Weather 1: Eye on the Sky

Est. Class Sessions: 1

Developing the Lesson

Part 1: Collecting Weather Data

Describe the Sky. There are many weather variables that can be studied. Focusing on a single aspect of weather makes data collection and analysis more manageable for students. Engage students in a discussion about the different ways the sky may appear.

Ask:

How does the sky look today? (Answers will vary. Possible responses: sunny, no clouds, blue sky)
What are other ways to describe the sky when the weather is different? (cloudy; partly cloudy or partly sunny.)
What does the sky look like when it is cloudy? (There are lots of clouds and you can't see the sun. It's gray.)
What does the sky look like when it is partly cloudy? (There are some clouds and some sun.)
What symbols should we draw to mean sunny? Cloudy? Partly cloudy? (See Figure 1.)

Prepare the Calendar. Display and direct students' attention to the Weather Calendar page. Students will record the data for each day of the month on this page. Using the display, demonstrate how to prepare the calendar. As students respond, write their answers on the display calendar as they label their own.

Ask:

What is the name of this month?
What is the year?
How are these columns labeled? (These are the days of the week.)
How many days are there in one week? (7)
How many days are there in this month? (30 or 31)

If the first of the month does not fall on a school day, introduce the lesson ahead of time. Assign the Weekend Weather Homework Master so that data collection may begin on the first day of the month.

Demonstrate how to write the numerals 1 and 2 in the correct boxes on the calendar for the first and second days of the month. Beginning on the first day of the month, point to each box on the calendar as you and the class count aloud to 30 or 31. Make sure students see that after Saturday, the numbering continues on the next row down.

After reciting the numbers aloud, ask students to write the remaining numbers for the dates in the boxes on their calendars. They may refer to the Number Line 0–30 page in the Student Activity Book Reference section for examples of the numbers
0–30.

Use the Weather Calendar page to assess students' abilities to write numbers to 30 [E5].

Prepare the Data Table. Display the Weather Data Table page. Students begin their data tables on the first day of data collection. Using the display, explain to students that the data table will help them organize their data. Demonstrate how to title the table, "[Month Name]'s Weather" and how to label the columns as students label their own. Write "Sky" on the blank in the heading for the first column and "Days" on the blank in the second column of the table. Ask students to draw symbols in the column headed "Type of Sky" for sunny, partly cloudy, and cloudy as shown in Figure 1.

Introduce the Variables. Tell students that some things change in an experiment (variables)and some things do not (fixed variables). See Content Note.

Ask:

A variable is something that varies or changes in an experiment. What changes in this experiment? (type of sky)

A variable is something that varies or changes in an experiment. One of the main variables in this lab is type of sky. The idea of controlled, or fixed, variables in an investigation is very important. A fixed variable is one that experimenters hold constant. When conducting an experiment, certain aspects should not change. For this reason, we are controlling the time of day, making sure it is the same for each observation. Another fixed variable will likely be the city in which the data is collected.

Display the Weather Calendar page again and point out the small blank clock on the page. Students will collect data at approximately the same time each day.

Ask:

Some things need to stay the same in this experiment. Is it important to check the sky at the same time each day? Explain why you think so. (Answers will vary. Possible response: Yes, we should pick a time to check the sky every day because the sky could change throughout the day. The day might start out sunny and change to cloudy. It would be hard to know which one to record.)
Could the data change from city to city? Why or why not? (Yes, depending on the distances between the cities. Weather is different in different locations.)
What time should we check the sky and record the data? (Answers will vary.)

The class should decide on an appropriate time of day to make their weather observations. This is the fixed variable in the investigation. Demonstrate how to record the daily observation time on the blank clock as students draw the hands of the clock on their own pages.

Time Concepts and Writing Numbers. This activity can launch a study of time concepts. As you fill in the calendar, point out the days of the week, the number of weeks in the month, and how many months will pass until the investigation is repeated. Also, show students your classroom clock and the time you will record the data daily.

Conduct the Experiment. Each day, remind students to check the weather and agree on the type of sky. Students should record the type of sky on the appropriate day on the calendar using symbols. They should also place one tally mark in the corresponding row of the data table. Remind students that in the tally system, four strokes are crossed by a fifth to group the marks. These tally marks provide excellent practice for counting by fives. Figure 2 shows a completed sample data table. The Weekend Weather Homework Master can be assigned on Fridays and data can be shared on Mondays.

Have one student serve as the "weather reminder" each week so that checking the sky won't be forgotten in the busy daily schedule.

Adventure Book: