OVERVIEW

Students in this long term project record data on temperature, clouds, wind and rain at least once a week. Students are learning how to collect data and record it. Putting data on a line graph helps them to visualize the changes through time. Students learn how to read a thermometer. Students by the end of the school year should learn that temperature changes for several reasons. Time of year because of the quality of the Sun rays, moisture in the air (if rainy) and cloud cover. A scientist that studies the weather is called a meteorologist.

For more information on long term project, click on TEACHER.

DOCENT LESSONS AT A GLANCE
The lessons below will be taught by trained docents with the teacher present in the lab. For detailed lessons click on  DOCENT.

Lesson 1. MEASURING TEMPERATURE
Students learn about temperature, how to use a thermometer works and recording data. Student activity includes reading a thermometer in warm and ice water and recording results.

Lesson 2. CLOUDS
Students learn what clouds are and how to identify the most common types of clouds we see. Students make a cloud chart of the various types of clouds using cotton balls, crayons, and glue.

Lesson 3. PROPERTIES OF WATER AND STATES OF MATTER
Students explore the three states of matter and the properties of each. They focus on how water can change from ice to water and water to water vapor. Activity includes melting an ice cube in a baggie.

Lesson 4. HEATING AND COOLING
Students learn that the sun heats up varying materials at different rates. Activity involves heating up black and white sands with the sun or heat lamps and recording the temperature changes. Students learn that dark materials heat up faster than light ones.

Lesson 5. WIND
Students learn that wind is moving air, that air is all around us, that wind has a direction, and wind's effects can be observed. Students experiment with various ways to determine where the wind is coming from, including pinwheels and blowing bubbles and watching where they move.

Lesson 6. WEATHER
Students learn the basic elements of weather which includes air pressure, moisture, temperature and wind. The water cycle (evaporation, condensation, and precipitation) drives these elements on the Earth’s surface to produce the weather. Students make and color a water cycle chart.