Weather in the Seasons Lesson Plan

By: Lauren Mroz

Grade Level: First Grade Benchmarks (Michigan Curriculum Framework): S.IP.01.11 Make purposeful observation of the natural world using the appropriate senses. S.IP.01.12 Generate questions based on observations. S.IP.01.13 Plan and conduct simple investigations. S.IP.01.14 Manipulate simple tools (for example: hand lens, pencils, rulers, thermometers, rain gauges, balances, non-standard objects for measurement) that aid observation and data collection. E.ES.01.22 Describe and compare weather related to the four seasons in terms of temperature, cloud cover, precipitation, and wind. E.ES.01.31 Identify the tools that might be used to measure temperature, precipitation, cloud cover, and wind. Introduction: This lesson is one of a series of lessons throughout the year where students will focus on learning the inquiry process. The main focal point will be learning weather related to the four season (most in depth on Winter) and the tools used to measure weather in the different seasons. It is important that students practice inquiry in order to learn the scientific processes and how scientists conduct experiments. Students will practice this process by conducting an experiment on the question: Do all snowflakes look the same?. This question will be explored in small groups over the course of 4 days. Students will observe snow, manipulate tools to take picture of snow and gather information about the weather, they will then make conclusions based on the information they have gathered. To conclude they will put together a foldable mobile that will include a picture, important weather information, and something they like to do in the winter. Following the experiment students will focus on learning the weather in each of the four seasons. This will be a basic overview of the important information for each season including: months, temperature, type of precipitate, wind, sunlight, and other characteristics. Students will also learn the tools used to measure temperature, precipitation, cloud cover, and wind. Throughout the lesson there will be several assessments and games to make sure each child is on the right track and no one has fallen behind. The lesson will conclude with a final project that will wrap up their research in the form of a foldable presentation to the class. In this lesson students will.. Students will be able to observe and make conclusions about snowflakes. Students will be able to manipulate tools used to take pictures of snowflakes. Students will be able to use a thermometer, camera, and kestrel. Students will be able to state the four season. Students will be able describe the each season based on temperature, cloud cover, precipitation, and wind. Students will be able to identify tools used to measure temperature, precipitation, cloud cover, and wind. Students will be able to explain differences between each of the four seasons.

Materials and Setup: Engage: Today we are going to learn about the four seasons. What do you know about the seasons? Lets make a KWL chart together. (Chart attached page 11) Can someone raise their hand and tell me and their friends what they know? That was great, look at everything we already know. Can you tell me about some things you do in each season? What type of weather do we get in each season? What is the temperature like? What about precipitation? That was great brainstorming, I am proud at how much you already know about water and how willing you were to tell your friends about what you know. I am going to say a list of words if you think you know what any of these words mean, raise your hand and tell share it with your classmates. Winter, Spring, Summer, Fall, Temperature, Cloud cover, precipitation, wind. Great job sharing what you know! Thats okay if you dont know what these words mean, we will learn about them soon. What season are we in now? Winter! We are going to be doing an experiment about the precipitation we experience in winter snow. First, lets read a book about winter. While I am reading this book I want you to listen for things you do not know about this season and snow. Remember these facts because after we read the book we will discuss it by doing a Line Up. (masters attached page 8) The Story of Snow by Mark Cassino

Explore Students will expand on what they learned in The Story of Snow by Mark Casssino, by doing a 4 day long experiment on the concept of snow. Prior to beginning the experiment, students will work in groups, brainstorming what they know and questions they have about snow. In groups of 4, students will go outside once a day to take pictures of the snow and/or snowflakes to explore the question of Do all snowflakes look different?. Each day, every group will take their own pictures (about 5 or more), use tools to gather data (with assistance) and write down their observations on their observation worksheet (attached page 12). On the fifth day, students will use their data and elaborate on it. (masters attached page 8&9) Hypothesis: Snowflakes are unique and different from each other. o o o o Explain Vocabulary Words: Use attached word map. o o o o o o Winter Spring Summer Fall Precipitation Temperature
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Camera (1 for each group) Thermometer (1 for each group) Kestral (1 for each group) Observation worksheet

o Thermometer o Meteorologist Is the weather in each seasons different or the same? Thats right, it is different! How do you know the weather is different? Does anyone know why it is different? This is tricky, but it varies based on the position of the Earth to the Sun. We will be learning about this more in depth in a few weeks. How do you know what the weather when you wake up in the morning? Does anyone watch the news? When we watch the news a Meteorologist tells us what the weather will be like. This allows us to dress the right way and plan what we will do. Today we are going to learn about the differences in the four seasons. As a class, we will a book called Seasons of the Year by Margaret Hall, about the four different seasons. Afterwards we will do an instructional strategy called 4 corners in relationship to the different seasons. Following this strategy there will be instruction on the specifics of the 4 seasons and they will complete a What did you Learn? worksheet. (masters attached page 9). o Students will go to the corner that represents their favorite season. In each corner there will be a packet of pictures that represent all of the seasons. Students will have to find the pictures that represent their season. They will then report it to the class. (Pictures for the game attached page 13 &14 ) o Next read, Seasons of the Year. o Weather in Fall o Months: September, October, November o Temperature: Throughout the months of Fall, the temperature gradually becomes colder. In the month of September, when we start school, it is still warm outside. By October, it is cool and we need to wear a coat to school. Normally by November it is cold outside and we must wear a scarf and sometimes a winter coat and gloves. To measure the temperature we use a thermometer. Has anyone ever used a thermometer before? This tool measures the temperature of the air. o Precipitation: Due to the cooler temperatures, there is normally only rain because temperatures have not dropped below freezing. However, it is very likely that the temperatures will become cold enough in November to cause snow, sleet, or freezing rain. o Wind: Wind varies in the winter depending on the precipitation. o Sunlight: Fall is known as an equinox. During this equinox there is about the same amount of day as there is night. o Characteristics: Throughout Fall the leaves on trees begin to change and many plants begin to die off as they become dormant for the winter seasons. Because of the cold temperatures and little sunlight plants cannot survive so they drop their leaves and go to sleep for the winter. o Tools: Temperature Thermometer Cloud cover Eyes (chart to distinguish different types) Precipitation A Rain Gauge Wind Kestrel o Weather in Winter o Months: December, January, February

o Temperature: In Winter the temperature is usually much colder than any other time of year. Who knows what temperature it needs to be to snow? 32 degrees Fahrenheit which is known as freezing. At this temperature we can see the normal precipitate in Winter. Who knows what that is? o Precipitate: The normal precipitate in winter is called snow, but we also see hail, sleet, and freezing rain. Snow occurs when the air inside the clouds is cold below freezing and the rain freezes forming ice crystals. If the temperature is still colder below the clouds, the precipitate will remain as an ice crystal, which we call snow. o Wind: When it is really snow what usually happens with it? It is windy! o Sunlight: Winter is known as a Solstice which means that there is more night than day. Think about how early it gets dark in the Winter. o Characteristics: In Winter there is a lot of snow which causes the trees and plants to go dormant. Many animals, like bears, will also go into hibernation to protect themselves in the immense cold of Winter. Schools are also cancelled a lot due to severe snow storms, which gives students more time to go sledding and build snowmen. o Tools: Temperature Thermometer Cloud cover Eyes (chart to distinguish different types) Precipitation A Rain Gauge Wind Kestrel o Weather in Spring o Months: March, April, May o Temperature: What kind of clothes do you normally wear in the Spring? Why? The temperature varies greatly from very cold to warm to even hot. Some days can be cold and snowy and others can be warm. The o Precipitate: What kind of precipitate do you normally experience in the Spring? Typically rain which causes severe thunderstorms and tornadoes. Some years extreme snow storms have occurred in Spring. o Wind: Wind varies greatly depending on the day; from very windy to calm. o Sunlight: Spring is known as an Equinox meaning that there is an equal amount of day and night. o Characteristics: Spring is important for the re-growth of plants, like plants and trees. Without the immense amount of rain and increasing temperature and sunlight plants would not be able to grow and survive. Birds start chirping and making nests as they begin to migrate back to Michigan. o Tools: Temperature Thermometer Cloud cover Eyes (chart to distinguish different types) Precipitation A Rain Gauge Wind Kestrel o Weather in Summer o Months: June, July, August

o Temperature: What type of clothes do you wear in the summer? What kind of temperatures do you think we get in the Summer then? Thats right, it is very hot, with temperatures between 70 and 100 degrees!! o Precipitate: In the summer there is usually only rain and typically not very much rain. This means that summers are hot and dry. o Wind: There is usually only a small calm breeze in the summer except when a storm is approaching and the wind will begin to pick up. o Sunlight: Summer is known as a solstices. This solstice is the opposite of the one that occurs in Winter because during this solstice there is more day than night. The sun is much higher in the sky. o Characteristics: Plants and animals are active and alive. There is no school and a lot of outdoor activities to participate in. o Tools: Temperature Thermometer Cloud cover Eyes (chart to distinguish different types) Precipitation A Rain Gauge Wind Kestrel

Scientific Background
Fall: Autumn is the season that follows summer and precedes winter. It begins with the September equinox and ends with the Winter Solstice. During autumn days begin to get shorter while nights increase in length. In the 1500s autumn was known as a time for harvest because it was when all the fruits and vegetables were ready to be harvested. Some of the foods that were harvested during autumn included berries, corn, apples, and pumpkins. During these times people had to store the harvested food in order to survive the winter. Autumn is also the time of year where the leaves begin to change color and fall off of the trees due to the drop in temperature caused by the rotating earth. Winter: Winter is the season that follows fall and precedes spring. It begins when autumn ends with the Winter Solstice. During the season of winter daylight hours are the shortest in length because of the Earths tilt away from the sun. The shortest day of the year happens during the winter season this day is the winter solstice. This happens when the sun is furthest away from the equator. During the winter temperatures drop due to the Earth tilting away from the sun. In the northern hemisphere there tends to be an accumulation of snow and ice during the winter. Snowflakes have radial six sided symmetry. During the winter season trees have no leaves and it is hard for animals to find food in order to survive. However, there are many animals that hibernate during the winter season such as bears and snakes Spring: The first day of spring in the U.S. is considered to be around March 21, the day the vernal equinox occurs. The vernal equinox, also known as the first point of Aries, is the point at which the sun appears to cross the celestial equator from south to north. It marks the beginning of spring in the Northern Hemisphere. Daylight occurs longer than night on the vernal equinox. There are a few reasons for that. Sunrise occurs when the top of the sun (not the center) is on the horizon. But the sun actually appears to be above the horizon when it is in fact still below it. Thats because Earths atmosphere refracts or bends light coming from the sun, so we see the sun a couple of minutes before it actually rises over the horizon. If you add the daylight that persists after sunset, youll find the day on the equinox is several minutes longer than the night.
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In the United States, spring is a time of transition not only for plant and animal life, but for the weather too. It can mean weather extremes from very cold and snowy days to humid and stormy days. Some of the country's biggest snowfalls have occurred in March, and the period from March to May is the time of year when much of the south is most likely to get severe thunderstorms with hail and even tornadoes. This is why the beginning of spring is a good time to put together a plan for what you and your family would do in case of a severe thunderstorm or tornado. Summer: Seasonal changes are due to Earths tilt on its axis. Earth is tilted at a 23.5 degree angle as it rotates each day and orbits the Sun each year. This tilt causes different areas of the Earth to be subject to differing amounts of solar radiation from the sun during different times of the year. The amount of solar radiation an area experiences determines its season. Below is a diagram of the Earths orbit around the sun. The seasons that are labeled are for the northern hemisphere. During the summer season in the northern hemisphere, Earth is tilted towards the Sun. This means that the northern hemisphere receives more incoming solar radiation than the southern hemisphere, and thus experiences warmer temperatures, and longer periods of daylight each day than the southern hemisphere during the same period. When it is summer in the northern hemisphere it is winter in the southern hemisphere. Likewise, when the southern hemisphere is experiencing summer, the northern hemisphere is experiencing winter. The summer solstice for the northern hemisphere occurs around June 21st each year. This event marks when the northern hemisphere of Earth is most tilted towards the Sun, and results in the longest period of daylight of the year. In the southern hemisphere, June 21st marks the winter solstice, or the shortest period of daylight. The summer solstice for the southern hemisphere occurs around December 21st, and marks the winter solstice in the northern hemisphere. Elaborate To wrap up the unit and tie everything together, we will finish the experiment and connect it to learning about the four seasons. Each student will create a foldable using the pictures and information they collected throughout the week. The foldable will represent 3 days of data collections. They will then look at pictures, taken by professionals, of snowflakes, to re-enforce the overall idea, that all snowflakes are unique. This will be done by reading the book called The Secret Life Of a Snowflake by Kenneth Libbrecht that shows professional illustrations of snowflakes. Students will be instructed to count the number of sides each snow flake has to enforce the fact that all snowflakes have six sides. Discuss what they have learned and if there are any questions so far. Then practice presenting foldables in groups (masters attached page 9) The Secret Life Of a Snowflake by Kenneth Libbrecht

Evaluate Naturally, the lesson has many assessments built into it to allow the teacher and students to make sure each person is on track and on their way to mastering the important concepts. During the Engage, students participated in a diagnostic assessment during the KWL chart, while discussing the introductory vocabulary, and doing the Line-up activity. Students also did a formative assessment during the explore where the teacher was able to track their ability to use scientific tools to collect data. The four seasons matching game during 4
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corners and What did you Learn worksheet were also types of formative assessment that took place during primary instruction (explain). Creating the foldable with the information they collected, formatively assessed their ability to come to a conclusion based on data they collected. After elaboration, we will gather as a class to finish the KWL and clear up any final questions or confusions. There will also be an exit card to bring all information covered to a close. (attached page 19 )To conclude the lesson, students will present their foldable project. (masters attached page 9, 10, 15, 16)

Procedure Masters
Engage: Line up: 1. Provide 5 minutes for students to reflect and think about what they learned from the snow book. 2. Have the children form 2 lines so that each person is standing across from a friend. 3. Have Line A share something new they learned and something they are questioning to their friend in Line B. Then have Line B share the same to Line A. 4. Have either Line A or B shift down 1 person so they are across from a different friend. Then repeat the sharing process. 5. Repeat these steps until satisfied. Explore 1. Count off by fours to form random snow project groups. 2. In groups have the students engage in collaborative discussion or what they know about snow, what they like or dont like about snow, questions they have, and how it relates to Winter, etc. (Write these questions on the board so they remember what to talk about). 3. Teacher: Can each group share what they talked about?. That was really great collaborative discussion. Each group generated some really great questions which we will answer soon. So based on what you talked about does everyone think all snowflakes are the same or different looking? Lets explore this idea and do an experiment. Over the next five days we will go outside once a day in the groups you are in to take pictures with a camera of snowflakes and use other tools to collect data. On Friday we will be putting together a project that will pull together all the information we gather. Next Monday you will present your individual project to the class, this will be the only thing that is graded, but remember to take really good observations and pictures so you have a really good project at the end. 4. There will be a job for each person in the group when we go outside, so every person is important. a. Job 1: Picture Person Takes at least 5 pictures of snowflakes b. Job 2: Temperature Taker Uses a thermometer (and digital) to figure out the temperature c. Job 3: Wind Writer Uses a kestrel to write down the speed of the wind d. Job 4: Cloud Catcher Looks up to see if it is cloudy or not 5. When we go outside I will give each group a camera, thermometer, and kestral. Each person will get a day to do each job, so no arguing. Try to take pictures of a single snowflake or a few snowflakes together. You may have to pick up some snow and lay it out on a clear area to do this. If you need help
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reading the thermometer come to me and I will help you. Also, if you have trouble using the kestrel I will help you with it too. We will be spending fifteen minutes outside doing this. 6. When you finish taking pictures, hand me your camera and I will give each of you an observation paper to start working on. 7. We will then come inside, finish the worksheet, and discuss how picture taking went. 8. We will finish up with the project on Friday look at Elaborate Explain: 1. Read the book about the four seasons 2. Have students separate into each of the four corners based on the season they like, they dont like, etc. 3. At each corner there is a baggy of pictures that has pictures about each of the four seasons? Can you name these seasons for me again? Correct: Winter, Spring, Summer, Fall. Look at the sign that says what corner you are again. Based on the corner you are in, you will find the pictures that represent your season. Work together as a group on this! Have fun! 4. Teach Vocabulary words using word map 5. Explain each of the four seasons (information is above). 6. Have the students complete a What did I Learn? worksheet. This is a formative assessment. Elaborate: Project Procedure: 1. Today we will be finishing up our snow projects. To do so, we will be making a foldable (show example). This is going to be your final project for this lesson and it will be graded based on your presentation to the class on Monday and the information on the foldable. Here is the rubric on how you will be graded so you know what you should be doing. (Hand out rubric). 2. Lets go over what you need to include on your foldable. a. You will be making three of these so pick three of your favorite pictures. b. Pick out three pieces of paper. c. Lets make the triangles together. Follow what I do. d. On one side of each triangle, glue a picture, like this. e. On the other side write your observations this is the date, temperature, wind, and cloud cover for the day of the picture. f. On the last side write one thing you like to do in the snow. If you need help writing this, ask a friend or ask me! g. Finally we will pull a piece of string through the tops of each. 3. On Monday you will present these to your classmates. Lets get started!! Instruction: 1. Based on your projects, do all snowflakes look the same? Exactly, they are all unique, but they all have six sides. 2. Lets count the sides of the snowflakes to make sure. (Snowflake count sheet page 17) 3. Lets look at some professional photographs of snowflakes. (show pictures from book) 4. What did you observe about these snowflakes?
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5. Do you think that snow is important in everyday life? 6. Do you think it is an important aspect of the water cycle? Connect to outside factor a. Lets look at a picture of the water cycle (attached page 18) b. Where does snow fit in? c. Work through the water cycle together d. What would happen if we didnt have snow/precipitate? Could we have a complete water cycle? e. How do the other seasons fit in? Explain this to me 7. Does anyone have any questions or confusions about what we have learned so far? This can be about the project, snow, the four seasons, anything at all! 8. Exit Card: Write the names of the 4 seasons. Write thing you know about each season. Write what you learned by doing the snow project. 9. Lets practice presenting our foldables to our group members Evaluate 1. Finish the KWL chart as class and review any unclear topics. 2. After reviewing the rubric, students will present their projects.

How to Order Necessary Tools

Kestrel: http://www.kestrelmeters.com/home.jsp Price ranges from $74 - $300 Disposable Camera: http://store.kodak.com/store/ekconsus/en_US/list/Single_Use_Cameras/categoryID.28889900 Priced as low as $5.20 Scientific Camera (used by Ken Libbrecht): http://www.its.caltech.edu/~atomic/snowcrystals/photo2/photo2.htm
Digital Zoom Camera (used by us): zPix MM-640 Amazon.com new for 89.99 or used for 39.99

Laptop or school computer to put pictures on Printing pictures: $ 0.10 at Walgreens

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Name:______________________________ Date:_______________________________

My Observations
Directions: For each of the four days fill out this worksheet by circling the right answer or filling in the blank. You will need to share the information you gathered with your group members. If you need help, ask a friend or ask the teacher. Have fun collecting data!

1. When I look up at the sky I see A lot of clouds Some clouds, some sky No clouds

2. When I hold out my hand A lot of snow falls on it Some snow falls on it No snow falls on it

3. The type of precipitation is Snow Hail Sleet Freezing Rain Rain

4. When I my hand in the air I feel A lot of wind Some wind No wind

5. The temperature is between 10 15 degrees 15 20 degrees 20 25 degrees 25- 30 (or above)

6. A type of animal I see is ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 7. Something interesting I observed is ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Nice job collecting such wonderful data! You made some awesome observations!
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Pictures
Autumn:

Winter:

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Spring:

Summer:

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Name: _________________________________ Date: __________________________________

Snow Project Presentation Rubric

I know what I am doing
There were 3 foldables Each foldable had a different picture Each foldable contained the observation facts. Each foldable had an interesting fact I learned. I explained the project to the best of my ability My voice was loud enough for everyone to hear me. My foldable shows effort and creativity put into the creation.

I am on the right track

There were 2 foldables Only 2 foldables had pictures Only 2 foldables contained the observation facts.

I need some help

There was 1 or no foldables Only 1 or no foldables had pictures Only 1 or no foldables contained the observation facts. Only 2 foldables had an Only 1 or no foldables had interesting fact I learned. an interesting fact I learned. I could have explained the I did not explain the project better. project. My voice was loud enough My voice was very hard to for some people to hear me hear. My foldable shows some My foldable does not show effort and creativity. any effort or creativity.

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Name: _________________________________ Date: __________________________________

Self- Evaluation
Directions: Complete the evaluation below of your foldable snow project. This evaluation is not graded and will not affect your grade, so try to answer honestly. Thanks, good luck! 1. The hardest part for me was... _____________________________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________________________ 2. The easiest part for me was _____________________________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________________________ 3. My favorite part of the project was _____________________________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________________________ 4. I think I deserve a __________________________ on this project because _____________________________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________________________ 5. By doing this project, I learned _____________________________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________________________

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See if you can count the number of sides each snowflake has!

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The Water cycle

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Exit Card:
List the 4 Seasons.

Write 1 characteristic about EACH seasons.

Write 1 thing you learned by doing the experiment.

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