Click
here for
a good introduction
worksheet reviewing the main concepts on the composition of the air on
our planet. Based on Heath Earth
Science.
Composition
of
Air Team Game
Enlarge the pie
chart from the
above worksheet.
Print out the pie chart without words, in color. Print out the words
separately. Cut out. Give to teams. Say, "On your mark! Get set! Go!"
Each team assembles the pie chart correctly and raises hand when
finished.
Composition
of
Air Team Skit
Make quick calculations before
assigning this skit. Calculate 78% of class and assign them to
Nitrogen; 21% to oxygen; 1% to argon. Assign the 1% to one student even
if less than 1% of your class. A catch-their-attention way to
illustrate the trace gases, is to ask the 1% student to take off a shoe
and throw it to the side to represent carbon dioxide and the rest of
the trace gases. You can add more impact to this skit by asking the
entire class to assemble themselves into a giant pie graph in the
middle of the floor. Have a pile of labels and percents on cards that
each section has to grab to label themselves.
Properties
of
the Air Activity
A
good lab
which
review basic
properties of air. Click
here.
Layers of
the Atmosphere Foldable
I
use this right after I've taught the composition of the air objective.
I have them pick up the blue paper and the cut-out page while entering
the classroom and after Bellwork, we fold, cut out and paste on the
front diagram, add blue and red lines to show the changes in
temperature, cut the
flaps, paste the descriptions inside, and then one at a time, cut out
and paste the little objects on the front. See images below. Fun to watch kids
realize
they can do hard things! Play a White Board Game with them using
their
Foldable. Click
here for Foldable and Questions.
Layers
of the
Atmosphere
Click
here for
a worksheet that
introduces the parts and characteristics of the atmosphere. Has the
students add small sketches to an atmosphere profile.
UPDATE: I
have replaced
this worksheet with the Atmosphere Foldable (above). The Foldable is
MUCH MORE fun and a more active approach!
Layers
of the
Atmosphere Game
Enlarge
a
chart showing the layers (unlabeled) of the atmosphere. I copied a
student's sketches from the above
assignment and enlarged and cut
them out.
Each team must
place the sketches in the correct layers of the atmosphere, such as:
meteors in mesosphere, person in troposphere, geese in the tropopause.
Great fun!
Atmosphere
Mania
Team Game
Similar
to Metric Mania. Good review of all the different facts you'd like your
students to remember about the Layers of the Atmosphere! Click
here.
Layers
of the
Atmosphere Speed Game
This is where I
let them bring
along their Atmosphere Foldables to the Team gathering place: Give each
team a colorful page
with all the
layers and pauses listed. (From Atmosphere Foldable.) I set the timer
for 5 minutes and the teams
must list as many characteristics as they can for each layer right on
that paper in the proper area. Have the
team choose the Recorder to write it all down. The rest of the team
looks up as many different things as they can from their Foldable and
dictate to Recorder.
The Recorder just writes. You can make it trickier by giving points for
correct characteristics, but subtracting for any wrong facts. Keeps
them on their toes!
Layers
of the
Atmosphere Flashcards
Run off simple
cards with layer
names on one side. Have the students write important information on the
other side, even add small sketches. Or use index cards and have
students write layer names on the one side. This helps prevent them
from seeing the answers through the paper. You can do all sorts of
quick review using these cards. Put
them in
order from the ground up. Put your finger on the layer you live in, the
layer where meteors are found, the layer that contains ozone, etc.
Students turn the card over to check their answer. Click
here.
Layers of the
Atmosphere CrissCross Puzzle
I
lay puzzles like this out on the Pick-Up Table so they can be picked up
as students enter the room. I write "BONUS" at the top with a marker
before I run it off. They know if it says "BONUS" they can do it
anytime in class when there is a lull in the action. This works great
for the faster students. They have something to do and get Bonus Points
for being efficient workers! Click
here.
CONVECTION
CURRENTS
The
most basic
concept of all: convection
currents! I've seen many ways to
introduce this concept. One uses Baby
Food Jars.
Fill one baby
food jar to
the brim with very
hot, red-dyed water.
Fill another baby food jar with very
cold,
blue-dyed water. Cover the red jar
with an index card,
turn it over and
place over the blue jar. Slowly remove the index card. The colors don't
mix, because cold air (water) sinks and warm air (water) rises. Holding
the two jars firmly, flip them over. The warm water will begin to rise
into the blue, turning the color to purple. Very dramatic. They'll want
to see it again and again. Indulge them. They learn it forever! Even
better if they do this themselves. Set up blue ice water station
and hot red water station (coffee put.)
Movement
of Air
and Water Demonstration
Another
version
sets a Beaker
of Clear Hot Water on
your overhead. Add
one Blue-dyed
Ice Cube
to the beaker. Observe the blue water sink to
the bottom. If you're lucky, the blue will warm up and rise before it
disperses! Click
here for a labsheet. Also good for
teaching convection
currents in
the asthenosphere.
Teaching
Tip for Convection Currents
Have
your students
draw one small, colored convection current in the Troposphere on the
front of their Atmosphere Foldable. Use red
for rising and blue
for falling. Or
have them add to bottom diagram of their Labsheet.
You want to teach a very complicated concept here: The movement of the
rising hot air as it reaches the tropopause is what causes the Jet
Stream, to which Lows are attached, which is why weather moves
from west to east across the United States! This is also why the
cumulonimbus cloud has an anvil top--it is captured and moved eastward
by the jet stream, which is why we can tell where the troposphere ends
and the stratosphere begins if we see an anvil top! Difficult but
important concept!
What
Happens? Lab
(Otherwise
known
as the Crushing
Can Lab but don't give it
away!) This lab
gets the essential concept of cold air=high pressure and hot air = low
pressure better than any other lab I've used. I refer to this
constantly. It even helps my students remember sea breeze and land
breeze! Click
here.
Heat
Transfer
Teach
heat
transfer as a means
of
introducing Breezes and Global Wind Patterns. Click
here
for a quick worksheet that covers radiation,
conduction, and convection.
Heat
Transfer
Team Review Game
Click
here for
a quick team game that
gets their heads together with some peer teaching thrown in for good
measure. Quick but potent learning!
Heat
Transfer
Team Game
Click
here an
example of a cut-apart
game. (You'll need more pictures.) Give a packet of these sketches and
have them separate into three piles with sticky note labels: radiation,
conduction, or convection. Great fun to listen to them debate the game
pieces and teach each other!
Weather
Instruments
Worksheet
I
show the PowerPoint below and they fill out quickly as they watch. Most
middle-school aged students know most of these and it's a review for
them. You're just getting them all on the same page, as some won't know
all of them. If you have time, you can do great labs for each
instrument. Otherwise this can be it. Click
here.
Weather
Instruments PowerPoint
Good
review PowerPoint to show to students along with above worksheet. Click
here.
Air
Pressure
& Wind Worksheet
Click
here for a
good
way to link heat transfer, convection and winds. I refer back to the
What Happens? -Crushing Can Lab as they work through the
questions. This is based on our textbook, but you could come up with a
similar one for yours.
Angle
of
Sunlight Activity
This
is
affectionately known in
my
building as the "Skittles
Lab,"
although this version uses
beans. This lesson is floating around the Internet in many versions. A
good way to teach why right angle sunlight will heat an area more than
a narrower angle. Works! Click
here.
Solar
Radiation
Lab
A
good lab
for
teaching how
water
and soil absorb heat differently. Good way to really teach Land and Sea
Breezes so they understand. Can be done inside or outside. Click
here.
Global
Winds
Notes
Works
best if they
copy from the overhead, instead of using the book. You get more uniform
answers for them to refer to when you move into Climate. Click
here for
the page.
Run
the front Venn Diagram page off on colored paper, the other two pages
on white. They can put them together several different ways. Have them
fold hamburger bun-style. No flaps. Paste closely cropped symbols on
the front. Paste all other diagrams and info squares inside, then use
what's inside to fill out the front with pen or pencil. They have to
come up with how they are alike by themselves! Good Thinking skills
here! You can give hints or ask them what does the diagram with the
cold and warm fronts attached to the Low tell them? Then they answer
the questions in pairs or small groups or alone. See photos below. Click
here.
Weather
Prediction Exercises
Here
are some worksheets that have students attempt to use what they have
learned about High and Low Pressure, Warm and Cold Fronts to predict
the weather for specific cities. Copying the national weather on the
second page below teaches that weather systems move across our country
from West to East and also teaches that Lows rotate counterclockwise
with the Warm and Cold Fronts attached. If you use that as the basis
for simple prediction, they can begin to learn how to predict weather!
More difficult for some students then others, that's for sure, but give
it a try! We've added this because it is a new requirement in Missouri.
Click
here for first worksheet.Click
here for second worksheet.
Observing
Weather Chart
Begin
this on the day you begin your Weather Unit.
Record for at least one week, more if possible. Then have them answer
analysis questions in small groups or pairs. Click
here for Chart.Click
here for QuestionSheet that also has them copy the national
weather
map each day. You could skip the Observing Weather Chart and just go
with the second option if pressed for time.
Changes
in the
Spheres
We
have a
state-required objective that asks us to introduce our students to the
concept that changes in the "spheres" occur both naturally and by human
design. We've come up with a "Changes in the Spheres" Project that
takes a total of about one 90-minute class period. We give each small
group a
folder with information from the Internet. They are asked to use the
information to fill out a worksheet
and
prepare a short presentation to the class.
Topics
such as these can be covered: Acid Rain, Chernobyl, The Great Flood of
'93, The 9/11 Contrail Discovery, The Exxon Valdez, Meteorite
Collisions, Volcanic Eruptions, etc. Students take notes during the
speeches using a Listening
Guide.
What
is Climate?
A
good
way to
introduce the concept of Climate. Small groups or pairs come up with a
definition on newsprint. Post where all can see. Or have each group
write on chalkboard in different colors. They arrive at a group
definition by consensus. Post this for all to see. Main rule: can't use
the book's definition! Then discuss the definition of climate from the
book.
"This
meteorology
book focuses on explanation about the processes that produce Earth's
weather and climate. It emphasizes a non-mathematical understanding of
physical principles as a vehicle for learning about atmospheric
processes.
Additionally, difficult-to-visualize topics are reinforced with a
series of software tutorials presented on a CD-ROM packaged with the
book.
Accompanying CD-ROM features Tutorials, Interactive Exercises, and
illustrative movie loops all keyed to the book.
Also, this book includes up-to-date coverage of severe weather events."
Factors
That
Influence Climate
Climate
controls
should be covered: altitude, latitude, nearness to center of continent
or large body of water, prevailing winds, ocean currents. This is a
difficult for young minds to grasp, since most are not firmly in the
conceptual stage. A chart form of the climate controls, with two
columns, temperature and precipitation, is an organized, more concrete
way for students to learn the material. I use a copyrighted handout
that lists the controls for both temperature and precipitation, then
asks questions that review the concept, then applies it to an imaginary
continent.
Imaginary
Continent
A
traditional and
effective way to involve students with the climate controls. Usually
uses the main areas of continental vs. marine, windward and leeward,
top of a mountain vs. foothills, equator vs. more northern latitudes. Click here
for a
nice imaginary continent by Paula Messina,
a
geology professor at San José State University who has also
taught high school Earth Science. This works well for my ninth graders!
Design
Your Own
Imaginary Continent
After
working with
a couple of prepared imaginary continents, have your students design
their own! Click
here for a copy of my lesson.
Climate
Controls
Review
Cut
out
pictures
from magazines or go high-tech and capture images of various climate
controls, such as: very snowy scene (latitude), mountain scene
(altitude), harbor with ocean view scene (nearness to large body of
water), island surrounded by water scene (ocean currents), desert scene
(center of large landmass), jungle scene (latitude), etc. Make up a
worksheet or a transparency and ask students to identify which Climate
Control is most at work in each scene. Good team game if you give each
team smaller copies of each scene and have them label each with sticky
notes.
Worldwide
Climate Zones
Introduce
at least
the three main climates: tropical, temperate, and polar. Later you can
discuss other zones, such as: steppe, continental moist, continental
dry, oceanic moist, highlands, etc. I use copyrighted worksheets. You
could make your own using a world map, on which students color the
three main zones. This makes it easier for students to identify the
main temperatures on their own continents, using the climate control of
latitude. I teach my students to say hot for tropical, warm or cool for
temperate, and cold for polar regions. Many students are capable of
moving to more sophisticated judgments, such as this is a tropical
latitude but the city is atop a mountain, so maybe it's cool or warm
instead of hot. Many can't make that distinction at this age.
Worldwide
Climate ZonesActivity
Not
satisfied with
the above worksheet, I decided to do something different this semester.
So I made 3 different color sets of laminated cards: 1 set of cards
with the 11 climate names, 1 set of cards in a different color with
descriptions of the 11 climates, and a third set of cards with the
parts of the North American Continent areas that match the 11 climate
zones. I gave the students copies of the Koppen Climate
Classification System
to match
Climate Names with Descriptions and,
also
using their World Climate Zone Map, try to match the climate types with
different areas of the North American Continent. I did this activity
BEFORE I taught the Factors that Influence Climate. I heard wonderful
discussions between students as to what area of the country matched
what climate and why!
North
American
Climate Zones
It's
a
good idea to
have your students identify the climate zones of the United States.
This is a good way to introduce all the other climate zones. Use a
United States map and ask students to come up and label each zone with
sticky notes. You can also have students color and label a U.S. map
with the main climate zones.
Teaching
Climographs
Our
state
(Missouri) mentions
climographs (or: climograms, climagraphs, climagrams) in the state
frameworks. A good way to teach that temperature and precipitation are
the two main elements used to describe different climate zones. Fun to
relate these odd looking structures to the actual climates. Click here for a blank
climagraph.
Have the students
graph two
different climates
(precip. and temp.) on separate climagraphs and write compare/contrast
paragraphs about the two areas. Click here
for a good on-line climogram activity which compares Moscow
and Houston.
Comparing
Climagraphs
A
good worksheet
that has the
student graphing on a climagraph the West
Palm Beach and Kathmandu
climate information. Click
here.
Climagraph
Game
Print
out
several climographs of
the United States. Have student teams match them to short climate
descriptions. Good thinking exercise. Students really have to think how
yearly temperature & precipitation trends would look on a
graph. Click
here
for a climograph of Nashville. Print out
climographs such as this one, minus the name of the city and the
latitude/longitude information. Have them match to the correct climate
name/descriptions. The correct one for Nashville is: Subtropical Moist:
warm to hot summer, cool winter, precipitation all winter. You could
also have the students separate the climographs into marine (low yearly
temperature range) and continental (high yearly temperature range) by
looking at the temperature line graphs.
Climate
Change
A climate unit
isn't complete
nowadays without touching on the concept of climate change, man-made or
natural causes. Your textbook probably has a section on this topic.
Work up a good study guide/worksheet. Discuss the concepts. Then do the
aerosol science activity mentioned next.
Aerosol
Science
Activity
Our
state
requires we have our
students look at the impact of volcanic eruptions on climate
change. Click
here
for an excellent lab on the topic from the Atmospheric Science Data
Center: What effect do volcanic eruptions have on
the Earth's climate?
This is no
longer available online so this is a copy of what I have. Really great
lesson. It's a shame they took it down. Work it through for yourself
several times till you are sure you "get" it. Really tough but
worth it. I don't make my kids do the math, just walk them
through
it. Some still do, if they have a calculator with them, I encourage
that. But not really the point of the lesson. Click
here for the answers.
Teaching
Clouds
I've
added this section for
those of you with extra time to teach the "fun" stuff. Please consider
moving beyond how to identify clouds. Try also
teaching your students to connect each cloud type with a specific type
of weather. This is learning for life, which truly engages your
students!
Clouds
Pre-Quiz
Try
giving a PRE-QUIZ with no strings
attached.
Return at the end and
give bonus points for each error fixed.
Cloud-in-a-Bottle
Lab
Do
CLOUD
IN A
BOTTLE
to teach the concept
of the condensation nuclei. This lab can be done with saved-up water
bottles. It's a coool lab! Very dramatic!
Cloud
Flashcards
Hand
out CLOUD
FLASHCARDS
as a means to make
sure your students learn all the clouds. I made sets of Cloud
Flashcards once and had them for years! Provide time in class for
pairs to drill each other. Here are two Cloud Bells for you to use at
the beginning of the class period: Cloud
Bell #1Cloud
Bell #2
The
main
instrument is the CLOUD
WORKSHEET
where the students
makes
sketches, identify
high, low, or middle altitude, add the Symbols
and
Abbreviations, but most
importantly, the Associated
Weather.
I laminate the
answers, one
per small group,
for the students to use.
Observing
Weather Chart
Of
course, take
your students
outside every day to fill in the OBSERVING
WEATHER CHART, paying special
attention to the clouds and the type of weather present. This is great
fun! Fun spring event! Students will look forward to your class because
they get to go outside and look at clouds. and I bet they'll learn
something, too!
Cloud
Cover
Simulation
This
is the best
lesson I know
for
teaching students how to judge the amount of cloud cover in the sky. Do
the CLOUD
COVERSIMULATIONin
the classroom before you go outside to observe weather and clouds. Give
them a copy of the actual CLOUD
COVER SYMBOLS at the end of
the lab. They
will understand
cloud cover percents!!
Cloud
Booklet
Project
I
love to do the CLOUD
BOOKLET PROJECT during "Cloud
Week." If you can give them time in a computer lab one day, they can
surf for cloud images, print in grayscale, and touch up with colored
pencils. Many will print at night using color printers. This assignment
reinforces types of clouds, the altitude they occupy, and associated
weather. Nice to pass the booklets around on hand-in day to admire!
Here's the Rubric.
How
to Write a
Good Science Lesson
