Lesson Title: Weather and Climate
Grade: 5th Pre-Reading I. Motivation Website: The Weather Channel Online at http://www.weather.com Pull up a weather website for everyone to see. Show students the current weather at different places in the U.S. Does anyone know what the weather might be in Los Angeles, CA, right now? It's sunny and mid-70's. Does anyone know what the weather might be in New York City right now? It's 35 degrees and raining. Isn't it interesting that there are such different temperatures across the country. How many of you have ever been to Florida, or somewhere warm, during winter? How is it different than weather in Iowa? II.Prior Knowledge Many of us realize that weather varies in different parts of the world, but often times we don't know why. It might even be raining in one part of a city and not in the other. Temperatures even vary in different parts of the U.S. People who live by the ocean seem to have an ocean breeze which may cause their temperatures to be cooler in the morning. Have students describe the weather outside. In this lesson we are going to take a closer look at weather and what makes a place warmer or cooler. Show them a globe and ask them what the temperature might be in different parts of the world. How is the temperature going to be in Florida during the winter? How would it be different than Iowa? Now we will learn why this is! Is it always hot everywhere in the summer? Vacationers in the heart of Africa on a July day might see loins snoozing in the afternoon heat. On the same day, tourists huddled on a cruise ship in Alaska might be watching seals play near icy glaciers. How can two places on Earth have such different temperatures? Explore- Hypothesize- Someone remind me what a hypothesis is. A hypothesis is a educated guess (or logical reason) for why you think something happens. How does the angle at which the Sun's energy hits Earth affect the warming of Earth? After we discuss the following terms you will all write a hypothesis in you Science Journal. III. Vocabulary Once a term is stated as students to put it in a sentence of their own. Students write terms and example sentences using each term in their Journals. Discuss terms to know and use in the hypothesis: Insolation- The amount of the Sun's energy that reaches Earth at a given time and place. Equator- Temperature is much hotter the closer it is to the equator. Poles- Temperature is much cooler the closer it is to the poles. Remember, we will be using these terms throughout the lesson. It is important you have them in your journal and know what they mean. We will learn more about each term as we progress. IV. Purpose The purpose of reading is for students to be able to perform a task. We will be learning about the angle of the Sun! Once we read the directions and do our experiment we will have a better idea of how the Sun's angle affects temperature. Text Citation: Baptiste, P., Daniel, L., Stryker, P., Vasquez, J. (2000). McGraw-Hills Science. (Grade 5, Vol. 1, p. 99). New York: McGraw-Hills School Division. The text is expository, it aids in helping students make connection to the experiment they are about the conduct. Read page 99 in your text. Now let's talk about it. A. Every place on Earth has something that makes its climate unique. We are going to investigate how sunlight affects temperature. B. Now we will investigate to see if the Sun's Angle Matters. V. Content What is the Sun's angle? The angle of the Sun tells us whether temperatures will be warmer or cooler in certain areas. If the Sun is at an angle directly overhead, the weather will be hotter. If the Sun is at a lower angle, the weather will be cooler. Materials- 3 thermometers, triangular blocks, black and white paper, cm. ruler, scissors, tape, 150-W clear bulb lamp, stopwatch, foam bowl, clay, Science Journal) (Remind students not to look into the lamp light.) C. Each of you will work through the activity and record in your journals. You will be recording the temperatures in a graphic organizer. The type of graphic organizer we will be using is a table to chart our evidence. VI. Strategy Instruction= How to create, use a table. I will put an example of what you will need to draw in your journals on the overhead. You will be able to draw it out in your notebooks. Explain each section before students draw the graph in their journals. Everyone should draw out a chart like this for their experiment and fill it out during the experiment. Let's do row one as a group and then you will be able to do this on your own. 1. Modeling: Draw the table in your journals. Let's set up our experiment, so be looking at page 99. Once we have our materials set up (like I am showing you), we take the temperature at each of the blocks. The first temp. is 70 degrees for block one, 72 at block 2, and 65 at block 3. These are my first set of temperatures. Yours will be different, and you will be able to fill them in like mine once you set up your experiment.
2. Guided Practice: Now I will be walking around and as you set up. You should be continuing to take the temperatures at each temp. check and filling them in on your chart. Follow the directions in front of you and ask if you need assistance. Procedures (STEPS) 1. Place a thermometer onto each of the blocks. Cover each with black paper. Put blocks 20 cm from the bulb. 2. OBSERVE- Measure the starting temp. at each block. Record temps. in your journal. 3. PREDICT- What will happen when the lamp is turned on? Turn it on. Record temps. at each block every 2 minutes, for 10 minutes. 4. COMMUNICATE- Chart the change in temp. at each block over time. 5. USE VARIABLES- Repeat the activity with white paper. Conclude and Apply (Whole class) 1. COMMUNICATE- Which block's surface was warmed most by the lamplight? Which was warmed the least? 2. INFER- How does the angle at which light hits the surface affect how much the surface is heated? How does the surface color affect how much it is heated? Going Further: Problem Solving 3. EXPERIMENT- What other factors might affect how much a surface is warmed by sunlight? How would you test your ideas? Close- How might two places have different temps. on the same day? (One place might receive more direct sunlight than the other.) How does the angle of the Sun affect the warming of Earth? (The sun warms Earth more effectively as the angle approaches 90 degrees.) During Reading Text Citation Baptiste, P., Daniel, L., Stryker, P., Vasquez, J. (2000). McGraw-Hills Science. (Grade 5, Vol. 1, pp.100-104). New York: McGraw-Hill School Division. Readability We will read the section and then go back and take a closer look. P. 100-101 Does the Angle Matter? Readability: 5.7 using the Flesch-Kincaid; Some of the content of this science lesson requires using vocabulary that may seem difficult for certain students. This would explain why the grade level readability is at the end of 5th grade. The vocabulary isn't included in everyday language of a 5th grader, but I believe with practice won't be hard to learn (once students have been familiarized with the terms). Syntactically, the sentences are not complex enough to confuse most 5th graders. The text does a good job of keeping sentences straight-forward. The pictures and graphs illustrate the topic well, making the text easier to comprehend (providing students with a clear visual). The text makes reference to topics and ideas students are familiar with, helping information fit into a students schema (and adding interest). This text is appropriate for students at the 5th grade level, and to make it easier for those who are a little behind I have adjusted the text below to a 4.8. Comprehension Monitoring During the reading I want you to answer the questions you come across in your head. Also, when you read a statement that may be confusing, reread it. It's not a race. I would rather have you understand what you are reading. We are going to continue on with weather, so it's important you grasp these concepts before you move on. Write on board for students to look at if they have problems while reading: 1. Reread the sentence. 2. If rereading doesn't help, ask the teacher or helper to re-explain what the text means. 3. Write down your questions so we can discuss them after the reading. Where do you think you might find warm temp. all year long? Where would you find cold weather? Angles make a difference in how much the Sun warms an area. The areas around the equator are hottest. That's because the Sun's path is directly overhead at midday. In those areas the Sun's rays hit the Earth at their strongest. The areas around the North and South Poles are coldest. That's because in those areas, the Sun is lower at midday. The Sun's rays hit the Earth's surface at a low angle. The strength of the rays is much weaker at this angle. Angles and Light- The angle at which sunlight strikes Earth's surface is so important, it is given a specific name. It is called the angle of insolation. Insolation is short for incoming solar radiation. It means the amount of the Sun's energy that reaches Earth at a given place and time. The diagram shows how sunlight warms Earth in summer and winter. The amount of warming depends on the angle of insolation. The greater the angle, the warmer it gets. The angle of insolation is always smaller near the poles than near the equator. That means while it's freezing cold in one part of the world, it's hot in another. How does Earth's position in its path around the Sun affect the angle of insolation where you live? F.K. 4.8 Where do you think you might find warm temperatures all year long? Where would you find very cold weather? Angles make a difference in how much the sun warms an area. It's hot around the equator. This is because the Sun's directly above which makes the rays very strong. The areas around the North and South Poles are coldest. The Sun is lower there at midday, which means the rays are at a low angle. The strength of the rays are weaker. The angle at which sunlight hits Earth's surface is so important. It is called the angle of insolation. Insolation also means incoming solar radiation. It means the amount of the Sun's energy that reaches Earth at a place and time. The picture shows how sunlight warms Earth in summer and winter. The warm temperature depends on the angle of insolation. The greater the angle, the warmer it gets. The angle of insolation is always smaller near the poles than near the equator. That means while it's freezing cold in one part of the world, it's hot in another. How does Earth's position in its path around the Sun affect the angle of insolation where you live? V. Text Structure- Expository Description: The text I have selected for the 5th grade students is a great introduction to the unit on weather and how temperatures change. There is one key term students will be focusing on throughout the lesson; insolation. The text aids in the understanding of how Sun's rays affect temperature (making it cooler or warmer in a place). Connections are made between temperatures and the ways the Sun's rays hit the Earth at different angles. Compare and Contrast: One of the focuses in the lesson is to have students compare weather in different places in the world and decide why temperatures vary so much. Questions will be posed to get students thinking about why temps. vary, especially in the poles and near the Equator. Cause and Effect: Students will realize throughout the lesson that because the Sun hits at different angles, the temperatures vary if different locations. They will question different ideas and realize that when the rays are directly overhead it will be warmer than when they are lower. VII. Vocabulary Was there a word in the reading that looks familiar? I believe that as we discussed the chapter vocabulary we ran across the word "insolation". Can anyone tell me what that word means? Insolation means: the amount of the Sun's energy that reaches Earth at a given time and place. "The angle of insolation was smaller, making the weather at the poles colder." I also want to discuss the different in temperatures near the poles and near the equator. By the poles it is much cooler because the Sun's rays hit the Earth's surface at a low angle. "I am going to the North Pole so I can go skiing, since it's so chilly there." By the equator it is much warmer because the Sun's rays are directly overhead at midday. I am going to the Equator, and better bring an air conditioner since it will be hot." After Reading VIII. Questioning and Discussion Reread to students "The angle at which sunlight strikes Earth's surface is so important, it is given a specific name. It is called the angle of insolation." "The amount of warming depends on the angle of insolation. The greater the angle, the warmer it gets. The angle of insolation is always smaller near the poles than near the equator. That means while it's freezing cold in one part of the world, it's hot in another." Reading Graphs 1. ANALYZE- Which location in the graph has the biggest change between winter and summer? Which has the smallest change? 2. WRITE (in journal)- How can you describe the pattern of temp's using what you know about the Sun? Angles and Light- Teacher as facilitator: Demonstrate the Main Idea- Why the equator is always hotter than the North Pole by shining a flashlight straight down onto a tabletop in front of the class, directing them to observe the circle of light formed. Tilt the light so that the beam hits the tabletop at an angle; again encourage students to observe the shape that the light forms. Ask: What does the flashlight represent? (the Sun) Point out that the first demonstration represented the manner in which the Sun reaches Earth at the equator, while the second demonstration represented the way in which the Sun reaches Earth at the poles. How was the sunlight different at the poles? (The light was spread over a larger area) How do you think the sunlight the poles received compared to what the equator received? How were they different? (The amount of light was equal, but it was spread over a larger area at the poles.) If the poles receive the same amount of light as the equator, why is it so much colder there? (The energy from the slanted rays of the Sun is spread out and less intense than the energy from direct sunlight.) IX. Writing to learn activity In your science journal, I want you to journal about North Pole and Equator. First, write about the North Pole and what you would do there, since it's so cold all the time. Second, write about the Equator and what you would do there, since it's so warm all the time. Use your imagination and be creative with your ideas. When you are done I want you to draw a picture of you standing in each place. (This is a way for students to expand take the lesson in their own direction. They will be excited to have this type of flexibility. It's also a way for the teacher to see whether they understand the drastic weather differences in each location. If a student doesn't seem to make the connection to the coldness of the poles and the heat near the Equator, you will be able to work with the individual student.) You will be evaluated on the following: 1. Including detailed information on the weather differences in each location (cold near the Poles, and hot near the Equator). 2. Creativity in your writing. 3. Creativity and use of your imagination in your drawings. X. Closure Complete the journal assignment outside of class. Over the weekend your assignment is to search for one piece of information about either the poles or the Equator. You may use the internet, a dictionary, an encyclopedia, or any type of book that be helpful. If you don't have access to any of these things you may talk to a parent or another adult. Write down their comments. Once you have gathered a small bit of information, write a paragraph summing it up in your own words. When we come back on Monday we will discuss our findings with each other. Probing the "purpose" Now that you have completed the lesson on the angle of the Sun, how do you feel about the task you performed? Can someone remind me of what makes a place warmer or cooler (Sun's angle)? How did the table we used in the activity help us see the changes in temperatures (the table showed us how the temps. increased due to the heat of the lamp)? The purpose of these activities was to show us why temperatures vary in different parts of the world! The reading helped us perform our experiments and clarify why we got the results we did! Next week, we will start our discussion on what time has to do with temperature. Come ready to ask questions about today's lesson and ready to learn more about the importance of weather! The concept of charting evidence was an effective strategy to introduce our unit on weather. Student's were able to see how temperature rises due to the effect of heat (or sunlight). Students had modeling and guidance during their experimentation. They also used higher-order thinking strategies to answer questions posed periodically during the lesson. Students were able to reflect by experimenting and seeing things from a hands on perspective. Students will be able to use similar charts in their Science Journals to express data collected during other experiments. Students had the opportunity to begin by experimenting, reading the selection to get more of an explanation, interpret important terms related to the reading, and provide examples that were memorable to them (especially with creative writing and art).
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