Mathematics Grade Prototype Curriculum Guide

Organizing Topic — Investigating the Weather

Standards of Learning

4.1 The student will plan and conduct investigations in which

a) distinctions are made among observations, conclusions, inferences, and predictions;

b) hypotheses are formulated based on cause-and-effect relationships;

c) variables that must be held constant in an experimental situation are defined;

d) appropriate instruments are selected to measure linear distance, volume, mass, and temperature;

e) appropriate metric measures are used to collect, record, and report data;

f) data are displayed using bar and basic line graphs;

g) numerical data that are contradictory or unusual in experimental results are recognized; and

h) predictions are made based on data from picture graphs, bar graphs, and basic line graphs.

4.6 The student will investigate and understand how weather conditions and phenomena occur and can be predicted. Key concepts include

a) weather measurements and meteorological tools (air pressure – barometer, wind speed anemometer, rainfall – rain gauge, and temperature – thermometer); and

b) weather phenomena (fronts, clouds, and storms).

Essential Understandings, Correlation to Textbooks and

Knowledge, and Skills Other Instructional Materials

The students should be able to

use a thermometer to compare air temperatures over a period of time;

analyze the changes in air pressure occurring over time, using a barometer, and predict what the changes mean in terms of changing weather patterns;

differentiate between the types of weather associated with high and low pressure air masses. Illustrate and label high and low pressure air masses and warm and cold fronts;

differentiate between cloud types (cirrus, stratus, cumulus, and cumulonimbus clouds) and the associated weather;

compare and contrast the formation of different types of precipitation (rain, snow, sleet, and hail);

recognize a variety of storm types (thunderstorms, hurricanes, and tornadoes), describe the weather conditions associated with each, and explain when they occur;

analyze and report information about temperature and precipitation on weather maps;

measure wind speed, using an anemometer;

measure precipitation with a rain gauge;

design an investigation where weather data are gathered using meteorological tools and charted to make weather predictions.

Precipitation and Temperature

Organizing Topic Investigating the Weather

Overview Students use weather maps to determine temperature and precipitation. They graph information gathered over a two-week period.

Related Standards of Learning 4.1d, f, g, h; 4.6a

Objectives

The students should be able to

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  analyze and report information about temperature and precipitation on weather maps.
  

Materials needed

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  Science journal
  
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  Daily weather map from local newspaper
  
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  Thermometer
  
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  Graph paper
  
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  Attached temperature and precipitation record
  

Instructional activity

Content/Teacher Notes

The main types of precipitation are rain, freezing rain, sleet, snow, and hail.

Introduction

1. Ask how many students read a daily newspaper. Ask how many have used the newspaper’s weather map to determine what clothes to wear, whether to carry an umbrella, or what coat to put on.

2. Give each student a copy of the attached record sheet. Inform students that the class will study weather maps to determine what the day’s temperature will be and what type of precipitation, if any, is expected. Over a two-week period, students will record this information on the record sheet.

Procedure

1. Have students consult the daily newspaper’s weather map to find the forecasted high temperature for the day, or have them use a thermometer to determine the actual temperature. Instruct students to record the temperature on their record sheet.

2. Ask students to identify the precipitation symbols included in the weather map’s key. Then ask students to identify the day’s forecasted precipitation, if any, and have them record it on the chart.

3. Repeat steps 1 and 2 for two weeks, and at the end of that period, have students graph the temperatures. Be sure to include the title, labels, and units of measure.

Observations and Conclusions

1. Encourage students to write in their science journals any inferences they can make about the relationship between temperature and precipitation.

2. Have students analyze their graphs and comment on any data that seems to be contradictory or unusual. Have students use the graphs to predict the temperature in the near future.

Sample assessment

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  Given a sample set of data, have students analyze the data and make inferences about weather conditions, such as temperature, wind, and precipitation.
  

Follow-up/extension

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  Give students a national weather map, and have them identify the temperature and precipitation for five cities other than their own. Ask students to record information on a chart and find differences and similarities in temperature and precipitation for various cities around the United States.
  

Resources

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  Connections: Connecting Books to the Virginia SOLs. Fairfax County Public Schools and The College of William and Mary. http://www.fcps.edu/cpsapps/connections. Presents a database of more than 1,000 works of children’s literature and their connection to the Virginia Standards of Learning.
  
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  “Decimal Downpour.” Activities Integrating Math and Science (AIMS). http://www.aimsedu.org/Activities/weather2/dDownpour.pdf.
  
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  Live Streaming Local Weather. Weatherbug. http://www.weatherbug.com/aws/index.asp.
  
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  Outstanding Science Trade Books for Students K–12. National Science Teachers Association (NSTA). http://www.nsta.org/ostbc.
  
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  Search for Literature: Literature for Science and Mathematics. California Department of Education. http://www.cde.ca.gov/ci/sc/ll/ap/searchlist.asp. Offers a searchable database.
  
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  Weather Education. National Weather Service. http://www.nws.noaa.gov/om/edures.htm.
  

Temperature and Precipitation Record (2 Weeks)

Name: Date:

DATE	HIGH TEMPERATURE (in degrees F)	PRECIPITATION (rain, sleet, snow, hail, freezing rain, none)

Name That Cloud

Organizing Topic Investigating the Weather

Overview Students make models of cloud types and become able to predict the weather based on the cloud type.

Related Standards of Learning 4.6b