Science- Weather

Contributor
The e-learning for Kids Foundation
Type Category
Instructional Materials
Types
Interactive Simulation , Tool/Software
Note
This resource, vetted by NSTA curators, is provided to teachers along with suggested modifications to make it more in line with the vision of the NGSS. While not considered to be "fully aligned," the resources and expert recommendations provide teachers with concrete examples and expert guidance using the EQuIP rubric to adapted existing resources. Read more here.

Reviews

Description

This is a free interactive learning activity designed for individual students and can easily be used as a whole class interactive whiteboard activity.This particular title explores weather in relationship to season and temperature. Students learn to use a thermometer as a tool for recording temperature and identify the four seasons through measurable changes in the thermometer readings.

Intended Audience

Educator and learner
Educational Level
  • Early Elementary
Language
English
Access Restrictions

Free access - The right to view and/or download material without financial, registration, or excessive advertising barriers.

Performance Expectations

K-ESS2-1 Use and share observations of local weather conditions to describe patterns over time.

Clarification Statement: Examples of qualitative observations could include descriptions of the weather (such as sunny, cloudy, rainy, and warm); examples of quantitative observations could include numbers of sunny, windy, and rainy days in a month. Examples of patterns could include that it is usually cooler in the morning than in the afternoon and the number of sunny days versus cloudy days in different months.

Assessment Boundary: Assessment of quantitative observations limited to whole numbers and relative measures such as warmer/cooler.

This resource appears to be designed to build towards this performance expectation, though the resource developer has not explicitly stated so.

Comments about Including the Performance Expectation
This resource is a good introduction to the relationship between seasons and seasonal temperatures. Teachers should connect this learning to additional lessons that have students apply this information to local weather conditions and seasons.

Science and Engineering Practices

This resource appears to be designed to build towards this science and engineering practice, though the resource developer has not explicitly stated so.

Comments about Including the Science and Engineering Practice
Teachers should have students record information as they go through the activity. To reinforce this Practice, students should discuss the collected data and compare their findings with additional examples provided by the teacher. Additionally, teachers may need to discuss unusual weather conditions that do not correlate with the assumed average seasonal temperatures in the activity and that there are times when current temperatures run warmer or cooler than expected.

Disciplinary Core Ideas

This resource is explicitly designed to build towards this disciplinary core idea.

Comments about Including the Disciplinary Core Idea
Teachers should follow up this activity with direct connections to local weather conditions by having students track and record temperatures with a thermometer over a period of time. Ideally, weather temperature tracking should take place through the school year with periodic comparisons and a final end of the year review of their weather data. Many teachers already do this during calendar activities, however, to strengthen this Core Idea students should be guided to connect the data they collect to local, typical seasonal weather conditions.

Crosscutting Concepts

This resource appears to be designed to build towards this crosscutting concept, though the resource developer has not explicitly stated so.

Comments about Including the Crosscutting Concept
Teachers need to guide students in identifying patterns as they collect weather and temperature data over time. Providing additional examples through literature or other media will strengthen this Crosscutting Concept. Students can be guided to identify patterns in seasonal changes in other resources and compare them with local seasonal weather conditions using compare and contrast charts or other graphic organizers.

Resource Quality

  • Alignment to the Dimensions of the NGSS: This resource would be strongly aligned to all three dimensions of NGSS with the suggested modifications for the Practices and Crosscutting Concepts.

  • Instructional Supports: The resource is user friendly and can be used by individual students, pairs of students, or as a whole group interactive whiteboard activity. The resource as a whole group activity would serve the needs of a variety of learners, with little adaptation.

  • Monitoring Student Progress: No assessment is provided within this activity, however students are redirected to try again if they chose the wrong answers within the different lessons. Students can collect coins and earn a certificate of completion when they have answered all the questions correctly. This can be monitored by the teacher, but there is no record of student responses once they have completed the activity. Teachers will need to follow up with an addition assessment to check for student understanding.

  • Quality of Technological Interactivity: The resource loads and proceeds through the different lessons without buffering delays. Students can independently complete the activity or the whole class can do it together with an interactive whiteboard. Unfortunately, there is no record or saving of previous answers so the lessons need to be completed in one continuous session.