Ann Vespestad

Science Circus Theme:

WEATHER WATCHERS!
Lesson 1- Temperature Investigation
Lesson 2- The Million-Dollar Bet
Lesson 3- A Day at the Wind Races!
Lesson 4- Will it Rain?
Lesson 5- Tornado Twirl!
Science SOL Strand: Interrelationships in Earth/Space Systems
2.6 The student will investigate and understand basic types, changes, and patterns or weather.
Key concepts include
a) identification of common storms and other weather phenomena
b) the uses and importance of measuring, recording, and interpreting weather data; and
c) the uses and importance of tracking weather data over time
Materials:
1. 1 Pint jar with cap that has a small hole in it
2. 1 straw, preferably clear
3. play dough
4. water
5. Rubbing alcohol

6. Food coloring
7. 1 marker
8. Thermometer
9. Science journal

ENGAGE
Tell the students: When you get dressed in the morning, how do you know whether or not to
wear shorts or pants; a winter coat or a light jacket; sandals or boots? It depends on how hot or
cold it is outside which is called temperature. To measure temperature, we use a thermometer
to tell us how hot or cold it is. Meteorologist Aubrey Urbanowics from WHSV 3 is challenging
second grade classrooms to see if they can make their own thermometer and see how
temperature changes. Your task is to create a thermometer and see how the temperature
changes in different areas of the classroom/school. You will record your findings in your journal
and create a graph. Now lets make our own thermometer and get exploring
EXPLORE
1. Fill the jar with cup of water and cup of rubbing alcohol.
2. Add three drops of food coloring.
3. Use the straw to stir in the food coloring.
4. Secure the cap on the jar.
5. Place the straw through the hole and position the straw so that it is in the liquid, but is
not touching the bottom of the jar.

6. Use the play dough to wrap around the straw where it enters the cap to create an air
tight seal.
7. Use a marker to mark on the jar the water level at room temperature.
8. Take your thermometer to different places around the room and watch what happens
to the water level! Fill in this chart before you start to make your predictions. Fill in the
chart for a second time with the actual results.
Area of the school

Water level above

room temperature

Water level below

room temperature

Water level at room

temperature

In a sunny window
In the refrigerator
Outside
Under a lamp
In a bowl of ice
In a dark closet
Your choice:
EXPLAIN
Have the chart that students filled out on the SmartBoard. Have each group come up to record
their results. Use a different color for each group to differentiate between groups. Discuss with
the class the results; if they were all the same or if there were some differences between
groups. Ask students: Do you know why the liquid went up in some areas but it went down in
others? Why do you think that is? *Allow student response time* In warmer temperatures,
the liquid rose above room temperature. In cooler temperatures, the liquid sank below room
temperature. The liquid in the bottle expands when it is warmed, and contracts when it cools.
There is only so much space at the bottom of the bottle, so when the liquid gets warmer, it rises
in the bottle and is forced up into the straw. When the liquid is in a cooler environment again, it
will begin to contract, moving down the straw. The thermometer we made does not give us
exact temperature, but it allows use to generally see which areas are warmer or cooler than
others. Discuss the importance of knowing temperatures.
ELABORATE
Now that we have generally seen the different temperatures around the school, lets
investigate what the real, exact temperatures are. Using a thermometer, go around to the same
areas you previously explored and record the real temperature using degrees Fahrenheit.
Record your findings in your science journal and create a bar graph to show your results. Label
the x-axis with the different areas of the classroom and label the y-axis with the temperatures.
EVALUATE
Now that we created our own temperature and explored that various temperatures around the
school, we need to share our results with WHSV 3 Meteorologist Aubrey Urbanowics. Complete
the following letter:

Dear Ms. Aubrey Urbanowics,

I have created my own thermometer and finished exploring the different temperatures
around my school. The places that were warmer and above room temperature were: ________
__________________________________________________________________. The places
that were cooler and below room temperature were:
_______________________________________
_________________________________________________________. The thermometer
worked because
_______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
. The exact temperatures around the room were:
_______________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
. Knowing the temperature of certain areas are important because
________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
. Exploring temperature was fun!
Sincerely,

Maddie White

Science Circus Theme:

WEATHER WATCHERS!
Lesson 1- Temperature Investigation
Lesson 2- The Million-Dollar Bet
Lesson 3- A Day at the Wind Races!
Lesson 4- Will it Rain?
Lesson 5- Tornado Twirl!
Science SOL Strand: Interrelationships in Earth/Space Systems
2.6 The student will investigate and understand basic types, changes, and patterns or weather.
Key concepts include
a) identification of common storms and other weather phenomena
b) the uses and importance of measuring, recording, and interpreting weather data; and
c) the uses and importance of tracking weather data over time
Lesson Adapted From:
http://www.superchargedscience.com/documents/Top%20Ten%20Air%20Pressure%20Experim
ents%20to%20Mystify%20Your%20Kids.pdf
Materials:
Pictures
Empty water bottle
Paper
ENGAGE
Pull up a picture of someone mountain climbing and using an air mask (at high elevation where
there is lower air pressure) as well as a picture of people doing something at sea level (where
there is higher air pressure).

Ask the students to name the differences between the pictures. Talk about why the person
mountain climbing has to use an air mask when the people at sea level do not. Have students
share stories if they have experienced being in places with lower air pressure.
EXPLORE
1. Put students into small groups or pairs.
2. Give each group an empty water bottle and ask them to ball up a scrap of paper so that it is
about half the size of the opening of their bottle.
3. Have them place the bottle horizontally onto the table and put the wad of paper onto the
mouth of the bottle.
4. Bet the class a million dollars that they cant blow the paper as hard as they can into the
bottle and let them experiment with the task.
EXPLAIN
Let students share what they think about the activity and why the paper might not go into the
bottle when they blow as hard as they can. Explain that by blowing into the mouth of the
bottle, they are putting more air into a space that is already full of air. This means that the
bottle is literally overflowing with air, dragging your paper ball along with it. Changing levels of
air pressure in our atmosphere is what causes things like wind, precipitation, and tornados.
ELABORATE
Continue to experiment with the bottles, what happens if you try blowing the ball in softly?
Does it work? Why? What if we tried using a smaller scrap of paper? What if we made it
heavier? What happens when we suck all of the air out of the empty bottle? Why?
EVALUATE
Have them draw a diagram of what is happening with the air pressure when you attempt to
blow the scrap of paper into the bottle. If they looked at what happens when you suck all of the
air out of the bottle, have them draw a diagram for that as well. They should be able to label
where the air pressure is the greatest, lowest, and the direction its moving.

Amber Bollinger

Science Circus Theme:

WEATHER WATCHERS!
Lesson 1- Temperature Investigation
Lesson 2- The Million-Dollar Bet
Lesson 3- A Day at the Wind Races!
Lesson 4- Will it Rain?
Lesson 5- Tornado Twirl!
Science SOL Strand: Interrelationships in Earth/Space Systems
2.6 The student will investigate and understand basic types, changes, and patterns or weather.
Key concepts include
a) identification of common storms and other weather phenomena
b) the uses and importance of measuring, recording, and interpreting weather data; and
c) the uses and importance of tracking weather data over time
Materials:
Pom-poms
Bouncy Balls
Cat Toys
Corks
Coins
Tissue Paper
Straws
Hair dryer
Sound of wind
ENGAGE
Have you ever been outside and all of a sudden the trees start moving and leaves fall to the
ground? It might even feel a little like this (turn on hair dryer and move it around so each
student can feel the air). Have you ever been inside during a storm and hear a howling through
the window? It might sound like this (play the wind howl on phone or computer). What you
have just felt or heard is the wind, and it makes up part of our weather.
EXPLORE
1. Grab your wind kit and pull the materials out on by one.
2. Make a prediction on which items you think will be easiest to move and hardest to move.
3. Take the materials and see if the wind moves them down the hallway. Record on your
worksheet whether or not your predictions were correct.
4. Return all materials to the wind kit.

Object

Prediction (easiest, hardest,

etc to move)

Actual

Coin
Pom-Pom
Cat Toy
Ball
Cork
Piece of Tissue Paper
EXPLAIN
Explain to students that while wind is just air, in severe weather, air makes itself known. Wind is
the sideways moving of air and the cause of changing weather patterns! The wind can be very
powerful! Why do you think it was easier for the wind to move some objects and not others?
Wait for student responses and open it to discussion. Talk about how the weight, shape, and
size of each item contributed to how the wind was able to move them easier or not at all.
Explain that in severe storms the wind is able to lift roofs off of houses. Winds also have
different speeds and directions!
ELABORATE
Now that we have learned about wind, we are going to go outside and experience it for
ourselves! Everyone grab your notebooks and record any observations you see or hear when
outside. While the wind is not always loud and powerful, it is always there. After about 10
minutes, we will come back inside and discuss our observations. Can anyone tell me the
similarities between the wind races we just completed and the wind we witnessed outside?
Wait for students to respond. If the weather is not acceptable to go outside, students can draw
a picture of what they believe the wind would be like.
EVALUATE
Have the students write a weather report about the wind as if they were meteorologists. The
report should follow this prompt:
Hello my name is ______________________ reporting to you LIVE from SCI-TV with an
important weather announcement about wind! Today the wind is ______________ and moving
towards the _______________. Be sure to keep those _____________ inside to keep them
from blowing away! Be sure to tune in tomorrow at same time for another SCI-TV weather
report.

Megan Gaffney

Science Circus Theme:

WEATHER WATCHERS!
Lesson 1- Temperature Investigation
Lesson 2- The Million-Dollar Bet
Lesson 3- A Day at the Wind Races!
Lesson 4- Will it Rain?
Lesson 5- Tornado Twirl!
Science SOL Strand: Interrelationships in Earth/Space Systems
2.6 The student will investigate and understand basic types, changes, and patterns or weather.
Key concepts include
a) identification of common storms and other weather phenomena
b) the uses and importance of measuring, recording, and interpreting weather data; and
c) the uses and importance of tracking weather data over time
Materials:
Tall glass of water (filled 3/4)
Shaving cream
Blue food coloring (liquid is best)
Pipet dropper
ENGAGE
Have you ever walked outside and seen the rain and thought why does that happen? What
causes all of that water to fall from the sky? Now, what if I told you that I could make it rain in
this jar of water right here!? Everyone gather around, and bring your science journals I think it
is about to start raining!
EXPLORE
1. Have students gathered around the demonstration table
2. Make sure students brought their science journals to record their observations.
3. Fill the glass with water (about of the way full)
4. Then put shaving cream on top of the water (about 1-2 inches thick). Ask students what
they think this shaving cream represents? (a cloud)
5. Explain to students that you are going to add blue food coloring on top of the shaving
cream.
6. Before conducting this part of the demonstration, have students write their predictions
about what will happen after the food coloring is added in their science journals.

7. Call on one student to come put drops of food coloring in the shaving cream one at a
time (about 7 drops).
8. Have students record their observations as they watch the food coloring fall out of the
shaving cream cloud like rain!
9. Allow students to draw a picture of this demonstration in their journals as well.
10. Optional you can also add drops of water after adding the food coloring to make the
rain fall faster.
EXPLAIN
Why do you think we were able to make it rain using shaving cream and food coloring? Allow
time for students to share their opinions on this question. After discussion time, explain to
students that inside clouds are millions and millions of water droplets. These water droplets
come from the water vapor on earth, but when it gets really high in the air it finally becomes a
water droplet. These water droplets are so small that you are not able to see them. However,
when these water droplets are inside the cloud they come together to form water drops (rain
drops). When the cloud is holding too many water drops, it turns a dark gray and the cloud is
unable to hold them all and they fall to earth. So when we added the food coloring and water
to the shaving cream we saw the water fall down because the shaving cream could not hold the
extra weight anymore.
ELABORATE
Ask students to brainstorm in their science journals, any wonderings that they still have about
rain. Have students also think of ways to change this demonstration to test if they are still able
to make it rain (examples: hot water instead of cold, mayonnaise instead of shaving cream).
After students have brainstormed in their journals (if you have time) you can read them the
childrens book, Down Comes the Rain by Franklin M. Branley. This is a book that is part of a
science series Lets-Read-and-Find-Out Science and all of the information in this series is
checked for accuracy by an expert in the relevant field. I believe this book does a great job
elaborating on why it rains and it has beautiful illustrations to accompany.
EVALUATE
Have students write a story as if they were just one of the tiny water droplets in a cloud. This
story would be their journey to becoming rain (about 3-4 sentences). They should be describing
how they combined with other droplets in the cloud, and then eventually there were so many
of them that appeared in the cloud that the cloud turned gray and they began to drop out as
rain! This is a fun way for students to take a different perspective and write about rain. They
should also draw a picture to go along with their story.

Kelly Crawford

Science Circus Theme:

WEATHER WATCHERS!
Lesson 1- Temperature Investigation
Lesson 2- The Million-Dollar Bet
Lesson 3- A Day at the Wind Races!
Lesson 4- Will it Rain?
Lesson 5- Tornado Twirl!
Science SOL Strand: Interrelationships in Earth/Space Systems
2.6 The student will investigate and understand basic types, changes, and patterns or weather.
Key concepts include
a) identification of common storms and other weather phenomena
b) the uses and importance of measuring, recording, and interpreting weather data; and
c) the uses and importance of tracking weather data over time
Materials:
two 1-liter empty bottles
duct tape
washers of different sizes (optional)
water
food dye (optional)
ENGAGE
Ask the students, Have any of you seen a tornado? Or a video of a tornado? Allow the
students time to discuss their encounters and knowledge of tornadoes
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ci11wrzzBUQ). What did you notice about the tornado?
It looks scary doesnt it? What do you think causes a tornado? Today we are going to make
our own tornados. I have some things you can use to make tornados. See if you can work in
groups to come up with your idea of how tornados start!
EXPLORE
1. Each group receives two 1-liter bottles, 6-inch-long duct tape, and a different size
washer.
2. One student from each group will come up to the sink and the teacher will help fill one
bottle up of the way and drop in the food coloring. The teacher should be explaining
that they are going to use the water as the wind. The students should manipulate the
bottle to make the water mimic the tornado. The food coloring stands for all of the
objects, including buildings, cars, animals, etc., the tornado picks up and blows around.

3.
4.
5.
6.

What can we do to the water to make it swirl around like we saw in the video? What
do you think is going to happen to the food coloring?
The students put the washer in between the bottles and duct tape the bottles with the
filled one on the bottom.
The students flip over the bottles and experiment to see how to get the water swirling.
Students record their findings in their notebooks with notes or pictures
They clean up their area by taking off the duct tape and throwing it away, wiping off
their washers, and dumping out the water in the sink.

EXPLAIN
Ask each group to explain their findings. Ask about how small their tornado was and ask why
they think there were different size tornados. They should give their theories and the teacher
should explain how the washer effects the size. The tornado must be very small to fit in the
small washer, so it makes a really small tornado. Ask students why they think tornados start
and turn in these different motions.
ELABORATE
Now we know how tornadoes form in water bottles, but how do they form in real life? Why do
you think the air circles around like that? The students should research to see why tornadoes
form and draw a diagram, using colors, in their notebooks. They should review at least three
different websites, keeping in mind what makes a good source. They should also search some
diagrams in their groups. They should come together as a group to discuss their findings. They
will then, individually, draw their own understandings of a tornado. They can use their notes
and their research to draw these.
EVALUATE
The last part of the lesson is a story. The students are going to write a story from the point of
view of the wind. They must include elements of how they formed with the other front. They
should discuss the tornado and what it does to the surrounding land. When they are finished
they can share them with the class and turn them in or keep them in their notebooks.