Whitney Powell Weather Maps and Weather Prediction SOL: 6.

6 The student will investigate and understand the properties of air and the structure and dynamics of Earths atmosphere. Key concepts include b. pressure, temperature, and compounds e. the relationship of atmospheric measures and weather conditions f. basic information from weather maps, including fronts, systems and basic measurements Objective: The student will investigate, analyze, interpret, and predict weather. The student will learn about the various types of models and instruments used to predict weather.

Engage: 10 minutes + ongoing

Materials- barometer Show students the barometer What does a barometer measure? Atmospheric pressure Why are barometers useful for predicting weather? If air pressure stays the same or changes, you can tell if the weather will stay the same or change. What do you think it means if the barometer shows atmospheric pressure falling quickly? A low pressure system is moving in What kind of weather would this predict? Wet or stormy weather

Explore: 30 minutes
Unit 5, Lesson 5 Virtual Lab Prior to beginning the virtual lab, the teacher will ask the following questions. What do you think of when you hear the term weather forecast? TV reporters, the news, how weather changes What are some characteristics of weather can you name? i.e. humidity Temperature, wind speed, wind direction, or air pressure. How do you think meteorologist make predictions about weather? By looking at the sky, studying current elements of weather, and studying weather patterns over a large area. Students will be instructed to go to ThinkCentral. The student will complete Unit 5, Lesson 5 Virtual Lab.

Explain: 40 minutes
Unit 5 Lesson 5 (pages 276-289) Students will take turns reading out loud with the teacher throughout the lesson. As the students and teacher read along, students will be answering the questions throughout the reading. In addition, students will complete the Engage your Brain and Active Reading prior to beginning the lesson. As students progress through the reading, they will write down vocabulary as we read. As they ready throughout the book, the teacher will bring up several points. On page 278 there are people at the beach, but a storm is coming. The teacher will ask students what other activities are dependent* (prior vocabulary word) on weather conditions? Ex. Skiing, tennis, football, flying a kite, picnics, etc.

Hurricane Hunters
Why do meteorologist now chose to use aircrafts to forecast weather rather than ships? Aircraft moves much faster and can launch weather-sensing equipment into storms. In addition, the aircraft is useful because it can fly above the clouds and is strong and fast enough to get close to the storm. What is a hurricane like? A hurricane is a very strong storm with high winds that form over a body of warm water. Why is it important to study hurricanes and other forms of severe weather?

By learning about these types of weather scientists can better understand them and help prepare people for severe weather.

Forecasting the weather

What are some things you might learn from a weather forecast? You might learn what the temperature will be, whether it will rain or not, and how windy it will be. Why is a meteorologists job important? Weather conditions can be dangerous if you are unprepared. Meteorologists can warn people about future weather conditions.

Elements of weather
How can weather forecasts help you throughout the day? They can help you figure out what to wear and what kinds of activities to plan for. Besides using weather tools, what observations can you make by just looking out the window to figure out what the weather is like outside? You can look at the clouds in the sky. You can look at how trees are moving to figure out how hard the wind is blowing, and you can look to see how other people are dressed to figure out how cold it is.

Weather instruments
Why would you want to use both an anemometer and a wind vane to study the wind? You would want to use both instruments because they measure different things: anemometers measure wind speed and wind vanes measure wind direction. If you wanted to measure how much rain fell during a rainstorm, what tool would you use? Why? You would use a rain gauge, because it would fill up as the rain fell and would show you how much total rain had fallen in a given time period.

Types of weather instruments

Which of the instruments youve learned about would be found at the highest altitude? A satellite would be found at the highest altitude. Can you think of some weather instruments that might be found at a weather station? Some instruments that might be found at a weather station include thermometers, rain gauges, anemometers, wind vanes, barometers, hygrometers, and scatter visibility sensors.

Land-based or not?

Why are satellites, aircraft, and weather balloons able to gather data from multiple locations? They can collect data from multiple locations because they can move around. How are weather balloons and aircraft that gather information about the weather similar and different? Both aircraft and weather balloons gather information about conditions In the atmosphere. Weather balloons float randomly through Earths atmosphere, but aircraft flight paths can be controlled. Why would a meteorologist want to use information from different instruments when forecasting the weather? A meteorologist uses information from different instruments because each instrument provides unique data about elements of weather. Putting all of the information together helps the meteorologist develop the most reliable forecast.

Station Models
If about half of the sky were covered in clouds in a certain area, what would the station model for that area look like? Half of the center circle would be shaded in. Why is a station model a useful way to present information about the weather? A station model is useful because it provides a lot of information in one place, in a standard form. What kinds of information does a station model usually include? A station model usually includes information about cloud cover, wind speed and direction, temperature, air pressure, and dew-point temperature.

Weather maps and upper-air charts

How are isobars and isotherms alike and different? They both show areas with similar weather conditions; isobars relate information about air pressure and isotherms relate information about temperature. How are weather maps and upper-air charts different? Weather maps usually only show weather conditions on the ground; upper-air charts show weather conditions higher in the atmosphere.

Weather symbols
Weather maps provide information about large areas that may be experiencing different weather conditions. Why is it useful to know what the weather is like in places other than your current location? Weather conditions tend to move from one place to another. The conditions in another place may tell you how your weather will change in the future.

Types of forecasts

Provide some examples of reasons you might look at a short-, medium-, or longrange forecast. You could look at a short-range forecast to figure out whether you need to wear a coat to school; a medium-range forecast to figure out if going to the beach in four days is a good idea; and a long-range forecast to figure out how soon you can plant a garden.

Severe weather
Which of the following should be taken most seriously: a weather advisory, warning, or watch? While each of these alerts should be taken seriously, the alert that signals the most immediate threat is a weather warning.

More about station models

If none of the center circle of a station model is shaded in, what could you tell about the weather conditions at that location? There is no cloud cover at that location. What does the line branching off of the center circle of a station model tell you about the wind speed and direction? The direction that the line faces on the model tells you which direction the wind is blowing from; the flags or small marks on the line indicate how fast the wind is blowing. How many locations does a station model provide information about? A station model only shows the weather conditions at a single location.

Reporting the weather

Where might you see weather maps such as this one? You might see weather maps on television or in the newspaper.

Elaborate: 5 minutes + Homework

As homework, the students will take information that they have learned from this lesson and lesson 4 to create an informative pamphlet or brochure that will be sent out in the local school newsletter. Students will create a pamphlet that informs other students and their families what to do in a Hurricane. Students will be urged to use vocabulary learned throughout the previous two lessons to make the pamphlet more scientific. In addition, students will be encouraged to use the internet to complete the assignment. The student will be reminded to use reliable sources such as encyclopedias (except Wikipedia!) and to stick to websites that end in .gov or .edu

Evaluate: 5 minutes
The teacher will ask the following questions to assess student mastery of material. What are eight elements of weather that meteorologists collect data on? Air temperature, humidity, wind direction, wind speed, cloud types and altitudes, precipitation, atmospheric pressure, and visibility. What type of information would weather radar record? Movement or storms, cloud locations, precipitation, and air motion. When would the National Weather Service issue a weather advisory? When anticipated weather conditions could cause inconveneice if caution is not used.

Prior Knowledge Investigation Reflection

I completed my prior knowledge investigation on weather mapping and predictions. I chose this as my topic because students and people in general have many alternate conceptions on weather. In addition, people will be watching weather forecasts throughout life and need to have a higher understanding about the topic. Middle schools students typically have alternate conceptions about temperature, precipitation, thunder, lightning, and weather predicting. For example, many adults have the misconception that lightning never strikes the same place twice. However, this is not true lightning will strike the highest point, regardless if it has been struck before. Although temperature and heat are some of the most popular topics throughout curriculum, it is still one of the most misunderstood, (Baker & Piburn, 1997). One misconception students have about rain is, believing that it rains because a particular area needs rain. Although many farmers would love if this were the case, sadly it is not. Rain occurs whether and area needs it or not. It begins to rain when water droplets are sufficiently heavy and fall from clouds (Henriques, 2000). A misconception that students typically have about weather maps is, believing that high (H) and low (L) pressure means high and low temperatures. In addition, some students believe think that isobars on weather maps represent wind speed or temperature rather than understanding isobars represent areas of equal pressure (Henriques, 2000). My lesson addressed SOL 6.6, which covers pressure, temperature, the relationship of atmospheric measures, weather conditions, and basic information from weather maps including fronts, systems, and basic measurements. Throughout the lesson students were expected to investigate, analyze, interpret, and predict weather. Students will learn about the various types of models and instruments used to predict weather. To assess prior knowledge, I conducted three interviews with students chosen by my cooperating teacher. The first student was high-achieving and typically engaged in class, the second was an average student that was typically extremely talkative in class, and the third student was an

average performer but an extremely hard worker. In the interview I asked one simple question to initiate conversation, Who predicts the weather? I believed this question was extremely straightforward, however I was wrong. I got three different answers including weather main, meteorologist and Robin Reed (a local meteorologist). Next I showed the three students a picture of a weather map attached below. The first student (A) looked at the map without checking the key and stated I think its hot in El Paso because the map is red. I think its raining in Minneapolis because the map is green. In addition, this student did not understand what the shadows portrayed on the map, although it was clearly stated in the map key. The student thought (s)he was in trouble and asked to return to class. The next student, (B), took their time before answering and stared at both the map and key for approximately one minute before speaking. Student B believed that it was going to rain in Roanoke because of the red semicircles and would snow in St. Louis because blue means cold. The third student (C) remarked that (s)he watched the weather everyday at breakfast and then stared at the map. Student C stated the obvious by saying it was sunny in Miami and was dry in the Midwest. In addition, (s)he said Its going to be hot in Roanoke today but will be cold in Roanoke in a couple days, because of the cold and warm fronts. Throughout my lesson I believed I incorporated several different ways of helping students correct their alternate misconceptions. To begin, I completed a physical True/False activity. I read different true/false statements about weather, and asked students to stand up if they believed it was true. This activity helped me obtain a better gauge of where the entire class stood on weather, rather than just three students. In addition to completing this activity before the lesson, I also did the activity again a couple days after the lesson was taught to see if students gained an understanding of the content presented. This activity is not the most accurate judge of content learned because students were mostly guessing at the statements before. However, more than 75% of the class got all the true/false statements right after the lesson had been taught.

Next, I asked several open-ended discussion questions as an introduction to the virtual lab. Students were asked to complete a virtual lab on weather forecasting. Throughout the lab students were able to work at their own pace and had the ability to go back and change predictions created at the beginning of the lesson. The virtual lab addresses several standards including NSTA 2C and NSTA 3C. The virtual lab addresses preconceptions (NSTA 2C) by allowing students to answer free response questions at the beginning of the lab about how they would forecast a simple weather map. In addition, NSTA 3C, fair assessment was also addressed by the virtual lab because students had the ability to complete the lab at their own pace, thus they were allowed to spend more time on things they were more difficult to understand. In addition, students had the option to review previous answers at the end of the lab and change them according to new knowledge. In addition, NSTA 5A, evidence of knowledge gained and corrected was addressed by pre- and post-interviews, the true/false activity before and after the lesson, the unit review at the end of the assigned reading, lesson quiz, and unit test. In addition, this lesson plan addressed INTASC 6, multiple assessments. There were several different assessments throughout the lesson such as the questions throughout the virtual lab and readings. In addition, students were encouraged to participate in discussion questions throughout the lesson. After the lesson, I interviewed the same three students. In addition, I asked students the same questions. All three students unanimously answered meteorologist, to the question, Who studies weather? I also asked students to look back at the same picture of a simple weather forecast. Student A realized that the shadows show precipitation. However, she still believed that the cold and warm fronts showed warm and cold precipitation. She also still believed that L and H for pressure stood for high and low temperatures. Student B did not hesitate before telling me about the weather forecast shown. Immediately stated that the triangles and half-circles showed warm and cold fronts. In addition, recognized that the numbers shown were temperature and dew

point. In addition, (s)he said Predicting weather is harder than they make it look on the news! The third student was hesitant when asked what H and L stood for on the map and did not understand why it would be hot in the ocean because ocean water is always cold. However, (s)he quickly realized the H and L stood for high and low pressure, not temperature. In addition, (s)he still believed that it was warm in Roanoke and would be cold later in the week because of the cold front headed east because weather always travels from west to east. Creating this lesson was extremely informative and I wish I had enough time to conduct pre- and post-interviews for every lesson taught. I believe that conducting the interviews gave me insight that concepts and topics that seem so straightforward, typically are not to younger students. In addition, I learned that students have alternate conceptions that they truly believe are correct, and many times make sense, which also makes them that much harder to let go of.

Weather Forecast Map used in Pre- and Post-Interviews

References Baker, D. R. & Pilburn, M. D. (1997). Constructing science in middle and secondary classrooms. USA: A Viacom Company. Henriques, L. (2000). Childrens misconceptions about weather: A review of the literature. http://www.csulb.edu/~lhenriqu/NARST2000.htm