My Review of Living in the Weather

A global perspective on environmental research, this collection of resources endeavors to assess the impact of all living organisms, including humans, to the changes in the climactic conditi... See More

A global perspective on environmental research, this collection of resources endeavors to assess the impact of all living organisms, including humans, to the changes in the climactic condition of the earth, and in turn make extensive study too of the effects of these changes back to the inhabitats of the earth.

Great content refresher!

Being a weather nerd myself, I found this SciGuide to be a great introductory guide for weather. Covering topics from the difference between climate and weather, to how weather affects every... See More

Being a weather nerd myself, I found this SciGuide to be a great introductory guide for weather. Covering topics from the difference between climate and weather, to how weather affects everyday life, to the growing technology that is used to predict weather, it is a wonderful review of the many concepts students should know about. I really appreciate the utilization of the NOAA website as this is the one of the primary resources meteorologists use for making forecasts, even if they are locally based. As stated by previous reviewers, there are a few broken links, and for that I cannot give this guide five stars. An updated version would earn high regards in my opinion.

Living in the Weather

This SciGuide is a great introductory lesson for weather. The lessons start out covering weather predictions, then moves on to weather/climate, and finally the impacts weather has on humans ... See More

This SciGuide is a great introductory lesson for weather. The lessons start out covering weather predictions, then moves on to weather/climate, and finally the impacts weather has on humans and vice versa. The lessons themselves do a good job in identifying misconceptions the students may have. These are identified in every lesson in the Engagement phase. The lessons are easy to follow for teachers, and they include rubrics for grading assignments. These lessons teach science-skills as well as content. Students work in groups every day and collaborate with each other. They also work on graphs and research the information on their own, which satisfies an inquiry-based approach. The only downside of these lessons were the out-of-date links; however, most of them worked and were wonderful websites.

Weather Sci Guide

I found this guide to be very helpful in planning to teach a unit on the atmosphere. With covering the troposphere layer, we will certainly cover weather and climate as main ideas. I like ... See More

I found this guide to be very helpful in planning to teach a unit on the atmosphere. With covering the troposphere layer, we will certainly cover weather and climate as main ideas. I like that the guide is broken up into three areas, predicting weather, weather and climate basics, and weather, climate and humans. One thing I specifically found resourceful are the many links to websites that all cover a different aspect of weather and climate. Students can get real time data and look at historical data for weather and climate change. They did a wonderful job of breaking down their lesson plans with key timing information, objectives and specifically the standards assessed. I really appreciated that the first lesson plan included a 5E learning model to help students learn about the differences between weather and climate. The other lessons follow the same format breaking up the steps into different days in order to allow the students enough time to fully engage and explore through the activities.

Content Worth Digging For

This SciGuide is great starting point for teachers when trying to plan for a unit on weather. With three different weather topics covered within the guide there is just something for every ... See More

This SciGuide is great starting point for teachers when trying to plan for a unit on weather. With three different weather topics covered within the guide there is just something for every teaching/learning type. The lesson plan titled "Keep Your Eye on the Sky" is a good lesson for cloud types and allows the students to gather their own weather data based off cloud observations. This lesson also gives a good technology insert offering a mini web-quest for students to complete before becoming mini-meteorologists. As part of the "Weather and Climate basics" module there is a lesson that outlines the hydrologic cycle and allows students to emulate the cycle with an activity utilizing an aquarium. Personally, the activity seems like enough fun that I would do without a class watching. The entire sciguide has lots of useful links that would make it super easy for a tecaher to develop a web-quest that meats their own instructional needs. However, there is a downfall with this sciguide. In all three modules there are a lot of non-working links. A few links do work in each and may be enough to help develop a unit but, some extra effort may be needed to find o few important resources. Overall, I feel this sciguide is a good starting point for any educator to gather some quick ideas for a weather unit.

Atmosphere Basics

This SciGuide is great! I'm working ahead a bit and am preparing to teach a unit centered around the atmosphere in the spring, and was looking for a bit of a refresher on the material. I was... See More

This SciGuide is great! I'm working ahead a bit and am preparing to teach a unit centered around the atmosphere in the spring, and was looking for a bit of a refresher on the material. I was looking for specific lessons based around convection of air (and the effects of atmospheric convection), and the lab that was included did an excellent job of both describing the concept, as well as putting into a lab context that students will enjoy and understand. I feel as if a lot of the activities included do a good job as being an introductory piece to the content.

Weather

This Sciguide was intended for upper elementary but I found many ideas and activities that were easily adaptable to lower elementary. For example, the whole guide has 3 themes: predicting w... See More

This Sciguide was intended for upper elementary but I found many ideas and activities that were easily adaptable to lower elementary. For example, the whole guide has 3 themes: predicting weather, weather and climate basics and weather, climate and humans. Instead of using all the content from each, it was very easy to use the basic concepts from one theme and integrate them into a lesson for lower elementary. This was a very organized and complete way to introduce a topic to my students. I feel that it gave me a way to ensure that I am not perpetuating any misconceptions and/or misunderstandings. This guide has a surprisingly wide variety of resources. I thought it would only include website that show current weather or data collected by bouys or being tracked, but the websites also include worksheets, assessments and information about a career in weather-reporting or predicting.

Math and Research Integration

I really liked how the SciGuide had a lesson plan that forces students to practice their research skills (identifying credible sources) and math at the same time to learn about predicting cl... See More

I really liked how the SciGuide had a lesson plan that forces students to practice their research skills (identifying credible sources) and math at the same time to learn about predicting cloud cover and Earth satellites. It also had basic language art terminology to review that is specific to science, such as orbit, radiometer, and polar satellite. It also had students download cloud identification charts to help visual learners match cloud patterns in the sky to their charts. It was an easy lesson for me to follow, although I think some of my students would really struggle with it - but they could get a lot out of it. Would recommend this SciGuide to others if they're also looking to try new ideas and increase student engagement in lessons.

Living in the Weather SciGuide Review

The "Living in the Weather" SciGuide is divided into three main sections: Predicting Weather, Weather and Climate Basics, and Weather, Climate and Humans. There are resources to help student... See More

The "Living in the Weather" SciGuide is divided into three main sections: Predicting Weather, Weather and Climate Basics, and Weather, Climate and Humans. There are resources to help students learn about different weather satelites, different cloud patterns, and gathering data to forecast weather. There are also links to information about careers in weather. Teachers can also find sites that familiarize students with the difference between weather and climate and sites that show how weather systems form. Finally there is a section that deals with severe weather events, how to stay safe and what damage they can cause. This section familiarizes students with the types of risks and how to manage risks from severe storms. This SciGuide is full of excellent resources for Earth Science teachers who teach about weather and climate.

Applications for Lower Elementary

The “Living in the Weather” SciGuide is geared toward teachers and students in middle school—grades 5 -8, but in browsing the resources, I found many lower elementary level applications for ... See More

The “Living in the Weather” SciGuide is geared toward teachers and students in middle school—grades 5 -8, but in browsing the resources, I found many lower elementary level applications for this SciGuide as well. Since much of the content was at a higher academic level, I found myself focusing primarily on the links provided in the lesson plans of each subheading. Under the Theme, “Predicting the Weather, in “The Eye in the Sky” lesson plan, I found a great link to a PowerPoint presentation called, “Droplets,” sponsored by the Kiwi Kids Cloud Observation Guide. The PowerPoint teaches students about the different types of clouds that can be seen in the sky. In Kindergarten, we spend time making observations of the day and night skies as part of our Science Curriculum, so I thought this cloud study would be a great extension of those observations. I could even add a daily cloud observation to my Daily Weather Routine.. I also like the link to EPA’s website, “A Student’s Guide to Global Climate Change,” which I found under the Theme, “Weather and Climate Basics,” and in the lesson plan titled, “Climate Systems: Which Location is Best for Me.” This website provided many helpful tools to teach the various aspects of Global Climate Change and encourages students to “Think Like a Scientist.” Again in Kindergarten, our Social Studies and Science benchmarks focus less on the high-level content involved in Global Climate Change, and more on the ways that the students should show respect and citizenship. Therefore, I thought I could use the “Be Part of the Solution,” section of the website to devise a class plan for how students can make small changes that will have a positive impact on the global environment. My only suggestions for improving this SciGuide would be to (1) update the links because I often clicked on a resource, but the link was not active any longer; and (2) offer more SciGuides that are directed toward K-4 learners. I had initially thought that a SciGuide titled, “Living in the Weather,” would be geared toward lower elementary, and was surprised to see that it was more for middle school students.

Hurricane Unit

Living in the Weather SciGuide has three major themes: predicting weather, weather and climate basics, and weather, climate, and humans. Each theme has lesson ideas and links that earth sc... See More

Living in the Weather SciGuide has three major themes: predicting weather, weather and climate basics, and weather, climate, and humans. Each theme has lesson ideas and links that earth science teachers can use to teach a variety of topics involving weather and climate. Students will understand that weather and climate influence our environment, and that the environment impacts all living things. Living and teaching in Hawaii, this is an especially relevant topic with hurricane season running from May to November in the Pacific. This SciGuide provides online resources that link students to different sites, like Horrific Hurricanes, where students can take a firsthand look at the destruction caused by these natural disasters. Other links will teach students about hurricane preparedness, tools for tracking hurricanes, and impact of storm surges. This SciGuide includes the lesson Storm Watch: Knowing What to Do, which integrates web-based resources in to classroom curriculum. Some of the big ideas from this lesson include: severe weather is weather that can cause property damage and even deaths, flooding is a natural stage in the development of a stream and will continue to occur as the river system matures, a tornado is a violent, whirling column of air that is in contact with the ground which can result in extensive damage. Overall I found this SciGuide very useful when planning a unit on hurricanes. You will find helpful information for you and your students on extreme weather and how it impacts humans and the environment.

Try weather in the summer classroom

Used as an adjunct to a hands-on unit on weather, this SciGuide provides background in weather and climate, prediction, and human impact. I liked the links to online data that allows student... See More

Used as an adjunct to a hands-on unit on weather, this SciGuide provides background in weather and climate, prediction, and human impact. I liked the links to online data that allows students to interpret data as well as create their own. Weather always fascinates this age group, and the activities included will expand their perspectives on weather, climate, and the personal and global implications.

Review on Living in the Weather

This SciGuide covers 3 different themes. 1) Predicting the Weather 2) Weather and Climate Basics 3) Weather, Climate, and Humans. Even though this is a SciGuide for middle school aged stud... See More

This SciGuide covers 3 different themes. 1) Predicting the Weather 2) Weather and Climate Basics 3) Weather, Climate, and Humans. Even though this is a SciGuide for middle school aged students, I find that there are some activities that elementary students would be able to participate in too. I like that one of the lessons had the students keep a log of the weather in their neighborhood. The students used vocabulary that they learned in class in their observation logs. In my elementary classroom I would have the students record their data in school and encourage discussion amongst their peers. One of the extension activities in the lesson plan for Predicting the Weather teaches us how to create a little cloud in a 2 liter plastic bottle. I think that all students of all ages will enjoy that experiment! Another lesson that I enjoyed was having the students record data of climate in a few states. The students used the data they gathered to rank the states in order according to which state they would like to live in. I am looking for more ways to incorporate hands-on activities in my classroom and found that there were too many worksheets in this SciGuide. It would be great to read about different experiments or labs that the students could participate in and have them keep logs to record any data or observations and make conclusions by using their data.