Classroom Implementation Strategy Template

Due Date: DRAFT or OUTLINE due Before Departing for the Expedition

FINAL due 1 Year After Returning from the Expedition

Title / Antarctic Weather Stations: Why They’re Important to Me
Subject / Physics
Grade Level / Grades 11, 12
“Big Ideas”
Overview of National Standards / The focus will be on physical sciences as well as environmental sciences.
Your State’s Performance Standards / (2)Scientific processes. The student uses a systematic approach to answer scientific laboratory and field investigative questions. The student is expected to:
(B)know that scientific hypotheses are tentative and testable statements that must be capable of being supported or not supported by observational evidence. Hypotheses of durable explanatory power which have been tested over a wide variety of conditions are incorporated into theories;
(C)know that scientific theories are based on natural and physical phenomena and are capable of being tested by multiple independent researchers. Unlike hypotheses, scientific theories are well-established and highly-reliable explanations, but may be subject to change as new areas of science and new technologies are developed;
(D)distinguish between scientific hypotheses and scientific theories;
(E)design and implement investigative procedures, including making observations, asking well-defined questions, formulating testable hypotheses, identifying variables, selecting appropriate equipment and technology, and evaluating numerical answers for reasonableness;
(J)organize and evaluate data and make inferences from data, including the use of tables, charts, and graphs;
(K)communicate valid conclusions supported by the data through various methods such as lab reports, labeled drawings, graphic organizers, journals, summaries, oral reports, and technology-based reports; and
(L)express and manipulate relationships among physical variables quantitatively, including the use of graphs, charts, and equations.
(3)Scientific processes. The student uses critical thinking, scientific reasoning, and problem solving to make informed decisions within and outside the classroom. The student is expected to:
(A)in all fields of science, analyze, evaluate, and critique scientific explanations by using empirical evidence, logical reasoning, and experimental and observational testing, including examining all sides of scientific evidence of those scientific explanations, so as to encourage critical thinking by the student;
(B)communicate and apply scientific information extracted from various sources such as current events, news reports, published journal articles, and marketing materials.
(6)Science concepts. The student knows that changes occur within a physical system and applies the laws of conservation of energy and momentum. The student is expected to:
(E)describe how the macroscopic properties of a thermodynamic system such as temperature, specific heat, and pressure are related to the molecular level of matter, including kinetic or potential energy of atoms;
(F)contrast and give examples of different processes of thermal energy transfer, including conduction, convection, and radiation.
Internet Links/Resources / Automatic Weather Stations: http://uwamrc.ssec.wisc.edu/aws/
Major Events or Activities: “The Learning Plan” / • Introduce students to global warming through a
current event newspaper article from Newsela
• Develop a PowerPoint presentation on weather and climate
highlighting the meaning of these quantities, how they are
measured, and how they are evaluated over time
• The class will be subdivided into five separate groups with
each group responsible for one of the following weather
variables: temperature, pressure, wind speed, relative
humidity, and UV radiation.
• Students will routinely measure their assigned weather
quantities for their city using a weather station on a daily
basis for six weeks. Students will also simultaneously
observe similar data from Antarctica using a data platform
the University of Wisconsin.
• Students will analyze their collected data over the six-weeks
period and make observations from the graphed data. They
will then present their data and their findings based on their
observations into a formal report and a professional poster
presentation.
Essential Questions / 1)  What technology is used to collect weather data?
2)  How is weather different from climate?
3)  How does weather/climate in Antarctica impact global environment?
Safety Considerations / None
Assessment / Assessment Plan: I plan to do weekly formative assessments through quizzes as well as weekly reviews of progress on the overall goals of the project. The final summative assessment will be the development of a formal written report and a PowerPoint presentation of each group’s results.
5 E Inquiry Model / Engage / • Show a video of Antarctica profiling the extreme weather conditions
• Use a loaned ECW kit to show the students and have them wear clothing worn by scientists in Antarctica
Explore / • Demonstrate a weather station and allowing the students to explore each of the sensors that make up the weather station and to collect data over an extended period of time.
Explain / • Graph weather data consisting of several variables (such as temperature, pressure, relative humidity and wind speed) over time and inspect the graph making comparisons as well as identifying maximum/minimum values
Extend / • Compare similar data with real data acquired from weather stations from Antarctica
Evaluate / • Students will create a report and formal presentation of their findings.
Strategies or other information (optional)
Documentation of Resources / Will search for video files of Antarctica weather from YouTube and data from Antarctica will be collected from the University of Wisconsin at Madison.