Map of the US Showing Climate Information
If you don't have time to collect data over days, weeks or months, this
site can provide you lots of comparative data in a few minutes. You can get
climatology data for the last 30 years neatly compressed on charts available
by simply clicking on the location. What is rather intriguing is looking at
the amount of snow that falls in a variety of locations. Picking some extreme
points or even contrasting ones that have wide variations even though they
are quite close together can provoke a number of questions as to why this
occurs.
http://www.cdc.noaa.gov/USclimate/states.fast.html
The Weather Doctor's Basic Cloud Atlas
Beautiful, full-color photos included as part of a cloud chart that will
help you know what you're looking at. This works well with the chart available
from Environment Canada.
http://www.islandnet.com/%7Esee/weather/eyes/cloudatlas.htm
Project Atmosphere Canada
Brought to you by Environment Canada, here's everything you wanted to
know about clouds including a line-drawing classification chart.
http://www.msc-smc.ec.gc.ca/education/teachers_guides/module7_clouds_e.html |
|
