Teacher Notes
Weather Brainstorm (30-45 minutes) > Print/View All Notes
This activity serves as an opportunity for students to think about what they already know about weather.
Before your class begins the activity on this page, divide children into STEM teams of about 4 students each. (See Appendix C of the Teacher's Guide for more information on forming STEM teams.) Next, have students turn to pages 5 and 6 of their Engineering Portfolios.
Page 5 contains the Weather Brainstorm Tool. Students will use this tool in their groups to help them brainstorm and organize their ideas and prior knowledge about weather. If you have not used a graphic organizer like the Weather Brainstorm Tool with your class before, demonstrate how to brainstorm ideas and connect related ideas with arrows. Note that each student should complete his/her individual portfolio pages, although students will be brainstorming, discussing their ideas as a team, and working on their pages together.
If your school has the
Kidspiration
or
Pixie 3
software, you may wish to have students complete their graphic organizers online.
When students are done brainstorming, ask teams to turn to page 6. This page asks them to discuss the essential question "What is severe weather?" Students should decide as a group what qualifies as "severe" and "not severe" weather. After students have responded to the questions, have them watch the slideshow and classify the weather they see as "severe" or "not severe" according to their definitions. They will complete the “What is Severe Weather” chart on page 7 in their portfolios. When groups are finished, have them share their work with the class.
Answer Key for “What Is Severe Weather” chart:
|
Severe Weather |
Not Severe Weather |
|---|---|
|
Hurricane |
Rain shower |
|
Blizzard |
85 degrees |
|
Tornado |
ﾠ |
|
Excessive Rain |
ﾠ |
|
Heat wave |
ﾠ |
ﾠ
