Unit 2: Weather
This unit was taught to grade 6-8 in order to do a Common Core based Culminating project on Hurricane Sandy and the devastation it caused in our area.
The Water Cycle and Precipitation
In this lesson the students will listen to music as a motivation, take notes and then create and present their own diagrams on the different types of precipitation. The focus of this lesson was to briefly re-examine the water cycle and then to have an in depth look at the different types of precipitation we experience on Earth. We discussed the different atmospheric conditions that created each type of precipitation, and then the students got involved to create and explain each type of precipitation to one another.
Video Used for Do Now and Student Motivation
Precipitation Lesson Plan | |
File Size: | 22 kb |
File Type: | docx |
Differentiated Worksheets for Lesson | |
File Size: | 2093 kb |
File Type: | docx |
Worksheets for the Lesson | |
File Size: | 2095 kb |
File Type: | docx |
Precipitation Lesson PowerPoint | |
File Size: | 5647 kb |
File Type: | pptx |
Air Masses Lesson
Am important aspect of weather is the movement and flow of air masses. Our second lesson of the unit focused on the different air masses and which ones in particularly affected the United States. In this lesson, I used a word splash activity to introduce this topic. Word Splash has the students working with the words and analyzing the words prior to them actually learning the lesson in order to access prior knowledge and provide connections to enhance student learning.
Air Masses Lesson Plan | |
File Size: | 22 kb |
File Type: | docx |
Word Splash Worksheet on Air Masses | |
File Size: | 180 kb |
File Type: | docx |
Differentiated Word Splash Worksheet on Air Masses | |
File Size: | 341 kb |
File Type: | docx |
Air Masses Homework | |
File Size: | 358 kb |
File Type: | docx |
Air Masses Lesson PowerPoint | |
File Size: | 3639 kb |
File Type: | pptx |
Fronts Lesson
In the lesson students learn about and examine the different fronts and the weather that comes along with each front. The students then complete a worksheet identifying and drawing fronts on a weather.
Different Fronts
Fronts Lesson Plan | |
File Size: | 21 kb |
File Type: | docx |
Fronts Worksheet | |
File Size: | 353 kb |
File Type: | docx |
Fronts Lesson PowerPoint | |
File Size: | 4185 kb |
File Type: | pptx |
Thunderstorms Lesson
This lesson used a variety of different strategies to engage the students actively in the learning process. The lesson began with a story strategy where the students listened to a story and then had to explain what they heard, saw, tasted, felt, and smelt. Then the students fill out a KWL chart for what they know and what they want to learn. After the students take notes the complete the what I learned section of the KWL chart.
Thunderstorm Lesson Plan | |
File Size: | 21 kb |
File Type: | docx |
Story Strategy | |
File Size: | 13 kb |
File Type: | docx |
weebly_kwl.docx | |
File Size: | 13 kb |
File Type: | docx |
Homework for Thunderstorm Lesson | |
File Size: | 14 kb |
File Type: | docx |
Thunderstorm Lesson PowerPoint | |
File Size: | 3965 kb |
File Type: | pptx |
Tornadoes Lesson
This lesson focuses on the characteristics of tornadoes and the destruction caused by them. It in corporates visual, auditory and kinesthetic means of relaying information to students by showing them videos, having a PowerPoint and having them create a "Tornado Flip-Book" with at least three facts about tornadoes on the cover.
Tornadoes Lesson Plan | |
File Size: | 21 kb |
File Type: | docx |
Homework for Tornado Lesson | |
File Size: | 72 kb |
File Type: | docx |
PowerPoint for Tornado Lesson | |
File Size: | 754 kb |
File Type: | pptx |
Hurricanes and Blizzards Lesson
This lesson was meant to prepare the students for the upcoming project on Hurricane Sandy. The motivation for this lesson was the Philip Philips "Home" Hurricane Sandy Re-mix. Then we discussed the different effects the storm had on my students directly, since they were from an impacted area. After the discussion, the students received notes on Hurricanes and Blizzards, then we used www.create-a-cane.com made by NOAA to build our own category 5 Hurricane while making a foldable to keep in the students notebook with the characteristics.
Hurricane Lesson Plan | |
File Size: | 23 kb |
File Type: | docx |
Homework on Different Characteristics of Severe Weather | |
File Size: | 14 kb |
File Type: | docx |
Hurricane and Blizzard Lesson PowerPoint | |
File Size: | 5222 kb |
File Type: | pptx |
Learning Checkpoint: Quiz
When tackling a large unit of study, it is important assess student learning throughout each lesson, however, it is also important to assess student learning in a more formal manner as well. This lesson was a quiz given to the students to ensure they understood the information before moving on to the last step of the unit and the project.
Quiz Lesson Plan | |
File Size: | 22 kb |
File Type: | docx |
Quiz | |
File Size: | 15 kb |
File Type: | docx |
Homework on Weather (Helps to Set Up the Next Lesson on Weather Forecasting) | |
File Size: | 39 kb |
File Type: | docx |
Quiz PowerPoint | |
File Size: | 102 kb |
File Type: | pptx |
Weather Forecasting Lesson
The last adventure of this Unit prior to our project was weather forecasting. Weather forecasting can be a dull lesson gets too technical, therefore it is best to keep the students engaged with hands-on activities. In this lesson I gave a brief overview of the important elements of weather forecasting and then let the students create and present their own weather maps using the Jig-Saw method.
Weather Forecasting Lesson Plan | |
File Size: | 21 kb |
File Type: | docx |
Station Directions for Weather Forecasting Lesson | |
File Size: | 383 kb |
File Type: | docx |
Weather Map | |
File Size: | 596 kb |
File Type: | docx |
Weather Forecasting PowerPoint | |
File Size: | 671 kb |
File Type: | pptx |
Performance Task: Project on Hurricanes
The school had students of all levels complete a Common Core Based Performance Task on Hurricanes. The overall project was broken down into two tasks. The first task was to complete an essay on Hurricanes, create a game on Hurricanes, and then to write a second essay persuading a toy company to buy your game. The second task was to complete an essay on meteorology and how it connects to hurricanes, to create a meteorologist station, and then to write a second essay on careers in meteorology.
Performance Task Lesson Plan | |
File Size: | 24 kb |
File Type: | docx |
Research Organizer | |
File Size: | 89 kb |
File Type: | docx |
Performance Task 1: Hurricane Research Paper Outline | |
File Size: | 26 kb |
File Type: | docx |
Performance Task 2: Meteorology Research Paper Outline | |
File Size: | 26 kb |
File Type: | docx |
Performance Task Lesson PowerPoint (Please note some sections were left deliberately blank to fill in as the project progessed) | |
File Size: | 223 kb |
File Type: | pptx |