Mikaela Merten

STEM Unit
Dr. Indahl

Introduction To Elements of Weather

This unit plan is designed for a 2nd grade classroom. It will be used to help the students
learn the different elements of weather and how to record, measure and describe the elements.
Students will also use the variety of information to predict the next days weather. Engineering
skills will come into play when the students build their own tool to determine wind direction.
The students will also use math when graphing the daily temperatures. The benchmarks that will
be addressed include 2.3.2.2.1: Measure, record and describe weather conditions using common
tools. 2.1.2.2: identify a need or problem and construct an object that helps to meet the need or
solve the problem. Data analysis benchmark 4.4.1.1: Use tables, bar graphs, time lines and Venn
diagrams to display data sets. Understand that tables and graphs can be use to display data. This
benchmark from fourth grade can be used because the students will be using tables and bar
graphs throughout the week to record and display their data.
 UBD Module for Elements of Weather

Stage 1: Desired Results

TSWBAT measure, record, and describe different elements of weather, understand how
the weather affects us and use the information to make decisions on what to wear, where
to go and what to do. The students will also be able to make predictions about weather for
upcoming days using previous day weather recordings. And will be able to create graphs
showing the daily temperature.
Established Goals (Standards): 2.3.2.2.2, 2.1.2.2.1, 4.4.1.1
Enduring Understandings Essential Questions

Using information to predict weather How do I use knowledge about weather

helps to make decisions about what to patterns and information to make
do, what to wear and where to go. predictions?
Using inquiry-based knowledge about How would I describe what the weather
the weather helps describe, predict and is like today?
explain natural phenomena such as How do weather conditions affect what
weather. I wear, where I go and what I do?
Using tools such as thermometers, rain How do we measure changes in our
gauges and wind vanes to describe, weather?
measure and record weather. What tools could be used to build our
Using a variety of different mediums to own wind vane?
engineer a tool to determine wind
direction.
Changes in weather affect our daily
lives.
Stage 2: Assessment Evidence
Performance Task Other Evidence
- The students can spend time outside and observe the - Daily Weather
weather, predict what they think the weather recording journal
(temperature, rain, sun, cloudy, severe weather) will be includes days of the
like over the next few days. Depending on what they week, temperature for
think the weather will look like they can predict what that day, if there was
they will need to wear and what they can do considering any sort of
the circumstances of the weather. The students could do precipitation, if it was
this every day or every few days. Their predictions can sunny, or cloudy. Then
be written in their Daily Weather recording journal and students make
turned in at the end of the unit. predictions about the
- Different stations can be set up. One looking at next days weather.
temperature where a thermometer is in a glass of warm, (Summative)
ice cold and room temperature water. The students can - At the end of each
 work to decide what the temperature of each glass of lesson we will discuss
water is. Another station could be set up with different the objectives and
cloud formations made from cotton balls and the what was learned that
students must decipher the different types of clouds and day. (Formative)
what weather these clouds might bring with them. The - In the last few minutes
third station is set up with fans and windsocks and/or of a lesson the students
wind vanes and students can determine the direction and will be asked to write
the strength they believe the wind is blowing, then the a journal entry with
student can describe why the wind is blowing in that the prompt Most
direction (moving from an area of high pressure to an important thing I
area of low pressure). A forth station might have learned today and
representations of the same park but each having a what I understood
different type of precipitation. The students will not only least. (Summative)
identify the type of precipitation but they should also - Similar to the last
describe weather conditions like temperature, which assessment the class
clouds could be present and if it should be classified as will take the last few
severe weather. Once they have decided if it is severe minutes of class to
weather they can talk more about why they believe it is write a journal entry to
severe and what safety precautions they should take. the prompt Describe
what I didnt
understand and what I
believe will help me
come to a greater
understanding of the
content. (Formative).
Stage 3: Learning Plan
What teaching and learning experiences will equip students to
demonstrate the targeted understandings?
Lesson Themes
Temperature: students will learn about thermometers and how they work. They will look
at the temperature during the lesson each day and record the data to be turned into a
graph at the end of the unit. They will also have an understanding of how the temperature
affects us and what we wear, do and go.
Precipitation: students will learn about the different kinds of precipitation and how each
affects us. They will learn how snow, rain, hail and sleet are measured and why each
different type of precipitation happens and when it most likely will rain instead of snow
etc.
Severe weather: students will learn about different types of severe weather, including
thunderstorms, blizzards, tropical storms, and tornados and when and where each is more
likely to happen.
Clouds: students will learn about the different clouds and how they affect the weather
 and which clouds can cause rain, storms or a tornado. Explain that somecloudtypesare
associatedwithprecipitationandsomewithfairweather.
Wind: Students will learn about air pressure and how it causes wind. Students will learn
that wind happens because the air is moving from an area of high pressure to an area of
low pressure. In this lesson students will design their own tool to show wind direction,
and will record that data they find.

Table of Contents

1. Temperature and its Affects.

a. Students will learn the proper way to read a thermometer and how to record the
information found.
b. With the data collected the students will be able to turn the information into a
graph at the end of the unit, to show the temperature change throughout the week.
c. Students will be able to determine what to wear and things they can do related to
the temperature.
2. Precipitation: Its Many Forms.
a. The learners will understand the different types of precipitation and how each
kind is measured and how to record the data.
b. The students will be able to determine how the different types of precipitation
affects us in our daily lives and what safety precautions we should take with each
kind of precipitation.
3. Severe Weather and What to Look For.
a. The students will be able to identify the different types of severe weather and
learn safety when it comes to severe weather.
4. Clouds and Their Different Shapes.
a. Students will be able to identify the different types of clouds.
b. Students will be able to differentiate between storm/rain clouds, funnel clouds and
clouds of other variety.
5. Wind.
a. Students will be able to determine the strength and direction of the wind.
b. Students will be able to design a tool to determine wind direction.
 Wind Lesson Plan

Title Wind: Determining speed and direction

Grade level 2nd
Standards Addressed 2.3.2.2.1: Weather can be described in measureable quantities and
changes from day to day and with the seasons. Students will measure,
record, and describe weather conditions using common tools.
(Temperature, precipitation, and wind speed/direction.)
2.1.2.2.1: Engineering design is the process of identifying a problem and
devising a product or process to solve the problem. Students will identify
a need or problem and devising a product or process to solve the problem.
Students will identify a need or problem and construct an object that
helps meet the need or solve the problem.
Central Focus Students will learn and explore where wind comes from and how we can
measure and determine the winds speed and direction. Students will
utilize critical thinking and imagination to invent a wind vane to
determine the wind direction. Students will be able to observe and record
wind direction.
Content Objective/ SWBAT create a working wind vane to determine which direction the
Learning Focus wind is blowing from and will be able to explain how they determined the
winds direction. Students will also be able to explain where wind comes
from.
Academic Language High pressure, low pressure, BeaufortWindScale,windvane,compass,
airpressure.

Materials BeaufortWindScaleworksheet,compass,materialsforstudentstocreate
theirownwinddirectiondeterminers(smallandlargeDixiecups,paper,
straws,toothpicks,clay,heavyweightedobjects,paperplates),weather
recordingjournal.
Instructional Plan
Part 1: Getting Define and discuss air pressure (the weight of air pressing down on the
Ready earth due to gravity) as a class. Air pressure can be related to the way the
weight of a book presses down on the object it is being held by. A student
volunteer will be asked to come to the front of the class and books will be
piled into their arms. Ask the student how their feet feel; is there more
pressure on their feet? Discuss that this demonstration can be related to
the way air pressure presses down on the earth. Explain to the class the
differences in air pressure (high and low) and wind happens because the
air moves from places of high pressure to places of low pressure.
Introduce the Beaufort wind scale and explain how the scale is used in
determining the force and strength of the wind and how the scale
describes winds of different speeds.
T: As I am placing books in your arms pay attention to the way your feet
start to feel. What do you notice?
S: My arms are getting tired, but my feet feel like they are pushing into
the ground more than they were without the books.
T: Why do you think that is?
S: The weight of the books pushes down on the rest of my body and my
feet feel more pressure from that.
T: How can we relate this to air pressure?
S: Just like the books add pressure to my feet, gravity pushes down on air
and the air presses down on the earth causing air to move.
T: Where does the air move to?
S: Probably from a place that has a lot of air to a place that has less air.
T: Right, the place that has more air is said to have high pressure and the
area with less is low pressure. Air will always move from an area of high
pressure to an area of low pressure, this creates wind.
Part 2: Teacher A table will be laid out with all the different materials students can use to
Input/Task create their wind vanes. Explain to the students their task of creating a
wind vane and that they will be using these inventions to record their
observations about the direction of the wind. Let the students explore the
materials they can use so that they can get an understanding of how to
build their wind vanes. Students will draw a design before beginning the
building process and will label their parts of the drawing.
Part 3: Guided As students use critical thinking and inquiry skills to design their own
Support/task wind vane, observe their strategies and ask about their thinking process,
Why are they using rubber bands instead of tape? Why they chose the
materials they did. Why they think their design will work?
T: I see you are using cups on the top of your wind vane, why is that?
S: I thought it would catch the wind really well.
 T: Whats going to happen when the wind catches the cups?
S: the top part will spin.
T: Will it stop spinning to show you the direction or will it constantly
spin?
S: it will probably constantly spin since the wind will always be pushing
against the cup, like a sail.
T: Will that be able to tell us the direction of the wind?
S: Probably not, well need the top to stop spinning so that it points in the
direction of the wind. So Ill probably need to use something else to catch
the wind.
T: What youve made is called an anemometer; these are used to test the
speed of wind. To find the speed we count the number of times the device
rotates, which is then used to calculate the speed of the wind.
Part 4: Students will take their wind vanes outside and will place it in an open
Closure/discourse area. Using a compass, have students point their arrows (if they have
them) to the north. Explain that when the wind stops spinning their wind
vanes the direction the arrow is pointing will be the direction the wind is
blowing from. Students will record their observations in their daily
weather journals.
T: What do we notice about the way our inventions are pointing?
S: Our invention points in the direction the wind is coming from.
T: Why do you think that is?
S: Well if the wind is blowing from the north it will blow the arrow in the
direction, which will tell us the direction of the wind.
T: if we look at our Beaufort wind scale what can we observe that will tell
us the general speed of the wind?
S: We dont have any water near us so we will have to look at landforms,
we can look at the leaves on the trees, branches, our wind vanes and if
dust is blowing around.
T: By looking at these things where would you place the wind speed right
now?
S: I can see leaves rustling in the trees and our wind vanes are moving
slow. I would say the wind speed is at a force of 2, a light breeze.
Assessment Students will use their own wind vane to determine the wind direction
while in class and when they get home. Students must record the time and
date of when the data was collected. Students will also explain why the
wind is blowing.
 BeaufortWindScale
Developedin1805bySirFrancisBeaufort,U.K.RoyalNavy

AppearanceofWindEffects
Wind WMO
Force (Knots) Classification OntheWater OnLand

Less
0 Calm Seasurfacesmoothandmirrorlike Calm,smokerisesvertically
than1

Smokedriftindicateswind
1 13 LightAir Scalyripples,nofoamcrests
direction,stillwindvanes

2 46 LightBreeze Smallwavelets,crestsglassy,nobreaking Windfeltonface,leavesrustle,

 vanesbegintomove

Largewavelets,crestsbegintobreak, Leavesandsmalltwigsconstantly
3 710 GentleBreeze
scatteredwhitecaps moving,lightflagsextended

Moderate Smallwaves14ft.becominglonger, Dust,leaves,andloosepaper

4 1116
Breeze numerouswhitecaps lifted,smalltreebranchesmove

Moderatewaves48fttakinglongerform,
5 1721 FreshBreeze Smalltreesinleafbegintosway
manywhitecaps,somespray

Largerwaves813ft,whitecapscommon, Largertreebranchesmoving,
6 2227 StrongBreeze
morespray whistlinginwires

Seaheapsup,waves1319ft,whitefoam Wholetreesmoving,resistance
7 2833 NearGale
streaksoffbreakers feltwalkingagainstwind

Moderatelyhigh(1825ft)wavesofgreater
Twigsbreakingofftrees,generally
8 3440 Gale length,edgesofcrestsbegintobreakinto
impedesprogress
spindrift,foamblowninstreaks

Highwaves(2332ft),seabeginstoroll,
Slightstructuraldamageoccurs,
9 4147 StrongGale densestreaksoffoam,spraymayreduce
slateblowsoffroofs
visibility

Veryhighwaves(2941ft)with
Seldomexperiencedonland,trees
overhangingcrests,seawhitewithdensely
10 4855 Storm brokenoruprooted,"considerable
blownfoam,heavyrolling,lowered
structuraldamage"
visibility

Exceptionallyhigh(3752ft)waves,foam
11 5663 ViolentStorm
patchescoversea,visibilitymorereduced

Airfilledwithfoam,wavesover45ft,sea
12 64+ Hurricane completelywhitewithdrivingspray,
visibilitygreatlyreduced