1.)Week 1: Observations of the Sky and the Four Seasons
Day 1
Introduce students to the unit by viewing the presentation, Do you see what I see? (see attached). Next, take students outside and ask what they see in the sky. Talk about the things they see and ask if they see them only during the day or if they also see them at night. Include in the discussion things they see in the sky during the day sometimes (i.e. rainbows) as well as things they only see at night (i.e. stars). Return inside and have students draw pictures of things they see in the sky during the day and at night. For homework, assign students to spend 5 minutes observing the night sky at home.
2.)Day 2
Review the objects seen in the sky during the day and at night. Probe students to describe characteristics of the sun, wind, clouds, and rainbows. Discuss how the sun causes colors to fade. Have students draw pictures of the sky including the sun, clouds, and rainbows (minimum) on brightly colored construction paper. Then, hang student pictures up in a window that receives a lot of sunlight. Check on the pictures the next day and see if they students notice any changes. Keep pictures in windows and periodically check on them as a class and discuss any fading that takes place. Explain to students that strong sunlight causes things to fade.
3.)Day 3
Introduction to the seasons (temperature, clothing, weather): Read The Seasons of Arnold's Apple Tree by Gail Gibbons. Discuss sequence of seasons (i.e. fall, winter, spring, summer). View the Seasons slideshow presentation. Talk about what kind of clothes worn and what happens during each season.
4.)Day 4
Review of Seasons: View the Seasons multimedia presentation again. Lead the class in “name that season” game (i.e. teacher calls out a season and students call out the season that comes next, teacher calls out a characteristic of a season and students call out the season that goes with the characteristic).
5.) Day 5 Students work in small groups with teacher's assistance to create a slideshow presentation summarizing what they have learned about seasons and things they see in the sky during the day (see attached sample: Me and My Weather). ( Instructions for Adding Clip Art to a PowerPoint Slide) Directions for adding clip art to a slide.
6.)Week 2: Daily Weather Log And Weather Changes
Day 1
Read What Will the Weather Be Like Today? By Paul Rogers. Discuss the different aspects of daily weather (sunny, cloudy, rainy, etc.) View the Daily Weather presentation. Discuss what the weather is like outside currently. Have students draw a picture of what the weather is like outside. Present the weather log (see attached) to the students. Teach them how to copy the appropriate icon and paste it into the box for the day. Have students collect current day’s weather observation on weather log on computer.
7.)Day 2
Read A Sunny Day by Robin Nelson. Discuss what to wear when it is sunny. Collect current day’s weather observation on weather log on computer.
8.)Day 3
Read A Rainy Day by Robin Nelson. Discuss what to wear when it is rainy and during what seasons it is usually rainy. Collect current day’s weather observation on weather log on computer.
9.)Day 4
Read A Snowy Day by Robin Nelson. Discuss what to wear when it is snowy and during what seasons it is usually snowy. Collect current day’s weather observation on weather log on computer. Review what kind of clothes worn when it is hot/cold/rainy, etc. Have students complete "What to Wear" activity (see attached). (This assignment can be done individually on the computer or can be printed out and students may cut and paste clothing items).
10.)Day 5
Students with create a poster displaying the icons (on their daily weather logs), the group’s daily weather log, and summarizing what they have learned.
11.)Week 3: Weather Safety
Day 1
Introduction to severe weather: Discuss types of severe weather, including thunderstorms, tornados, and flash floods. Talk about places where one can find out about severe weather (i.e. Weather Channel, local news, radio stations, sirens outside). Read Tornadoes by Liza N. Burby.
12.)Day 2
Present Severe Weather slideshow to the class. Review thunderstorms, tornadoes, flash foods. Discuss the differences between watches and warnings.
13.)Day 3
Review watches and warnings. Discuss severe weather safety procedures at home and at school. Role play severe weather safety procedures.
14.)Day 4
Make tornadoes with 2-liter bottles.
a) Remove labels from two 2-liter plastic bottles.
b)Cut a 3" x 3" piece of duct tape and make a hole in the middle of it with the pen. (The smaller the hole, the tighter the spiral tail will be.)
c) Position the tape with the hole over the mouth of the bottle, and secure tightly around the sides.
d) Fill the other bottle 3/4 of the way with water.
e) Place the two mouths of the bottles together (the empty one upside-down on top of the water-filled one), and tape them carefully together with the duct tape, making sure not to leave any holes.
f) Test for leaks by carefully rotating the bottles.
g) To create the tornado effect, turn the bottles upside-down so that the water should be flowing through the hole into the bottom, empty bottle. Swirl slowly to help create the funnel.
15.) Day 5 Students will work with the teacher as a class to create a flyer or newsletter summarizing what they have learned about weather safety. Have students dictate what they'd like to include and work together to decide the best way to format their information. Let individual students come to the computer to add elements of the newsletter. Use the LCD projector to display to the class the work being done on the computer. ( Using Microsoft Works Word Processor to Produce a Flyer) Directions for using MS Word to Produce a Flyer.
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