Through the science kit and Mystery Science Weather component, we will explore ways weather and the water cycle connect with daily life. We will discuss climate and weather and explore climate throughout the world (tying in mapping skills with the continents).
Stormy Skies - Mystery Science
This unit develops the idea that by paying careful attention to clouds, wind, and other weather clues around us, we can predict the daily weather and make sense of why places on earth look and feel the way they do. This kit includes units that explore the questions:
Where do clouds come from?
How can we predict when it's going to storm?
Why are some places always hot?
How can you keep a house from blowing away in a windstorm?
Science Kit Target: Students are introduced to the causes of weather and climate, and study how the water cycle plays an important role in a region’s climate. They begin the unit by building mystery weather tools (thermometer, anemometer, psychrometer, and barometer) and examine the tools as they learn to collect weather data. Students will deduce, by comparing their collected weather data using scientific instruments, which mystery tool their group has created. Throughout the unit, students collect weather data and graph their data on charts. Students also build a water cycle model and relate their new learning of the water cycle to weather conditions. They explore how different regions of Earth can be heated unevenly, causing specific weather patterns in different climates. By the end of the unit, students make the connection between the effects of weather on humans and how we can predict and prepare for hazardous weather.