Students will describe the day’s weather on index cards, and reflect on how weather affects our lives.
Students will begin developing a model of Earth that they will refine as they investigate atmospheric motion throughout this cycle.
Students will use video and interactive resources to develop a model of the atmosphere.
Students will conduct a series of investigations to explore factors that affect atmospheric motion.
Students will conduct a series of investigations to explore factors that affect atmospheric motion.
Students will conduct a series of investigations to explore factors that affect atmospheric motion.
Students will use observations from their investigations, and text and video resources to explain the relationship between differential heating of the Earth’s surface and the formation of global circulation cells in the atmosphere.
Students will refine their model of atmospheric motion.
Students will use a model of Earth, and text and video resources to explain the relationship between the coriolis effect and the motion of wind.
Students will refine their model of atmospheric motion.
Students will compare their model of atmospheric motion to a model of the tilted Earth. Students will explain the relationship between Earth’s tilt and shifting patterns in atmospheric motion.
Students will use internet resources to trace of the development of weather tools over time.
Prior to this earth science module, in the lower elementary grades, students have been introduced to the relationship between sunlight and temperature on Earth. They may have observed local weather forecasts to determine patterns in weather over time, and obtained information about how weather forecasting is used to predict and prepare for severe weather. In the upper elementary grades, students may have analyzed and interpreted data to explain weather patterns during particular seasons, and obtained information about different climates on Earth.
In this cycle, students will construct an explanation that answers the guiding question: What is the atmosphere? What factors affect the motion of the atmosphere? This cycle sets the foundation for understanding the module driving question: How can we as engineers choose a viable source of alternative energy for any location? To begin with students will consider what the atmosphere is, and develop a model to explain the structure of the atmosphere. Students will also develop a model of Earth that includes: the rotating Earth, the atmosphere, the ocean, continents and the distribution of landforms on the surface of Earth. They will conduct investigations to explain how the uneven heating of Earth’s surface and Earth’s rotation on its’ axis creates global atmospheric circulation cells and prevailing wind. These circulation cells play a critical role in redistributing heat and moisture across the globe. They will refine their model of Earth to include the factors affecting atmospheric motion. Finally, they will use the model they developed to consider how atmospheric motion is affected by the Earth’s axial tilt. In doing so, they will observe how all models have limitations.
In the next cycle students will develop a model of oceanic circulation to explain the relationship between ocean currents and the distribution of heat across the globe.