Wonderful Weather: Science for Kindergarten Session Design by Preston Grover and Rachel Van Kampen LEARNING OBJECTIVES

Content Standards Utah Science: Standard 2 Objective 3A o Observe and record that weather changes occur from day-to-day and weather patterns occur from season to season. CCSS Integrated Core: Standard 1 Objective 3D o Develop competency in beat accuracy and respond to an understanding of beat as a life force through moving, singing, chanting, or playing instruments. Utah Science: Standard 2 Objective 3B o Describe, predict, and discuss daily weather conditions and how predicting the weather can improve our lives. Enduring Understandings Students will understand that each season has its own weather pattern (i.e winter=snow, summer=heat) Students will understand that predicting the weather can help them better prepare for their daily activities (e.g. what to wear, what outdoor activities they can do, precautions, etc.) Students will know that weather patterns arent strictly seasonally. Students will understand that a beat is used in a variety of different things including singing, chanting, moving, dancing, and playing instruments. Skills Students will be able to describe the local weather through observation. Students will be able to predict the following days weather based on observation and patterns. Students will be able to collaboratively draw and color to create a single picture. Students will be able to recognize a beat and accurately move their bodies to it. ASSESSMENT Performance Tasks Students are given a weather scenario and a box of clothing in which they pick out appropriate attire for the given scenario and create a tableau to demonstrate that they understand that predicting weather helps them better prepare for their daily activities. Students draw a picture of an incongruent weather pattern that was not predicted and participate in a discussion in which they give examples of times weather patterns have not been congruent with a particular season in order to show that weather patterns are not strictly seasonal. Students create a picture for each season based on observation to demonstrate that each season has different typical weather patterns.

Students participate in activities, such as creating a storm and being choreographers for a rain dance, to demonstrate that they can accurately follow a beat with their bodies. Other Assessments Students keep a weather journal in which they draw a picture of the weather daily and draw a prediction for the next days weather for a week to demonstrate that weather differs from day to day and can be predicted by patterns. MATERIALS NEEDED Teacher Materials Prepared weather journal (one for each student) o A notebook where each page is split into two sections Box of assorted seasonal clothing Large pieces of construction paper Cotton balls, glue, scissors, plain white paper, colored pencils, markers, other craft supplies. Music for Raindance LEARNING PLAN Framing / Hook 1. Make a Storm 1. Gather Students in Circle. 2. Explain that we are going to be making a storm with our bodies. 3. Ask: Does anyone know what a storm is? 4. Go through the following motions with students before you put it all together. a. First, have students rub their hands together. b. Second, have students snap their fingers together. c. Third, have students pat their lap. d. Fourth, have students pat their lap and stomp their feet. 5. Have students do the motions once, then do them backwards. 6.Explain that now that we know what is going on, we are going to do it one more time, making sure it sounds like a storm-starting out soft and growing louder, then going back to soft. 7. Have students sit down quietly in a circle. Process Day 1 1. Lets Talk About Weather! 1. Ask: Can anybody give me examples of weather? 2. Explain to students that we will be going outside and documenting the current weather by drawing a picture in our weather journals. i. Note: Take markers and weather journals outside. 3. Take students outside. Gather them in a circle. 4. Ask them to try to describe the weather outside. ii. NOTE: Prompt them with, whats the temperature like, is it raining or not? Is it snowing? Is the sun out? What are the trees like? What are the clouds like?

5. Ask students what the current season is. 6. Ask students what aspects of weather makes it that particular season. 7. Hand out weather journals and markers. 8. Have students draw a picture of themselves and the weather around them, including aspects of the season (e.g., how cold it is, what do the trees look like, do you need a jacket, what do the clouds look like, etc.) 9. After students are done, gather the materials and weather journals and lead class back inside. 2. Seasonal Patterns 1. Gather students around. 2. Tell students now that they have seen fall, we are now going to identify some other seasons. 3. Show students pictures of the seasons with specific weather conditions. 4. Ask students, with each picture shown, to point out different parts of the picture and explain what it is they see, and what season it would occur in. a. Picture of winter b. Picture of spring c. Picture of summer d. Picture of fall 3. Creating pictures of the Weather and Season 1. Explain to students that were going to make pictures of typical types of weather and seasons. i. Note: Teacher needs to have preselected the materials the students can use and have them out and ready. Teacher needs to be sure to explain any safety hazards of the materials. (Pre-picked materials, aka paper, pencils, cotton balls, foam balls, yarn, crayons, glue). 2. Ask students what weather occurrences are typical daily for each season. 3. Have students make a picture for each season, including some of the typical weather occurrences discusses. Reflection 5. Show and Tell 1. After students are done with pictures, have them clean up their areas and prepare the room for show and tell time. 2. While students are cleaning up, have them think about which of their pictures they are going to present to the class. 3. Each student presents their picture to the class. Have the class identify which season is being presented by each student based on the weather that the picture shows.

Day 2 6. Rain Dancing 1. Explain to students that we will be doing a rain dance to a beat. 2. Explain to students that people used to believe that a rain dance would help the rain to come to their lands so that there was water for their crops. 3. Explain that we will be playing some music and doing a special dance to make it rain. 4. Ask: What are three moves we could use in this rain dance? 5. Rehearse steps with students a few times. 6. Start music for rain dance. i. Note: Clap to the beat while the music is going to help students find the beat. 7. Planning a Picnic 1. Divide class into groups of two. 2. Explain to students that we will be going on a picnic tomorrow and we need to predict what the weather will be like based on what the weather has been like the last few days so we can better prepare for our picnic. 3. Lead a discussion about how we could predict the weather. Focus on weather patterns. 4. Ask students how predicting the weather can help improve planning the picnic (i.e., what to wear, what to do on their picnic, etc.) 5. Give each group a scenario that explains what the weather conditions have been like for the past 3 days. a. Scenario 1: The Season is Spring. Its been raining for the last three days. b. Scenario 2: The Season is Summer. Its been hot for the last three days. c. Scenario 3: The Season is Fall. Its been windy and sunny for the last three days. d. Scenario 4: The Season is Winter. Its been snowy for the last three days. 6. Students will pick their clothing and put them on. 8. Picnic Tableau 1. Explain to students, now that they have picked their clothing for the picnic, we want them to do a still-image of what it would look like. 2. Have students think about what activities they could do in their weather scenario, and have them incorporate that/those activities in their tableaux. i. Note: What would they look like? How would they be acting based on the weather? What would they look like having a picnic in that specific weather condition? 3. Discuss with students how predicting the weather based on observations and patterns helped them to plan the activities and apparel for their picnic. 9. Incongruent Weather Patterns 1. Explain to students that it is now the day that they planned to go on their picnic, but the weather is not what they predicted it will be. a. Scenario 1: It is Spring. The weather today is sunny and hot. b. Scenario 2: It is Summer. The weather today is rainy and colder.

c. Scenario 3: It is Fall. The weather today is Snowy and cold. d. Scenario 4: It is Winter. The weather today is Sunny and all of the snow melted. 2. Have students put back the clothes they originally chose and exchange them for more appropriate clothes for their new scenario. 3. On a large piece of paper, have groups collaboratively draw a picture of what they would do on their picnic in accordance to what the weather is actually like for their picnic. 4. Discuss with students how sometimes, even though theres been a pattern, weather can sometimes be incongruent with the particular season. 5. Ask them for examples of when theyve noticed non-typical weather occurrences in their lives. Reflection 9. Weather Journal 1. Discuss with students how observing weather and making predictions about the weather can positively influence their life. 2. Have students observe the weather outside. 3. Have students draw a picture of the current weather in their weather journals. 4. Have students make a prediction of what the weather will be like tomorrow based on patterns and observation. Have them draw a picture of their prediction in their weather journal.