Part I: Subject/Topic

The theme of this unit is on weather and seasons. We will be exploring the different aspects of seasons and the weather behavior in the seasons. The content of this unit will cover seasons, temperature, wind, clouds, storms, storm safety, animal behavior, and how weather effects the environment. Homeschooled students in the kindergarten and first grade are the target audience for this unit. We will be teaching eight, 40 minute lessons, which would average out to two weeks in our classroom.

Part II: Rationale/ Purpose

This unit will be pertinent to the students’ awareness of the environment that affects their daily lives. It is important for the students to understand the different facets weather and seasons and how they are interconnected. The students understanding of how to dress appropriately for weather, how to stay safe in different types of severe weather, and how weather changes the world around them; are important concepts for our students’ day to day life and safety. Our philosophy of education is to provide hands on interactive learning where the students are actively engaged in constructing their own knowledge.

Part III: Identification of Goals and Objectives

General Goals:

  • TLW be able to examine the type of weather and temperature in each season to determine what to wear.
  • TLW be able to recognize the different components of weather.
  • TLW be able to apply appropriate safety precautions in severe weather.
  • TLW be able to explain how weather changes the behavior of people and animals.

State and Local Goals:

  • II.1.ee.2: Show how science concepts can be illustrated through creative expression such as languages arts and fine arts
  • V.3.ee.2: Describe seasonal changes in Michigan’s weather
  • I.1.ee.3: Manipulate simple devises the aid observation and data collection
  • V.3.ee.1: Describe weather conditions
  • V.3.ee.3: Explain appropriate safety precautions during severe weather

Major Objectives:

  • TLW be able to identify four seasons when shown picture, with 4/4 accuracy.
  • TLW be able to categorize seasonal items into four trays with 80% accuracy.
  • TLW be able to describe 4 environmental conditions when presented with pictures about each season.
  • TLW be able to identify the season for eight out of ten photos, given a series of photographs about jobs/activities/and sports from different seasons
  • TLW be able to demonstrate how a thermometer works
  • TLW be able to explain what temperature is
  • TLW be able to show how the changing of temperature affects what the thermometer reads.
  • TLW define wind.
  • TLW explain that wind can be strong and calm.
  • TLW identify the measuring instrument for wind.
  • TLW observe and understand clouds form when water vapor rises
  • TLW demonstrate how a cloud is formed
  • TLW be able to identify and distinguish between four types of severe weather (tornado, thunderstorm, drought, and blizzard)
  • TLW be able to explain the affects of severe weather.
  • TLW explain the safety precautions of one type of severe weather
  • TLW describe what severe weather is
  • TLW match safety precautions with the correct type of severe weather
  • TLW show what animals do when they hibernate and/or migrate in the winter months
  • TLW be able to describe the different jobs in each photo and the importance of that job.
  • TLW be able to classify their own pictures according to categories labeled winter, spring, summer, and fall with 80% accuracy.
  • TLW be able to determine weather from watching the weather forecast and explain what they should wear according to the report.

Part IV: Unit Map Plan

Outline of daily lesson plans:

  • Fall/winter/spring/summer overview and how to dress
  • This lesson will be the introductory lesson. It will introduce the seasons and how to dress appropriately in each season.
  • Temperature/ thermometer
  • In this lesson we address how to measure the temperature in each season and how temperature changes.
  • Wind
  • This lesson focuses on how to measure wind and the different strengths of wind.
  • Clouds
  • We will focus on how clouds are formed and the specific types of clouds (i.e. storm clouds, fog, high wispy clouds, and puffy clouds)
  • Types of storms
  • This lesson addresses four main types of storms (tornado, thunderstorm, drought, and blizzard), and the season they appear in. It will build off their prior knowledge of what storm clouds look like.
  • Safety precautions
  • Using their knowledge of storms, this lesson helps students evaluate what to do and wear during each of the storms.
  • Animal behavior
  • This lesson focuses on the hibernating and migrating of animals as the seasons change, covering how animals stay safe during the different seasons.
  • Ways that weather and seasons influence our community
  • This lesson focuses on how human behavior changes as the seasons change, and how weather affects our community.

Part V: Daily Lesson Plans

Lesson Plan #1

Seasons Overview and How to Dress

Title: Exploring Seasons

Subject/Grade Level: Science K-1st

Rationale/Purpose:

  • In each geographical region, seasons have identifying characteristics. Seasonal weather changes involve things such as overall weather patterns and plants.
  • Students should know how to dress appropriately according to different weather/seasons.
  • Students should know how to identify different seasons, according to clues found during different times of the year.
  • Benchmark/Standard: MCF Science. V.3.e.2

Objectives:

  • TLW be able to identify four seasons when shown picture, with 4/4 accuracy.
  • TLW be able to categorize seasonal items into four trays with 80% accuracy.
  • TLW be able to describe 4 environmental conditions when presented with pictures about each season.

Content:

  • The teacher should be familiar with similarities and differences between seasons. The teacher should also know how the earth revolves around the sun and how distance from the sun has an impact on the changing seasons. The teacher should also be aware of how seasons are different in other parts of the world.
  • Concepts include: seasons, weather, winter, spring, summer, fall, hot, cold, snow, rain, leaves, flowers, temperature, warm, frozen, snowflakes, snowmen, plants, rain jacket, sweatshirt, snow pants, umbrella, mittens, swimsuit

Materials:

  • Text, What Makes the Seasons?, by Megan Montague Cash
  • Worksheet for students to draw item from tray
  • 4 aluminum trays or box lids per group with label for each season
  • Items for trays – magazine pictures, clothes, flowers, leaves, etc.
  • Labels for the board (with magnets on back) – winter, spring, summer, fall, and pictures of every item in their trays
  • Mr. and Mrs. Weather Bear and accessories
  • Weather pictures on poster board

Strategies and Activities:

Engage: Start the class by reading the book What Makes the Seasons? By Megan Montague Cash. Possibly tell student to pay close attention to what happens in the story because the activity we will be doing later will be about the same thing being discussed in the book. As the book is read, ask questions such as “What season do you think it is?” “What things do you see in the picture?” “What is the person wearing?” “What is happening on this page?” When the story is finished, ask the students, “Can anyone guess what our lesson might be about today?” (Possible answers: weather, seasons, winter, spring, summer, fall, etc.) “We are going to learn about the different seasons in the year.”

Explore: Before having students break into groups, show them the worksheet they will be using. The worksheet will have a picture of four trays, each tray labeled with a season. Explain to the students that they will be divided into groups of 2 or 3, by the teacher, and will sit at an area with four trays each labeled with a season, like on the worksheet (show students what the trays look like). The students will also be given a bag full of items (item can include clothes, leaves, plastic flowers, mittens, magazine cutouts of items, etc.). The items may be different in each group, or they may be similar items. Each item goes with a season. The students need to look at each item and decide among their groups which tray the item should go into. Once they have divided up all their items (or at least have one or two items per tray), the students need to draw on their worksheet one thing they put in each tray (one thing from the winter tray, one item from the fall tray, and so on). After explaining what they need to do, hand them their worksheets, put them into groups, and direct them to a learning station.

Explain: After the students have drawn something on their worksheet, go around the room and have the groups tell the class something they drew for each season. Make sure that one person from each group tells something they drew. Ask students “Why did you put that item in the winter tray? The fall tray?” “What does that tell us about that season?” “Why did your group choose to put that there?” On the board put the labels, winter, spring, summer, and fall. As the groups tell the item(s) they drew on their worksheets, place the same picture they mention under a season category on the board. When asking questions list (or put more pictures) different weather conditions on the board under the correct category as students mention them. (For example, if a student mentions hot, cold, snow, rain, etc. write that word on the board under the category). Possibly make observations about similarities between different seasons, such as rain, temperature, when you can wear a jacket, sweatshirt, etc. Also, share with students that the seasons go in a certain order. Possibly tell the students why the seasons go in order (the earth rotating around the sun, but that would be a different lesson). Note that in different seasons, we wear different things. “Why is this?” “What items did you wear today?” “What season might we be in then?” “How are seasons different?” “What happens during these seasons?” “How does this affect the way we dress?” Ask these questions and clarify any other questions.

Elaborate: Use the Mr. and Mrs. Weather Bear activity. These are bears that can be placed up front on the board, and have accessories that go to each season. Dress a bear up for a specific season and ask the class “What season is this bear ready for?” Call on students in the class to come up to the bears and dress them for another season. Also ask students to dress the bears for a particular season. Ask the class “Why does the bear need to wear this item?” “Do you know what season comes next?” “Can you dress the bears for the season that follows the season they are currently dressed for?”

Evaluate: To determine if the students understand, ask the students “How many different seasons are there?” “What are the four seasons?” Have a series of pictures on separate pieces of poster board that show people, items, or different weather conditions. Show the pictures to the students and ask the students to determine what the season might be and how to they know that it is that season. Have the class make observations about the items, people, or weather they can see in the picture. If the class can correctly determine the season by looking at picture and determining the season from the clues within the picture, they successfully have an understanding of the material.

Plans for Individual Differences:

  • Teach about how seasons are different in other parts of the world for students that may come from other places.
  • Students that do not want to work in groups can work individually.
  • Make sure centers for doing the activity are low enough for the students to reach, even if they are in wheelchairs.
  • Limit the number of items students need to organize if they are unable to complete the assignment.
  • If students struggle with ADD or the like, have them work separately until they can work efficiently with a group.

Resource used: McGraw-Hill Science Earth Science Unit 4 and Unit 5 for Kindergarten

Cross-curricular: used literature (book), art (drawing picture).

Lesson #2: Temperature

Title: Temperature

Subject/ Grade Level: Science/ K-1st

Rationale/Purpose:

  • From this lesson the students will learn what temperature is, what instrument is used to measure temperature, and how to use a thermometer to find out how warm or cold it is.
  • This is valuable to the students because it gives them background knowledge about how the temperature changes with the different seasons. It also allows them to be able to measure temperature.
  • S.e.V.3.1 Describe weather conditions

Objectives:

  • TLW be able to demonstrate how a thermometer works
  • TLW be able to explain what temperature is
  • TLW be able to show how the changing of temperature affects what the thermometer reads.

Content:

  • Background content: Temperature is the measuring of hotness or coldness in the air. The temperature changes with the changing of seasons. In the winter, it is cold and in the summer it is hot. In the fall and spring it is transitioning between hot and cold and cold and warm. There are three temperature scales are generally used today. They are: Fahrenheit, Celsius, and the Kelvin Scale.
  • Concepts: Temperature, warm, cold, Thermometer

Materials:

  • Thermometers for all students
  • Large poster thermometer
  • Red Marker
  • Copies of thermometers that they can color (six for each student)
  • Science Journals
  • Crayons, Markers, or colored pencils
  • Pencils
  • Glass beakers
  • Cold water with ice cubes
  • Warm water
  • Things that measure: measuring tape, scale, measuring cups…etc.

Strategies and Activities:

Engage:

  • Begin by showing the students several instruments that measure (i.e. measuring tape, scale, measuring cups…etc.). Have the students look at each object and tell what they think the instrument would measure and who would use the instrument. Then show the students a thermometer and tell them that today we are going to explore one of the instruments that a meteorologist, or someone who predicts weather, uses to tell us something about weather.

Explore:

  • Ask the students if they know what the thermometer would measure and what else they might know about the instrument. After getting their minds going, hand each student a thermometer. Have them look closely at the thermometer. Then have them go outside and observe what happens to the thermometer when they take it to air that is colder.

Explain:

  • Have the students come back together and talk about what they observed. Using the cardboard thermometer, have the students tell you where the red line on the thermometer was before they went outside, and where it was after they went outside. Ask them probing questions to get them to think about how the change in the warmth or coolness of the air affects the level the thermometer measures.
  • Explain to them the terms thermometer, warm, cold, and temperature. Then talk about how the temperature measures by 2’s 5’s and 10’s. Have them count with you as you show them on the big thermometer.
  • Ask them:
  • What does a thermometer tell us about weather?
  • Where would the red line be on a hot day, what about a cold day?

Elaborate:

  • Divide the students into pairs or groups of four. Give them a cup of warm water and cold water. Have them feel the water and predict where the red line of the thermometer would be by coloring in two thermometers. Then have them put the thermometer in the water and observe what happens on the thermometer in each water temperature. Have them but the thermometer in each water for 2 minutes. Have them record there findings by coloring in two more thermometers (one for each water temperature). While they are working make sure they are using the new terminology (thermometer, warm, cold, temperature). Have them compare their findings to their predictions.
  • Walk around observing the students asking them probing questions to get them thinking about the concepts they are learning.

Evaluate:

  • Have the students draw a picture in their science notebook of their favorite weather and what the thermometer would read in that weather.
  • Review their science journals, looking for their comprehension of the terms and concepts.

Plans for Individual Differences: