Background Information for Teachers

This unit was designed as a hands-on activity for students in grades 4 - 8 who have completied the weather unit.  Students will use their knowledge of weather to experience some of the tasks a meteorologist's job entails.   It is an interdisciplinary project with an emphasis on data analysis.  It incorporates math, science, and language arts.

Assessment

A variety of assessment strategies may be used  They may include, but are not limited to: journals, tests, weather prediction outcomes, oral presentations, graphs, and data analysis.

Core Curriculum Standards

The following Core Curriculum Standards are addressesd in this project:
STANDARD 1 ALL STUDENTS WILL DEVELOP CAREER PLANNING AND WORKPLACE READINESS SKILLS.
Cumulative Progress Indicator
1.  Demonstrate employability skills and work habits, such as work ethic, dependability, promptness, and getting along with others, needed to get and keep a job.

STANDARD 2  ALL STUDENTS WILL USE INFORMATION,  TECHNOLOGY, AND OTHER TOOLS.
Cumulative Progress Indicators
1.  Understand how technological systems function.
2.  Select appropriate tools and technology for specific activities.
4.  Develop, search, and manipulate databases. systems
6. Access and assess information on specific topics using both technological (e.g., computer, telephone, satellite)       and print resources available in libraries or media centers.
7.  Use technoloy and other tools to solve problems, collect data, and make decisions.

STANDARD 3  ALL STUDENTS WILL USE CRITICAL THINKING,  DECISION--MAKING, AND PROBLEM-SOLVING SKILLS.
Cumulative Progress Indicators
3.  Formulate questions and hypotheses.
4.  Identify and access resources, sources of information, and services in the school and the community. and nonprint materials
6.  Plan experiments.
7.  Conduct systematic observations.
8.  Organize, synthesize, and evaluate information for appropriateness and completeness.
9. Identify patterns and investigate relationships.
10.  Monitor and validate their own thinking.
11.  Identify and evaluate the validity of alternative solutions.
12.  Interpret and analyze data to draw conclusions.
13.  Select and apply appropriate solutions to problem-solving and decision-making situations.
14. Apply problem-solving skills to original and creative/design projects.

STANDARD 4 ALL STUDENTS WILL DEMONSTRATE SELF--MANAGEMENT SKILLS.
Cumulative Progress Indicators
1.  Set short and long term goals.
2.  Work cooperatively with others to accomplish a task.
3.  Evaluate their own actions and accomplishments.
4.  Describe constructive responses to criticism.
5.  Provide constructive criticism to others.
7.  Describe the roles people play in groups.
familiar with the rules and laws governing safety and health so that they can act responsibly implement these standards.
9.  Use time efficiently and effectively.
10.  Apply study skills to expand their own knowledge and skills.

MATHEMATICS
STANDARDS AND PROGRESS INDICATORS

STANDARD 4.1 ALL STUDENTS WILL DEVELOP THE ABILITY TO POSE AND SOLVE MATHEMATICAL PROBLEMS IN MATHEMATICS, OTHER DISCIPLINES, AND EVERYDAY EXPERIENCES.
Cumulative Progress Indicators
7.  Know when to select and how to use grade-appropriate mathematical tools and methods (including manipulative, calculators and computers, as well as mental math and paper-and-pencil techniques) as a natural and routine part of the problem-solving process.
8.  Determine, collect, organize, and analyze data needed to solve problems.
9.  Recognize that there may be multiple ways to solve a problem.
12.  Construct and use concrete, pictorial, symbolic, and graphical models to represent problem situations and effectively apply processes of mathematical modeling in mathematics and other areas.

STANDARD 4.2 ALL STUDENTS WILL COMMUNICATE MATHEMATICALLY THROUGH WRITTEN, ORAL, SYMBOLIC, AND VISUAL FORMS OF EXPRESSION.
Cumulative Progress Indicators
3.  Represent and communicate mathematical ideas through the use of learning tools such as calculators, computers, and manipulative.
4.  Engage in mathematical brainstorming and discussions by asking questions, making conjectures, and suggesting strategies for solving problems. conclusions.
8.  Analyze, evaluate, and explain mathematical arguments and conclusions presented by others.
 

STANDARD 4.3 ALL STUDENTS WILL CONNECT MATHEMATICS TO OTHER LEARNING BY UNDERSTANDING THE INTERRELATIONSHIPS OF MATHEMATICAL ]IDEAS AND THE ROLES THAT MATHEMATICS AND MATHEMATICAL MODELING PLAY IN OTHER DISCIPLINE AND IN LIFE.
Cumulative Progress Indicators
10. Apply mathematics in their daily lives and in career-based contexts.
 

STANDARD 4.4 ALL STUDENTS WILL DEVELOP REASONING ABILITY AND WILL BECOME SELF-RELIANT, INDEPENDENT MATHEMATICAL THINKERS.
Cumulative Progress Indicators
2.  Draw logical conclusions and make generalizations.
5.  Analyze mathematical situations by recognizing and using patterns and relationships.
6.  Make conjectures based on observation and information, and test mathematical conjectures and arguments.
 
 

STANDARD 4.5  ALL STUDENTS WILL REGULARLY AND ROUTINELY USE CALCULATORS, COMPUTERS, MANIPULATIVE,, AND OTHER MATHEMATICAL TOOLS TO ENHANCE MATHEMATICAL THINKING, UNDERSTANDING, AND POWER.
Cumulative Progress Indicators
1. Use a variety of tools to measure mathematical and physical objects in the world around them.
6.Use a variety of technologies to evaluate and validate problem solutions, and to investigate the properties of functions and their graphs.
7. Use computer spreadsheets and graphing programs to organize and display quantitative information and to investigate properties of functions.

 STANDARD 4.9 ALL STUDENTS WILL DEVELOP AN UNDERSTANDING OF AND WILL USE MEASUREMENT TO DESCRIBE AND ANALYZE PHENOMENA.
Cumulative Progress Indicators
1.  Use and describe measures of length, distance, capacity, weight, area, volume, time, and temperature.
2.  Compare and order objects according to some measurable attribute.
3.  Recognize the need for a uniform unit of measure.
4.  Develop and use personal referents for standard units of measure (such as the width of a finger to approximate a centimeter).
5.  Select and use appropriate standard and non-standard units of measurement to solve real-life problems.
6. Understand and incorporate estimation and repeated measures in measurement activities.
7. Read and interpret various scales, including those based on number lines and maps.
8. Determine the degree of accuracy needed in a given situation and choose units accordingly.
10.  Understand that all measurements of continuous quantities are approximate.
11.  Develop formulas and procedures for solving problems related to measurement.
12.  Explore situations involving quantities which cannot be measured directly or conveniently.
13.  Convert measurement units from one form to another, and carry out calculations that involve various units of measurement.
14.  Understand and apply measurement in their own lives and in other subject areas.
 

STANDARD 4.11 ALL STUDENTS WILL DEVELOP AN UNDERSTANDING OF PATTERNS, RELATIONSHIPS, AND FUNCTIONS AND WILL USE THEM TO REPRESENT AND EXPLAIN REAL-WORLD PHENOMENA.
Cumulative Progress Indicators
1.  Reproduce, extend, create, and describe patterns and sequences using a variety of materials.
2.  Use tables, rules, variables, open sentences, a.  Use concrete and pictorial models to explore the basic nd graphs to describe patterns and other relationships.
4.  Observe and explain how a change in one physical quantity can produce a corresponding change in another.
5.  Observe and recognize examples of patterns, relationships, and functions in other disciplines and contexts.
6.  Form and verify generalizations based on observations of patterns and relationships.
 
 

STANDARD 4.12 ALL STUDENTS WILL DEVELOP AN UNDERSTANDING OF STATISTICS AND PROBABILITY AND WILL USE THEM TO DESCRIBE SETS OF DATA, MODEL SITUATIONS, AND SUPPORT APPROPRIATE INFERENCES AND ARGUMENTS.
Cumulative Progress Indicators
1.  Formulate and solve problems that involve collecting, organizing, and analyzing data.
3.  Make inferences and formulate hypotheses based on data.
4.  Understand and informally use the concepts of range, mean, mode, and median.
5.  Construct, read, and interpret displays of data such as pictographs, bar graphs, circle graphs, tables, and lists.
9. Generate, collect, organize, and analyze data and represent this data in tables, charts, and graphs.
10. Select and use appropriate graphical representations and measures of central tendency  (mean, mode and median) for sets of data.
11. Make inferences and formulate and evaluate arguments based on data analysis and data displays.
12.  Use lines of best fit to interpolate and predict from data.
14.  Use models of probability to predict events based on actual data.
15.   Interpret probabilities as ratios and percents.

SCIENCE
STANDARDS AND PROGRESS INDICATORS

STANDARD 5.1 ALL STUDENTS WILL LEARN TO IDENTIFY SYSTEMS OF INTERACTING COMPONENTS AND UNDERSTAND HOW THEIR INTERACTIONS COMBINE TO PRODUCE THE OVERALL BEHAVIOR OF THE SYSTEM
Cumulative Progress Indicators
1.  Recognize that most things are made of components that, when assembled, can do things they could not do separately.
2.  Recognize that since the components of a system usually influence one another, a system may not work if a component is missing.
3. Diagram the components of a system
4.  Describe components of a system and how they influence one another.
5.  Recognize that most systems are components of larger systems and that the output of one component can become the input to other components

STANDARD 5.2 ALL STUDENTS WILL DEVELOP PROBLEM-SOLVING, DECISION-MAKING, AND INQUIRY SKILLS REFLECTED BY FORMULATING USABLE QUESTIONS AND HYPOTHESES, PLANNING EXPERIMENTS, CONDUCTING SYSTEMATIC OBSERVATIONS, INTERPRETING AND ANALYZING DATA, DRAWING CONCLUSIONS, AND COMMUNICATING RESULTS
Cumulative Progress Indicators
2.  Develop strategies and skills for information-gathering and problem-solving, using appropriate tools and technologies.
3.  Use technology to present the design and results of investigation.
4.  Keep a journal record of observations, recognizing patterns of observations and summarizing findings.
8.  Collect and organize data to support the results of an experiment.
9. Communicate experimental findings using words, charts, graphs, pictures, and diagrams.

STANDARD 5.4 ALL STUDENTS WILL DEVELOP AN UNDERSTANDING OF TECHNOLOGY AS AN APPLICATION OF SCIENTIFIC PRINCIPLES.
Cumulative Progress Indicators
1.  Develop skill in the use of tools for everyday purposes.
2.  Demonstrate how tools are used to do things better and more easily or to do tasks that could not otherwise be done.
4.  Find and report on examples of how technology helps people
5.  Describe how tools of today are different from those of the past but may be modifications of ancient tools.
6.  Describe how technology expands the ability of scientists and others to make measurements and observations.
8.  Explain how engineers and others apply scientific knowledge to solve practical problems

STANDARD 5.10 ALL STUDENTS WILL GAIN AN UNDERSTANDING OF THE STRUCTURE, DYNAMICS, AND GEOPHYSICAL SYSTEMS OF THE EARTH.
Cumulative Progress Indicators
1.  Recognize and demonstrate the use of different kinds of maps..
3.  Identify major sources and uses of water, discussing the forms in which it appears.
4.  Collect and record weather data to identify existing weather conditions, and recognize how those conditions affect our daily lives.
5.  Compare different map projections, and explain how physical features are represented on each.
9.  Monitor local weather conditions and changes in the atmosphere that lead to weather system.

STANDARD 5.12 ALL STUDENTS WILL DEVELOP AN UNDERSTANDING OF THE ENVIRONMENT AS A SYSTEM OF INTERDEPENDENT COMPONENTS AFFECTED BY HUMAN ACTIVITY AND NATURAL PHENOMENA.
Cumulative Progress Indicators
2.  Explain how meeting human requirements affects the environment.
3.  Recognize that natural resources are not always renewable.
4.  Evaluate the impact of personal and societal activities on the local and global environment.
5.  Compare and contrast practices that affect the use and management of natural resources.
6.  Recognize that individuals and groups may have differing points of view on environmental issues.