Lesson 39: Wind and Cloud Coverage 1 Day

Lesson 39: Wind and Cloud Coverage 1 Day

State Standard
2.8 Earth and Space. The student knows that there are recognizable patterns in the natural world. The student is expected to:
(A) measure, record, and graph weather information including temperature, wind
conditions, precipitation and cloud coverage in order to identify patterns in the
data. F
(B) identify the importance of weather and seasonal information to make choices in
clothing, activities and transportation. F
(C)explore the processes in the water cycle including evaporation, condensation and
precipitation as connected to weather conditions. F
F = Foundation Standards
Statement of Learning Objective
Thestudent willunderstand that weather elements can be observed and measured.
Essential Question
How can we measure and identify patterns in wind and clouds?
Vocabulary:
clouds, cloud coverage, wind, wind vane
Materials
Engage: no materials needed
Explore: pinwheels, leaves, flag flying to view, science notebook
Explain:wind vanes, paper to draw an illustration of a wind vane
Elaborate:no materials needed
Evaluate: exit ticket
Common Learner Misconceptions
Misconception / Correction Statement

Clouds form from smoke.

Clouds move because we move.

Clouds form from cooled water vapor, which changes states to form tiny drops of water.
Wind blows clouds to new locations.

Safety Issues
Students should follow all teacher directions on the nature walk.
Teacher Background
This lesson focuses on wind, cloud cover, and using a wind vane for measuring wind direction.
Wind is the movement of air. We measure wind by the direction it is blowing. Wind can blow from the north, south, east, or west, or any point in between. Wind is also measured by its speed. There can be conditions with no wind all the way up to conditions with very strong winds. You can tell that wind is blowing by itsvisible effects, such as a flag blowing, etc.
Knowing the direction of the wind is an important part of predicting weather because wind brings us our weather. Awind vane, also called a weather vane, is a tool for measuring wind direction and was probably one of the first weather instruments ever used. To determine wind direction, a wind vane spins and points in the direction from which the wind is coming and generally has two parts, or ends: one that is usually shaped like an arrow and turns into the wind and one end that is wider so that it catches the breeze. The arrow will point to the direction the wind is blowing from so if it is pointing to the east, it means the wind is coming from the east. Additionally, wind direction is the direction where the wind is blowing from. Therefore a west wind is blowing from the west. To use a wind vane, you must know where north, south, east, and west are.
Clouds are a collection of very tiny droplets of water or ice crystals. The droplets are so small and light that they can float in the air. How are clouds formed? All air contains water, but near the ground it is usually in the form of an invisible gas called water vapor. Cool air can’t hold as much water vapor as warm air, so some of the vapor condenses onto tiny pieces of dust that are floating in the air and forms a tiny droplet around each dust particle. When billions of these droplets come together they become a visible cloud. Meteorologists rank clouds according to their height and whether or not they are flat or puffy. This You Tube video has great information about clouds for teachers but may be too advanced for second graders.
Be sure to allow appropriate wait time and use randomness in your questioning opportunities to prompt student thinking and promote participation.
Weather Tracking Booklets Students will have completed the weather-tracking portion of their booklets, so information from these pages can be used to show the fluctuation in wind and cloud cover from day to day and even hour to hour of a day. You can go online to various weather or news sites and show these conditions, too. The pages entitled “Weather Tracking Calendar,” “Weather Words,” and “Weather Tools” should be referenced during this lesson.
Science Notebooks provide an excellent method for recording experiences and observations as well as self-reflection on understanding and related questions. Utilize various strategies to incorporate student note-taking and written responses throughout science lessons. Incorporate opportunities for students to practice organizing information using graphic organizers.
Consider using a variety of instructional strategies throughout the lesson to maintain student engagement and optimize participation and time management. As with most science lessons, you will be practicing a collaboration skill that you should work on with your students for the next few weeks. Some good ones to use to start the year off might be participating and working well with others. There is more information about these in the introduction section of your grade level science curriculum on iXplore.

Day 1

ENGAGE Time: 2min.
Activities/Events
Teacher Directions / Guiding Questions

Show students the short video of people trying to walk in gusty wind from Engage 1.

Why are the people having a hard time walking?
Has this ever happened to you?

EXPLORE Time: 20min.
Activities/Events
Teacher Directions / Guiding Questions

Place some of the wind words from Explore 1 around the room and have students go to the words they think described the wind in the video. Students at each word will tell why they chose to stand there.
Show Explore 1, a list of wind words and allow students to have a conversation about the words and their meanings.
Using Explore 2-4, students will work with partners to describe and sketch what they think the clouds and wind are like on a clear day, a partly cloudy day, and a cloudy day.
Take a nature walk with the students to experience wind and clouds.
Have students complete these activities outside during the nature walk:

Have students form a circle, facing each other. Then have students turn to face outside the circle observe the clouds that are right in front of or above them. Students will sketch their observations and share them with a partner.
Walk to a place where students can observe the USA flagin the schoolyard. Have them describe how it moves in their notebook
Drop a handful of leaves and describe their movement in the wind
Have students hold a pinwheel into the wind and describe the speed of its movement.

Show students the wind vane while the class is outside, hold them into the wind, and observe which direction the wind is blowing from.
In the classroom, review student's observations from their nature walk using Explore 6-9.

How would you describe the wind in the video? (strong, gusting)
How much of the sky was covered by clouds?
How could you describe the cloudiness of the sky? (clear, partly cloudy, cloudy)
What do you think clouds have to do with weather? (They can indicate no rain will fall because the sky is clear. They can indicate rain could fall when the sky is completely cloudy and gray.)

How can these help us determine how windy it is? (We can tell the speed of the wind by how the flag, leaves, or pinwheel is moving.)
What is moving the flag, pinwheel, leaves, and the clouds? (wind)
Have you ever spent time outside looking at clouds?
Have you ever noticed that clouds look different?
What do you think clouds tell us? (Clouds can help indicate weather.)

EXPLAIN Time: 20 min.
Activities/Events
Teacher Directions / Guiding Questions

Have students refer back to their work with partners to describe what they think the clouds and wind were like on a clear day. Use Explain 1-2 to discuss the various wind speeds and cloud formations.
Have students refer back to their work with partners to describe what they think the clouds and wind were like on a partly cloudy day. Use Explain 3-4 to discuss the various wind speeds and cloud formations.
Have students refer back to their work with partners to describe what they think the clouds and wind were like on a cloudy day. Use Explain 5-6 to discuss the various wind speeds and cloud formations.

Use Explain 7, to read and discuss with the students about windy weather.

Use Explain 8-9, to read and discuss with students how a wind vane measures the direction the wind is coming from.

Use Explain 10-11, to explain how to determine the direction of the wind.
Use Explain 12, to explain how to read a wind vane by observing the arrow and to which letter it is pointing.

Use Explain 13 to show weather tracking booklet pages that the students can complete.

Create a class anchor chart with an illustration of a wind vane with wind blowing from the north, south, east, or west.

What could the wind be like on a clear day? (The wind could be still, breezy, gusty, or strong.)
What could the clouds be like on a clear day? (There could be no clouds, puffy clouds, or feathery clouds.)
What could the wind be like on a partly cloudy day? (The wind could be still, breezy, gusty, or strong.)
What could the clouds be like on a partly cloudy day? (There could be puffy clouds, or feathery clouds.)
What could the wind be like on a cloudy day? (The wind could be still, breezy, gusty, or strong.)
What could the clouds be like on a cloudy day? (The sky would be filled with clouds. Sometimes clouds that bring thunderstorms will appear.)
What is the difference between a partly cloudy day and a cloudy day? (How much sun can be seen.)
What is wind? (moving air)
How would you describe a breeze? (light, gentle wind)
How do you know when the wind is strong? (Objects are blowing around much more than with a breeze.)
What does a wind vane measure? (the direction that the wind is blowing from)
What are the directions that are shown on a wind vane? (north, east, south, west)
How are a wind vane and a windsock the same? (They both tell wind direction.)
How do you know what direction the wind is coming from? (You can look at a wind vane and look at the letter where the arrow is pointing. The letter will tell you the direction the wind is coming from.)

In your weather tracking booklets, what type of cloud coverage did you record?
What are some weather words that you recorded in your booklet?
What do thermometers measure? (temperature) rain gauge? (amount of rain) wind sock and wind vane? (wind direction)
Did your wind vane stay in the same place when you took it outside? Will it always face that direction? (depends on the direction that the wind is blowing from)

ELABORATE Time: 5 min.
Activities/Events
Teacher Directions / Guiding Questions

Use Elaborate 1, a picture of an airplane shell as a wind vane.

Use Elaborate 2, a short video showing a large wind vane made from the shell of an airplane.

What do you think will happen with this airplane?
What do you notice about the airplane? (It is resting on a base.)
How did the plane move in the video? (like a wind vane – in the direction that the wind is blowing from)

EVALUATE Time: 10min.
Activities/Events
Teacher Directions / Guiding Questions

Students will complete an exit ticket with information on wind and clouds.

You can use the exitticket to determine if students are understanding the concepts of wind and clouds and how these conditions are measured.

SCIE_2_A_Les39WindandClouds_LES12014 CFISD