Weather in the GardenTheresa Bryant

Igniting the WonderA Conference for K-2 Teachers and

Curriculum Specialists

Conference DescriptionBecome weather savvy through observing and collecting data that will be analyzed from using

weather instruments that you can engineer in your weather garden or playground.

Related SOLs: Science: K.1, K.9, 1.1, 1.6, 1.7, 2.1, 2.6, 2.7; Math: K.8, K.10, k.14, 1.9, 1.15, 2.11, 2.14, 2.17, 2.19; Writing: K.11, K.12, 1.11, 1.12, 2.11, 2.12; Reading: K.6, K.8, K.10, 1.7, 2.6, 2.7, 2.9

What is weather?• How can young children observe the

weather?• What types of tools can help children to

observe and predict the weather?• How can children measure the weather?

CloudsObserve…Analyze...Predict

• Connect to Children’s Literature:• “Little Cloud” by Eric Carle• “Shapes in the Sky: A Book About

Clouds” by Joseph Sherman• “Fluffy, Flat, and Wet: A Book About

Clouds” by Dana Meachen Rau• Journaling; creativity; graphing

Precipitation• What is precipitation? • Where does precipitation

come from?• How can it be measured?• How can it be analyzed?

Wind• Can the wind help us to predict

the weather?• Can we determine the direction

of the wind?• Can we measure the speed of

the wind?

Temperature• Why is the temperature important

to us?• How can we measure the

temperature?• How can we analyze our data

collection?

Weather InstrumentsEngineering Challenge:

Design and build an instrument that will show the direction of the wind by using these parameters:

• There needs to be a pointer and a tail fin• The tail fin must be larger than the pointer• The tail fin and pointer must be attached• The tail fin and pointer must be moveable • The cardinal directions (N,W,E,S) must be attached

TEST:• Take the students out to the playground to

find out if their wind vane works– Can they tell what direction the wind is

coming from?– If there is no wind on this date, a fan could

be used to test; however, they should be taken outside to test on the next windy day

REDESIGN:– Allow students to redesign their wind

vanes if needed and test again

• Discuss what did and didn’t work and brainstorm better design ideas

Your Weather Garden• What weather instruments would you/your class

like to use everyday as you observe the weather?

• Where can we place our weather instruments?

• What about engineering a weather station?

Helpful Websites• www.education.noaa.gov• http://eo.ucar.edu/asl/• www.ametsoc.org• www.discoveryeducaton.com• www.cbf.org/servicelearning (information

about grant funding for community gardens)

• www.globe.gov• www.MYMSIC.org