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PBL Overview

Title: Weather and Climate Est. Start Date: Duration: 5 weeks
Teacher: Aritz Cardenas, Cassie MacLemore,
Kara Villalobos
Grade Level: Kindergarten
Content Focus: Science Other subject areas to be included:
Mathematics
Project Idea:
Summary of the
issue, challenge,
investigation,
scenario, or
problem
Students will understand the concept of weather and temperature, and how that changes
over time.
Essential
Question:
How does weather affect our daily
lives?
Driving
Question
Why is it hot some days and cold in
other days?

Content and
Skills
Standards to be
addressed:
(CCCSS, NGSS,
Calif.)

NGSS
K-PS3-1: Make observations to determine the effect of sunlight on Earths surface.
K-PS3-2: Use tools and materials to design and build structure to reduce warming
effect of sun in an area
K-ESS2-1: Use and share observations of local weather conditions to describe patterns
over time.
K-ESS3-2: Ask questions to obtain information about purpose of weather forecasting
to prepare for, and respond to severe weather.

Mathematics Standards
MP.2: Reason abstractly and quantitatively. (K-ESS2-1)
MP.4: Model with mathematics. (K-ESS2-1) (K-ESS3-2)
K.CC: Counting and Cardinality (K-ESS3-2)
K.CC.A: Know number names and the count sequence. (K-ESS2-1) (K-ESS3-2)
K.MD.A.1: Describe measurable attributes of objects, such as length or weight.
Describe several measurable attributes of a single object. (K-ESS2-1) (K-ESS3-2)
K.MD.B.3: Classify objects into given categories; count the number of objects in each
category and sort the categories by count. (K-ESS2-1) (K-ESS3-2)










T+A E T+A E

21
st
Century
Skills and MPS
to be explicitly
taught and assessed
(T+A) or that will
be encouraged (E)
by Project work but
not taught or
Problem Solving X
Critical Thinking X
Collaboration X

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assessed:


Presentation Audience

Culminating
Products and
Performances







Group:





Most of this unit is done as whole class.
Teacher will have students be in
groups ranging from 4-6 throughout
the unit to share question response in
smaller settings.
Class

X
School


Community (parents)
X
Individual:
Students will be utilizing their
notebooks to draw their daily weather
observations. Teacher will model this
and make sure students know how to
do this.
Experts


Web


Other:
Project Overview

Entry event
to launch inquiry,
engage students:

Outline or
Conceptual
Flow
Include assessment
points:































Reading Maisy's Wonderful Weather Book by Lucy Cousins to the class. This book goes into the
different types of weather patterns found in our planet. Afterwards, the class can create a chart that
goes over the different weather patterns.



A. Types of weather
1) Students describing what weather means in their own words
i. First in groups of 4 students
ii. Whole class discussion. One student in each group shares their findings.
2) Teacher uses visuals to show different weather types and temperature words.
Teacher will also get students to show kinesthetic reactions (motions) when going
over these terms). Lastly, students will try to come up with words that associate with
weather words that are taught in class (e.g. sunglasses when it is sunny, umbrella
when it is raining, sweater when it is cold, etc. )
i. Sunny
ii. Cloudy (overcast)
iii. Rain (raining)
iv. Snow (snowing)
v. Wind (windy)
vi. Hot (warm)
vii. Cold (cool)
3) Making observations outside to describe the weather outside (this will be done
everyday for 30 days).
i. Students will be handed a notebook. Everyday, class will go outside to an
open space on the school campus (e.g. sports field). Students will draw a
picture displaying their observations on that particular days weather. For
example, if it is sunny, they would draw a sun. Teacher will model to the
class simple drawings to class. Teacher will go over class observations each
3
day so students understand routine. This process will take more time at
first, but will go quicker as the 30 days come to an end.
4) The Sun
i. Students will learn about how the sun is a source of heat for our world
(Earth).
ii. Students will be asked whether they think the sun is hot or cold? How do
you know?
iii. Hats and Sunglasses
1. Go over the importance of protecting from the sun. Hats,
Sunglasses, Sunscreen, etc.
2. Counting how many sunglasses and hats needed for everyone in
the class
3. Take a group of 6, if four people have sunglasses, how many
students in the group still need sunglasses?
4. Take a group of 6. There are 8 hats. How many extra hats does the
group have?
5) Constructing a structure to protect from the sun
i. Create a tent using tools to construct sun (concept of shade)
ii. Does shade make it warmer or cooler when we are outside?
6) Rain
i. What is rain? Is rain usually warm or cold? (group and class discussion)
ii. How do we protect ourselves from getting wet?
1. Umbrellas, jackets
2. Math problem one umbrella for every two students in class. How
many umbrellas will we need to protect ourselves from the rain?
Teacher will have enough umbrellas to try this out. What if there
was one umbrella for every 3 students?
7) Final observations, debrief of 30 day observations
i. Class will create categories of the different weather patterns found during
the course of the past 30 days (sunny, cloudy, rainy). Students will count
how many sunny, cloudy, and rainy days there were by counting their
observation pictures. Teacher will make chart-separating categories on
whiteboard. Class will share findings for each category by coming to
consensus. Final reflection: What weather pattern was most common
during the last 30 days?


Assessments






Formative
Assessments
(During Project)
Quizzes/Tests ddd

Journaling/Learning Log (using
whiteboard and posters to go
over daily observations plus
notebooks)
X

Preliminary Plans/Outlines d

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Monitoring Students X

Questioning of students X


Summative
Assessments
(End of Project)
Written Product(s), with rubric Other Products (drawing
conclusions)
X
Oral Presentation, with rubric Peer Evaluation

Multiple Choice/Short Answer
Test
Self-Evaluation

Essay Test Other (verbal questioning)
X


Resources
Needed
On-site people, facilities
Outdoor location to do daily observations, location to create tent (preferably
close to a tree or poles)
Equipment
Outdoor tent (Bedsheets, sturdy sticks, rocks, safety pins, rope)
Materials
Journals for students, pencils, markers, whiteboard, construction paper, 12
umbrellas, sunglasses (optional)
Community resources
Parent volunteers to create tent structure,



Reflection
Methods


(Individual, Group,
and/or Whole Class)
Journal/Learning Log X Focus Group

Whole-class Discussion X Fishbowl Discussion

Survey Other

Project Teaching and Learning Guide

Knowledge and Skills Needed by Students
(to successfully complete culminating projects and to do well on summative assessments)

Student needs to be able to:

Known number names and count up to 30


Student needs to be able to:

Subtract and add simple solutions using their
groups of 6 and by using objects.
Student needs to be able to:

Create categories for different weather types
and count how many days each weather type
existed in a month.


Student needs to be able to:

Demonstrate what products can be used for
different weather types.
Student needs to be able to:


Counting by twos








Student needs to be able to:

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Questions to be Provided by the Project Teacher
(to successfully complete culminating products and to do well on summative assessments)

Teacher asks questions to recall facts, make observations, or
demonstrate understanding:

How many days in the last month were
sunny?
How many umbrellas will we need if
every two students are sharing one
umbrella?
How many sunglasses will we need if
every student needs one?




Teacher asks questions to summarize, analyze, organize, or
evaluate:

How do you know what items to use
during a certain type of weather?
How are sunny days different than
rainy days?
Why is it cooler outside when we are
on a shaded location instead of being
in the sun without any shade?

Teacher asks questions to apply or relate:


How can we protect ourselves from
the sun when we are outdoors?
Can you show me how the weather
was like today by drawing a picture?
How can you act out how the
temperature of the weather?








Teacher asks questions to predict, design, or create:


Based off of the weather from the last
two days, what type of weather could
we see tomorrow?
Talk to your family about todays
weather when you get home.

Teacher Reflection:
How did the unit flow? What worked well? What needs to be changed for next time? What did the students learn? What evidence do
you have to support students learning?

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