Weather and Climate: From Home to the Poles

U.S. Antarctic Program participant dresses to withstand cold weather and low wind chills.

Photo courtesy of Josh Landis, U.S. Antarctic Program, National Science Foundation.

Weather & Climate: From Home to the Poles

Highlights From Issue 4

(June 2008)

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Table of Contents

Weather & Climate: From Home to the Poles, Issue 4 (June 2008)

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Science Content Knowledge Weather and Climate: The Short and the Long of It By Andy Monaghan

Literacy Content Knowledge Vocabulary Development and Nonlinguistic Representations:

How Can Science Help? By Jessica Fries-Gaither

Feature Story Antarctica: King of Cold By Stephen Whitt

Misconceptions Common Misconceptions About Polar Weather and Climate By Jessica Fries-Gaither

Across the Curriculum: Lessons and Activities Integrating Science and Math: Data Analysis and Weather By Jessica Fries-Gaither

Science & Literacy: Lessons and Activities Hands-On Science and Literacy Lessons About Weather and Climate By Jessica Fries-Gaither

Teaching and Assessment Strategies Weather Stations: Teaching the Science and Technology Standard By Jessica Fries-Gaither

Off the Bookshelf Weather and Climate: From Home to the Poles: Virtual Bookshelf By Kate Hastings and Jessica Fries-Gaither

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Weather and Climate:

The Short and the Long of It

By Andy Monaghan

Could a 90-degree day in Anchorage, an outbreak of tornadoes in Maine, or a very active hurricane season in the Gulf of Mexico be related to climate change? The answer is, well, maybe. These events are all characterized as weather: short-term fluctuations in the atmosphere, lasting from a couple of minutes (for instance, an intense thunderstorm) to a couple of weeks (a heat wave, for example). Climate, on the other hand, is the average of hundreds-to-thousands of weather events over a considerable period of time: five-to-ten years at the very least, and preferably a few decades if weather measurements are available for that length of time.

CH-CH-CHANGEIf climate is a measure of weather averaged over many decades, then climate change is the fluctuation of climate as time progresses. When we read about climate change in the newspaper or see reports on television, it is often expressed in terms of temperature (for example, "global warming").

There are good reasons for this:

• Instrumental temperature observations comprise the longest and most widespread measurements of climate that exist...the longest record, from England, dates back 350 years! Non-instrumental estimates of temperature fluctuations extend back even further - thousands of years - and are measured from chemicals extracted from "paleo" records such as ice cores, ocean sediments, and dead organic material.

• Temperature is a measure of climate that all humans can relate to. We all have a sense for "hot" and "cold" that is based on the climate where we live.

• Temperature changes can be linked to nearly all other types of climate change. For instance, glaciers melt faster when temperatures increase.

This third reason helps us answer the original question: could a very active hurricane season in the Gulf of Mexico be caused by climate change? Consider that warm ocean temperatures are the heat engine that fuels hurricane development. And, if climate change leads to warmer atmospheric temperatures, global ocean temperatures will also increase. In the tropics, where hurricanes form, the surface area of the regions with ocean temperatures that are warm enough to support hurricane development will

NASA Captures Hurricane Celia off Mexico.

Photo courtesy of NASA Goddard Photo and Video, Flickr.

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increase, which will likely cause more hurricanes. The fuel source - ocean water - will become even warmer, which will lead to stronger tropical storms, more of which will be categorized as hurricanes.

While it is difficult to say that a single, more-active-than-normal hurricane season is related to climate change, if hurricane seasons in the future consistently produce more and stronger hurricanes than in the past, these changes in the weather are likely linked to climate change. As a matter of fact, climate change can affect all sorts of weather events. Most climate scientists believe that global warming will lead to more "extreme" weather events such as droughts, heat waves, and flood-intensity rainfall episodes.

COOL IT!The polar regions of earth - the Arctic in the Northern Hemisphere and the Antarctic in the Southern Hemisphere - play important roles in modulating climate across the entire globe...even the tropics. For example, the cold temperatures near the poles are favorable for the formation of sea ice. Sea ice, when it is formed, leads to the "rejection" of the salty brine in the water, and the water under the sea ice becomes saltier - and denser - than the water surrounding it and sinks to the bottom of the ocean. The polar water flows along the bed of the ocean toward the equator, and warmer water from the tropics (think Gulf Stream) in turn flows toward the poles to replace the polar water. In this manner, heat is transported away from the

tropical regions toward the poles by the ocean currents, and therefore the ocean acts as a sort of "thermostat" that modulates the temperatures across the globe.

Thus, if we are to truly understand and address global climate change, it is necessary to study the climates of the Arctic and Antarctic even though few people live in either region. Because the Arctic and Antarctic are sparsely populated, and because they have cold, harsh conditions, conducting research is difficult. However, there have been great gains in our knowledge of polar climates in recent years due to increased funding from international science agencies and through technological advances, especially spaceborne measurements from satellites. In a nutshell, the general climates as well as climate change are vastly different between the Arctic and the Antarctic. Next, we'll examine why.

UPSIDE DOWN AND INSIDE OUTThe Antarctic, as its name suggests, is truly the opposite of the Arctic. The Arctic is essentially an ocean surrounded by land, while the Antarctic is a chunk of land surrounded by an unbroken expanse of ocean. Plus, the majority of Antarctica has a permanent ice cover (more

Sea ice; Walgreen Coast, West Antarctica. Photo courtesy of NASA Goddard

Photo and Video, Flickr.

Science Content Knowledge

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than 97 percent), and is very high - the elevation at the South Pole, for example, is about 9,000 feet above sea level. These geographic differences lead to important distinctions in climate.

Antarctica, with its high elevation - which prevents most storms from penetrating its interior - and its permanent ice cover, is on average much colder and drier than the Arctic. As a matter of fact, a polar desert larger than the United States is situated on the Antarctic Plateau. In the much lower-elevation Arctic (Greenland aside), more storms reach even the highest latitudes, transporting warm, moist air from temperate latitudes. Additionally, since relatively warm ocean water lies under only a few feet of sea ice over much of the Arctic, the ocean also plays a role in keeping Arctic temperatures milder than they would be otherwise. As we will see next, the warmer climate of the Arctic has led to an entirely different response to

recent climate change compared to that in the Antarctic.

HOW 'BOUT SOME FEEDBACK?Regions with climates that have temperatures that are near the freeze/thaw point, such as the Arctic, are more sensitive to change than climates with much colder temperatures. This is due to climate triggers, called "feedbacks" by scientists, which are released when melting occurs. Some key feedbacks include:

• The reflectivity (called "albedo" by scientists) of bright, icy surfaces is much higher than that of darker surfaces that do not have ice or snow cover. About 70-80 percent of the sunlight that reaches icy surfaces reflects back to space, and therefore only about 20-30 percent of the sun's energy is absorbed and can in turn heat the ice. The opposite is true for water: only about 5 percent of the sun's energy is reflected back to

space from the relatively dark ocean surface, and the other 95 percent is absorbed and can heat the water. In the Arctic where temperatures near the surface of the sea ice are near the freeze/thaw point for much of the summer, warming causes melt to occur near the edges of the Arctic sea ice pack, which in turn exposes the ocean water. The darker water absorbs much more energy than the ice that used to lie on top of it, which then accelerates the melting of the sea ice from below. Therefore, even small increases in the average summer temperatures can trigger a disproportionate amount of melting of Arctic sea ice, which causes even more warming.

• A similar effect occurs on Arctic land masses. As temperatures increase, and the season for which snow blankets the North becomes shorter, the comparatively darker tundra and taiga (forest) environments under the snow absorb additional energy from

Antarctica map and Arctic map.

Illustration courtesy of Beyond

Penguins and Polar Bears.


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the sun, which exacerbates the warming.

• Permafrost is the term given to soils that have been frozen for a very long time. In the Arctic, these soils contain vast stores of dead, ancient organic material (mainly from yearly plant growth) that would have decayed each year if it had died in a more temperate climate. Organic material is comprised primarily of carbon. Thus, when organic material decays, carbon dioxide and methane - two of the most important greenhouse gases - are released. These gases in turn trap additional heat near the earth's surface, amplifying warming.

Due to these climate feedbacks, as well as some other unique features of the Arctic

atmosphere, warming in the Arctic during the past 50 years has outpaced global warming by a factor of two, with temperature increases on average of 2 degrees Fahrenheit, and much larger in some particularly sensitive regions. Arctic sea ice concentration has decreased by about 25 percent over the past three decades. In the summer of 2007, the summertime sea ice minimum was a record 40 percent lower than normal and 20 percent lower than the previous record (set in 2005). Scientists are also concerned that the recent increase of melting from Arctic alpine glaciers and the Greenland Ice Sheet will cause an acceleration of sea level rise that is much faster than previously expected.

DEEP FREEZE WITH A TWISTDue to its colder climate, higher topography, permanent ice cover, and isolation from the rest of the global climate system by an unbroken expanse of ocean, climate change in Antarctica has been much slower than in the Arctic and the rest of the globe. Ironically, the slower warming in Antarctica may be caused in part by increases in greenhouse gases and depletion of ozone (the "ozone hole"), both of which humans have contributed to. The interaction of these two gases with the atmosphere has caused the belt of westerly winds that circles Antarctica to strengthen, in a sense acting to inhibit the transport of warmer air from lower latitudes toward Antarctica. There are signals, however, that this situation may only be temporary and that Antarctica may soon begin to warm in step with the rest of the globe.

One small region comprising about 5 percent of Antarctica - the Antarctic Peninsula, which has a milder climate than the mainland - has already undergone substantial warming that has led to the breakup of several large ice shelves (floating masses of glacial ice). One of the largest ice shelves, about the size of Rhode Island, had been there for at least the last 10,000 years, indicating that the recent regional warming is


Large chunk of ice calving from glacier.

Photo courtesy of Alan Vernon, Flickr.

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unprecedented. Additionally, some large glaciers on or near the Antarctic Peninsula have begun to accelerate toward the ocean, enhancing their contribution to sea level rise. Some scientists fear that as these glaciers retreat, much larger volumes of ice trapped behind them may also retreat into the ocean as part of a domino effect that could raise global sea level by many feet within a short period. Only time will tell!

RESOURCES

Global and Regional Temperature Changehttp://data.giss.nasa.gov/gistemp/This web page maintained by the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies explains temperature changes that have occurred globally over the past century, and provides an

interactive database of temperature records from around the globe that can be plotted and viewed by users.

Arctic Climate Changehttp://www.acia.uaf.edu/The Arctic Climate Impact Assessment is the most comprehensive synthesis of knowledge about climate change in the region currently available. While this document is often technical, the executive summary provides a brief overview written for nonscientists.

Arctic Sea Icehttp://nsidc.org/arcticseaicenews/index.htmlThis resource from the National Snow and Ice Data Center explains sea ice processes and documents the alarming decline of Arctic sea ice.

West Antarcticahttp://neptune.gsfc.nasa.gov/wais/waisFlash/index.htm

The West Antarctic Ice Sheet (WAIS) has been the research focus of many scientists due to its uniqueness and its potential role in climate change. This web site gives a comprehensive overview of the climate, research, glaciers, and animals of WAIS, written for nonscientists.

SciencePoleshttp://www.sciencepoles.org/This web site from the International Polar Foundation has educational resources for studying climate change at both poles.

International Polar Year (IPY)http://www.ipy.org/The IPY web site contains educational resources, blogs, and research results for both polar regions.


Sea Ice. Photo courtesy of Patrick

Kelley, U.S. Geological Survey, Flickr.

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NATIONAL SCIENCE EDUCATION STANDARDS: SCIENCE CONTENT STANDARDSA study of weather and climate aligns with the Earth and Space Science content standard for grades K-4 and 5-8 and the Science in Personal and Social Perspectives content standard for grades K-4 and 5-8.

Earth and Space Science

K-4 Changes in the Earth and Sky• Weather changes from day to

day and over the seasons. Weather can be described by measurable quantities, such as temperature, wind direction and speed, and precipitation.

5-8 Structure of the Earth System• The atmosphere is a mixture of

nitrogen, oxygen, and trace gases that include water vapor. The atmosphere has different properties at different elevations.

• Clouds, formed by the condensation of water vapor, affect weather and climate.

• Global patterns of atmospheric movement influence local weather. Oceans have a major effect on climate, because water in the oceans holds a large amount of heat.

Science in Personal and Social Perspectives

K-4 Changes in Environments• Changes in environments can

be natural or influenced by humans. Some changes are good, some are bad, and some are neither good nor bad. Pollution is a change in the environment that can influence the health, survival, or activities of organisms, including humans.

• Some environmental changes occur slowly, and others occur rapidly. Students should understand the different consequences of changing environments in small

increments over long periods as compared with changing environments in large increments over short periods.

5-8 Natural Hazards• Human activities also can

induce hazards through resource acquisition, urban growth, land-use decisions, and waste disposal. Such activities can accelerate many natural changes.

• Natural hazards can present personal and societal challenges because misidentifying the change or incorrectly estimating the rate and scale of change may result in either too little attention and significant human costs or too much cost for unneeded preventive measures.

Read the entire National Science Education Standards online for free or register to download the free PDF. The content standards are found in Chapter 6, http://books.nap.edu/openbook.php?record_id=4962&page=103.


Antarctica: Snow Melt. Photo courtesy of Elisfanclub, Flickr.

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Vocabulary Development and

Nonlinguistic Representations:How Can Science

Help?

By Jessica Fries-Gaither

Vocabulary instruction is a complex, well-researched, and well-debated topic in all levels of education. Is direct vocabulary instruction effective? How many words should be taught at once? How can educators bridge the gap between students with rich vocabulary knowledge and those with poor? What are best practices in vocabulary instruction? All are important questions that deserve careful consideration.

While some researchers have claimed that direct instruction is not sufficient to cope with the thousands of words that

students encounter every year in their reading, others strongly support a systematic approach to teaching vocabulary. However, this approach does not simply mean reciting dictionary definitions or even writing sentences for a prescribed list of vocabulary words. Instead, extensive research tells us that students must encounter words multiple times and in multiple contexts.

In their book, Classroom Instruction That Works (2001), Marzano, Pickering, and Pollock review the research on vocabulary instruction. In Chapter 11, "Teaching Specific Types of Knowledge," they make five research-based generalizations about vocabulary instruction:

1. Students must encounter words in context more than once to learn them.

2. Instruction in new words enhances learning those words in context.

3. One of the best ways to learn a new word is to associate an image with it.

4. Direct vocabulary instruction works.

5. Direct instruction on words that are critical to new content produces the most powerful learning.

“Nonlinguistic representations include graphic organizers, physical models, mental images, pictures and pictographs, and kinesthetic activity. ”

Literacy Content Knowledge

Teacher in classroom. Photo courtesy of iStockphoto.

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In the same chapter, the authors also present a five-step process for teaching new terms and phrases:

1. Present students with a brief explanation or description of the new term or phrase.

2. Present students with a nonlinguistic representation of the new term or phrase.

3. Ask students to generate their own explanations or descriptions of the term or phrase.

4. Ask students to create their own nonlinguistic representation of the term or phrase.

5. Periodically ask students to review the accuracy of their explanations and representations.

What is a nonlinguistic representation? As explained by the authors, researchers believe that knowledge is stored in two forms: linguistic and imagery. While the linguistic form involves the written and spoken word, the imagery form includes mental pictures and physical sensations. Including this second form of knowledge in vocabulary development can have a powerful effect on student achievement.

Nonlinguistic representations include graphic organizers, physical models, mental images, pictures and pictographs, and

kinesthetic activity. These representations are particularly suited to the types of activity typically included in hands-on, inquiry-based science. While engaged in a science lesson, lab, or activity, students are constructing contextual, nonlinguistic "definitions" of key terms and concepts. Depending on the content and terms being addressed, this could take many forms - modeling the process of erosion, building a weather instrument such as a wind vane, or investigating which objects sink or float to learn about the concepts of density and buoyancy. In all of these examples, students are developing informal definitions of scientific vocabulary through their investigations. Of course, kinesthetic activity can also include creative movement, dance, charades, and drama - but it is important to note that

even the simple act of completing a lab activity counts!

When should this contextual, nonlinguistic development take place? Many researchers advocate that experience of a word in context should occur prior to encountering the word in written text as students can use this network of knowledge to bolster their comprehension. In Marzano, Pickering, and Pollock's five-step instructional sequence, exploration and contextual experience through labs and hands-on activity would follow steps 1 and 2 (in which the teacher provides a description and nonlinguistic representation). Students would use their direct experiences to then create their own explanations and nonlinguistic representations - in and of themselves formative assessment of the activities.


Home work routine. Photo courtesy of

Woodleywonderworks, Flickr.

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In addition to creating nonlinguistic representations through kinesthetic, inquiry-based activity, constructivist pedagogy emphasizes that students have the opportunity to create representations and definitions within a social context. Small group work and discussion allow students to compare results and discuss findings, leading to rich definitions and deep understanding of vocabulary from multiple perspectives.

Use the books and web sites below to learn more about nonlinguistic representations and their role in vocabulary development. While we've mainly discussed the kinesthetic activity of hands-on science as a means of creating these representations, it is important to remember that graphic

organizers, models, mental imagery, and pictures are also helpful.

BOOKS

Classroom Instruction That Works: Research-Based Strategies for Increasing Student Achievement. Robert Marzano, Debra Pickering, and Jane Pollock. 2001. McREL.http://www.ascd.org/publications/books/101010.aspxThis book presents nine research-based strategies for improving student achievement. Nonlinguistic representations, one of those strategies, is discussed in detail in Chapter 6. In addition, teachers will want to refer to Chapter 11, "Teaching Specific Types of Knowledge," for the section on vocabulary.

A Handbook for Classroom Instruction That Works. Robert Marzano, Jennifer Norford, Diane Paynter, Debra Pickering, and Barbara Gaddy. 2001. McREL.http://www.ascd.org/publications/books/101041.aspxThis handbook is designed to accompany Classroom Instruction That Works and is a self-study guide in the nine research-based strategies. For each strategy, you'll find an introduction, opportunities for self-reflection, recommendations for classroom practice, rubrics, and questions to help you implement the strategies into your current practice.

WEB SITES

TeacherTube: Kinesthetic Activities in Sciencehttp://www.teachertube.com/viewVideo.php?video_id=3335&title=Kinesthetic_Activities_in_ScienceThis video from TeacherTube (3:56) demonstrates an example of a kinesthetic activity that can help students develop a nonlinguistic representation of the terms "predator" and "prey."

Creative Movement: A Physical Language for Learninghttp://www.mindsinmotion.org/creative.html

Teacher and Student. Photo courtesy of Wonderlane, Flickr.


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This article discusses the use of kinesthetic activity in a variety of content areas.

Increasing Academic Language Knowledge for English Language Learner Successhttp://www.colorincolorado.org/article/13347While this article's intended audience is educators of ELL students, the suggestions and strategies are valuable for all students. In the article, the author explores ways to make academic language (content area vocabulary) meaningful for students primarily through nonlinguistic representations.

Vocabulary Notebook Samplehttp://sde.state.ok.us/curriculum/BAVSample.docThis Word document provides several examples of graphic

organizers that can be used for vocabulary development, including, a vocabulary map, vocabulary model, and vocabulary word box. Each of these involves drawing a symbol, picture, or other nonlinguistic representation of the vocabulary term.

Reading Rockets: Vocabularyhttp://www.readingrockets.org/article/c38/This site lists 17 articles that provide information about effective vocabulary instruction, the relationship between vocabulary and comprehension, and practical ways that parents can introduce new, exciting words to their children. Particularly relevant are Improving Reading Skills in the Science Classroom, Teaching Vocabulary, and Multisensory Vocabulary Instruction: Guidelines and Activities.

NATIONAL COUNCIL OF TEACHERS OF ENGLISH AND INTERNATIONAL READING ASSOCIATION: STANDARDS FOR THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTShttp://www.ncte.org/standardsThis site lists the 12 English Language Arts Standards for K-12 students. Standard 3, which states that "students apply a wide range of strategies to comprehend, interpret, evaluate, and appreciate texts," and Standard 7, which states that "students gather, evaluate, and synthesize data from a variety of sources," are addressed in lessons and activities that require students to create and use nonlinguistic representations in building vocabulary.


Small Group Breakout. Photo courtesy of Woodleywonderwork, Flickr.

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Antarctica: King of Cold

By Stephen Whitt

The North Pole and the South Pole have a few things in common. If you stand at either pole and look straight up, you'll be looking at the same spot in the sky all day long. That's not true anywhere else on the Earth; only at the poles does a line straight up point at the same spot all day (or all night) long.

That's not the only thing the North Pole and the South Pole have in common. They're both cold! Yes, they are, but the South Pole is much colder than the North Pole. When it comes to weather and climate, the things that make the poles different might be more interesting and important than the things that make them the same.

The Colder PoleAnd different they are. For starters, Antarctica is much colder. The average winter temperature in Antarctica is -76 degrees Fahrenheit. A "warm" summer day is around 22 degrees below zero! Even the

coldest winter night at the North Pole isn't as cold as the sunniest summer day at the South Pole.

Why should that be? First of all, the North Pole is over an ocean. Believe it or not, even cold ocean water holds a lot of heat. As this ocean water changes to ice, it keeps the temperature from falling too far.

How? Believe it or not, freezing actually slows down dropping temperatures. As water gets colder, its temperature drops

lower and lower, until it begins to freeze. Then, during freezing, the temperature stays the same. It's as if the water said, "Whoa! No more temperature drops 'til I'm finished freezing!" Until all the

water turns to ice, the temperature of the ice and water mixture doesn't get any lower. And there's a lot of water at the North Pole!

On the other hand, the South Pole is on the continent called Antarctica. Not only is the South Pole on land, it's on very high land. While the North Pole is just a few meters above sea level, the South Pole is almost 2400 meters (about a mile and a half) high. The greater your distance from sea level, the colder the air around you becomes. (Think of the snowy tops of high mountain

This nonfiction article is written for use with upper-elementary students (grades 4-5). In this article, students learn about the climate differences between the Arctic and Antarctica and why Antarctica is so much colder than the Arctic. The article includes two "experiments to try," which are perfect for a learning center or at-home enrichment.

Two modified versions are available for students in grades K-1 and grades 2-3, or any student needing a simplified version. As always, consider the reading level and needs of your students when selecting a version for classroom use.

At each grade level, the article is available in three forms. Printable pdf files allow you to print this story in either text or a foldable book format. A partnership with Content Clips has allowed us to create electronic versions of the articles. Your students can read along as they listen to the text - a wonderful way to support struggling readers!

Interested in other nonfiction articles for your students? Browse all twenty sets from the Beyond Penguins and Polar Bears collection at http://beyondpenguins.nsdl.org/information.php?topic=stories.

Stories for Students(and Teachers)!

Feature Story

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peaks.) This extra height helps keep the South Pole extra cold.

Weather patterns make the South Pole colder too. Even though the North Pole is over ocean water, land isn't that far away. Warmer air that gathers over Russia or Canada floats over the North Pole and warms it up.

But Antarctica is the most isolated continent on the planet. It is surrounded by the Southern Ocean. That makes a big weather difference. The ocean sloshes around Antarctica, blocking the path of warmer water from the north.

In the sky, a sort of an ocean of cold, dry air does something similar. The air circles Antarctica

again and again, just like the ocean water. This circle of very cold air keeps out any warmer northern air that might venture near.

No Camels, But Still a DesertThink about what that circle of unchanging air means. First of all, the air gets very cold. But it also gets very dry. Here's why: as the temperature drops, any moisture in the air turns to rain or snow. But the air over Antarctica lost any moisture it had long ago. There's simply no moisture left to lose. The result is some of the coldest and driest air on Earth. It's that dry air that turns Antarctica into a desert.

That's right. Antarctica isn't only the coldest place on Earth; it's also one of the world's driest deserts. It might sound strange to call a land of frozen water a desert, but that's just what

Antarctica is. Because the air rarely changes, the skies are almost always clear, and new snow almost never falls. Of course the old snow (which long ago became ice) never melts. As a result, the ice on Antarctica is some of the oldest ice on the planet.

White OutBecause it is covered in ice, Antarctica is white. The ice reflects most of the sun's light right back into space before it has a chance to heat anything. The Arctic is mostly white, too, but there are more patches of bare land or water to absorb heat from the sun.

The cold and dry climate of Antarctica makes it one of the toughest places on Earth to live. There aren't many animals there. Marine mammals, like whales and seals, only stay for a short

Feature Story

Illustration shows the air and water currents

that circle Antarctica. Illustration courtesy

of Beyond Penguins and Polar Bears.

“ Antarctica is the most isolated continent on the

planet. It is surrounded by the Southern Ocean. That

makes a big weather difference. The ocean

sloshes around Antarctica, blocking the path of warmer

water from the north. ”

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time. Sea birds like penguins live on the Antarctic Peninsula, where the weather isn't quite so terrible. The largest animal that lives year-round in the center of the continent is a tiny insect called a midge.

The midge is around twelve millimeters (about half an inch) long, and is a type of fly without wings (making it a fly that doesn't fly!). The tiny midge may be the king of beasts in this cold and dry place. But Antarctica itself is the real king - the King of Cold!

Glossarybird – an animal with feathers

climate – long-term patterns of weather

continent – a large body of land surrounded by oceans and other continents

desert – a very dry area

evaporate – change from a liquid to a vapor or gas

freeze – change from a liquid to a solid

insect – an animal with six legs

isolated – far away from others of its kind

mammal – an animal that feeds its young milk

ocean – a large and very deep body of salt water

reflect – to bounce back light

temperature – a measure of how much heat something has

weather – day to day changes in conditions

RELATED ACTIVITIESThe lessons and activities featured in our Science and Literacy article, "Hands-On Activities for Investigating Weather and Climate" (page 22) can be used in conjunction with this nonfiction article. The web sites and animations listed in the "Compare and Contrast Weather and Climate" and "Polar Weather and Climate" sections of that article are particularly helpful when studying the weather and climate of the polar regions.

Feature Story

2) Find out how color affects temperature.

a) find two identical cans

b) wrap one of the cans in black paper

c) wrap the other can in white paper

d) hold both cans under a bright light and measure the temperature change inside each can

Experiments to try:

1) Measure the temperature of water in a freezer. Find out how the temperature changes:

a) As the water cools but before it changes to ice.

b) As the water changes to ice

c) After all the water is frozen

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Students may think.. . Instead of thinking.. .

The seasons cause the weather to change.

Certain weather patterns and temperatures are associated with a particular season. A season is simply a human classification, not a force that causes weather.

Clouds form because cold air doesn't hold as much water as warm air.

Cloud formation depends on the balance between water evaporating and condensing. Water molecules are continually changing state between solid, liquid, and gas. Clouds form when more molecules evaporate into the atmosphere than can condense on earth.

Clouds are made of water vapor.Clouds are mainly tiny water droplets or ice crystals. Water vapor is invisible.

Clouds always predict rain. Clouds may predict, but do not guarantee rain.

Raindrops look like tear drops. Raindrops are spherical.

MISCONCEPTIONS ABOUT WEATHER

Common Misconceptions

AboutPolar Weather and Climate


Weather and climate are complex topics full of cause and effect relationships. The complexity of the scientific concepts makes them particularly prone to

misconception and partial understanding. Additionally, students are often exposed to many nonscientific explanations for weather phenomena such as thunder, lightning and rain. It is important, therefore, that teachers take the time to assess and target these misconceptions during the course of instruction.

In this article, we've listed some common misconceptions that researchers tell us students may hold about weather, climate change, and polar weather and

climate. This list is meant to stimulate your thinking about the ideas your students bring to the classroom. We've also included formative assessment probes, which are modeled (with permission from NSTA Press) after those found in Uncovering Student Ideas in Science, Volumes 1, 2, and 3, as well as lessons and activities to shape students' understanding of these concepts.

Misconceptions

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Rain falls when clouds become too heavy.

Rain falls when the water droplets in the cloud become too heavy to remain airborne.

Rain falls because we need it. Rain falls whether we need it or not.

Lightning never strikes the same place twice.

Lightning tends to strike the highest place in an area, so the same place may be struck more than once.

Thunder occurs when two clouds collide.

Thunder (and lightning) are the result of a large transfer of charge between clouds.

Air and oxygen are the same thing. Air is a mixture of gases.

Humidity is moisture in the air. Humidity is the amount of water vapor in the air.

Humid air is heavy or more dense than dry air.

Humid air is less dense than dry air. Students are probably thinking of their experience on hot, humid days.

Hot air weighs less than cold air. Both hot and cold air have the same weight.

The atmosphere is made up solely of air.

There are many particles in the atmosphere which we cannot see because of their size.

Clouds block wind and slow it down.Winds are a result of the uneven heating of Earth's surface and the resulting rise and fall of differently heated air masses.

Cold temperatures produce fast winds.Winds are a result of the uneven heating of Earth's surface and the resulting rise and fall of differently heated air masses.

Snow and ice make it cold.Snow and ice are a result of cold temperatures, not the cause.

Cold days are caused by the clouds covering the sun.

Temperature depends on many factors, such as time of year, location, elevation, and winds.

MISCONCEPTIONS ABOUT WEATHER (CONTINUED)

Misconceptions

18


Global warming and the greenhouse effect are the same thing.

Global warming refers to the fact that the surface of the earth is getting hotter. The greenhouse effect refers to the fact that the earth is warmer with an atmosphere than it would be without.

The greenhouse effect is bad and will eventually cause all living things to die.

Without the greenhouse effect, the earth would not be warm enough to support life. The increase in temperature due to increased greenhouse gases in the atmosphere will have negative effects.

Ozone is bad (or that it is good).Ozone may be harmful or helpful, depending on its location. In the upper atmosphere, ozone blocks harmful UV radiation. In the lower atmosphere, it is a source of smog.

The ozone hole is a hole in the sky.The ozone hole is an area of the atmosphere where there are lower than expected levels of ozone.

MISCONCEPTIONS ABOUT CLIMATE CHANGE

Misconceptions


There is only one season in the polar regions. (Polar regions are dark, frozen places year-round.)

The polar regions experience a dramatic change in season and in daylight from summer to winter.

Temperatures are similar at both poles. Antarctica is much colder than the Arctic.

Antarctica is humid because of frozen ice caps.

Antarctica is very dry and is essentially a frozen desert.

It snows a lot at the poles.It does not snow very much at the poles (especially Antarctica) due to low humidity. Large amounts of ice and snow are due to the fact that melting doesn't occur.

The polar regions are not important for global climate.

The polar regions play an important role in global climate.

The ozone hole is the cause of global warming.

Global warming is due to an increase in greenhouse gases (such as carbon dioxide) in the atmosphere.

MISCONCEPTIONS ABOUT POLAR WEATHER AND CLIMATE

19

PROBING FOR STUDENT UNDERSTANDINGVolume 3 of Uncovering Student Ideas in Science: 25 More Formative Assessment Probes (NSTA Press) contains two probes related to the study of weather:

• What Are Clouds Made Of? - This probe is designed to assess whether students recognize that clouds are made up of tiny droplets of water or tiny ice crystals.

• Rainfall - This probe is designed to assess whether students understand what causes the water in clouds to fall as rain.

In addition, we've followed the model used by Page Keeley and coauthors in the three volumes of Uncovering Student Ideas in Science (© 2005-2008 by NSTA Press) and created a similar probe to elicit students' ideas about weather in the Arctic and Antarctica.

Weather at the North and South Poles Probehttp://onramp.nsdl.org/eserv/onramp:671/Weather_at_the_North_and_South_Poles_Probe.pdfThis formative assessment probe is designed to assess student misconceptions about the weather and climate at the North and South Poles.

In addition to using ready-made probes, student journaling,

interviews, and even whole-class discussion can provide great insight into the ideas your students hold. Even simple conversations in the classroom can be informative and lead to change in both teaching and learning.

TEACHING THE SCIENCEWhile identifying student misconceptions is fairly straightforward, creating conceptual change is not. Researchers recommend using a hands-on approach and providing adequate time and repeated activities to create the conditions necessary for conceptual change. However, it is important to understand that children may be quite resistant to change even when these suggestions are carefully followed. In some situations, researchers found that students developed two parallel explanations for scientific events: one for science class and one for the "real world!" Instead of becoming discouraged, teachers should be aware of the ideas that students bring with them to science and how these might influence instruction and learning.

For lessons and activities about weather, climate, and the polar regions, please see "Hands-On Science and Literacy Lessons About Weather and Climate" on page 22.

Read the entire National Science Education Standards online for free or register to download the free PDF. The content standards are found in Chapter 6, http://books.nap.edu/openbook.php?record_id=4962&page=103.

NATIONAL SCIENCE EDUCATION STANDARDSAssessing and targeting student misconceptions about weather and climate meets the Earth and Space Science Content Standard of the National Science Education Standards.

REFERENCESHenriques, L. "Children's misconceptions about weather: A review of the literature." National Association of Research in Science Teaching annual meeting, New Orleans, 29 April 2000.

Misconceptions

Check out Volumes 1, 2 & 3 of Uncovering

Student Ideas in Science at:

http://www.nsta.org/store/product_detail.aspx?

id=10.2505/9780873552554


id=10.2505/9780873552738


id=10.2505/9781933531243

http://www.nsta.org/store/product_detail.aspx?id=10.2505/9780873552554


















20

Integrating Science and Math:

Data Analysis and Weather


A study of weather and climate naturally lends itself to integration with mathematics, especially the data analysis strand. As students participate in hands-on experience with measuring and recording temperature, air pressure, humidity, and wind speed, they are collecting data that can be graphed and interpreted and lead to further questions and investigations. The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics Standards for School Mathematics, http://standards.nctm.org/document/chapter3/index.htm, include a

Data Analysis and Probability standard at every grade level. The standard states that:

In prekindergarten through grade 2 all students should:• Pose questions and gather

data about themselves and their surroundings

• Sort and classify objects according to their attributes and organize data about the objects

• Represent data using concrete objects, pictures, and graphs

In grades 3-5 all students should:• Design investigations to

address a question and consider how data collection methods affect the nature of the data set

• Collect data using observations, surveys, and experiments

• Represent data using tables and graphs such as line plots, bar graphs, and line graphs

• Recognize the differences in representing categorical and numerical data

We've highlighted lesson plans that incorporate data analysis into studies of weather at the K-2 and 3-5 grade levels. Lessons for K-2 involve an introduction to measurement and tools that can help measure weather data. Any analysis or recording should be done as a class, using symbols, pictographs, and concrete objects. In grades 3-5, students are ready for more sophisticated instruments and types of graphs. Students are also ready to work in small groups or independently when representing data in graphical form.

Across the Curriculum: Lessons

Student Writing. Photo courtesy of Stock4B, Stockbyte.

21

Across the Curriculum: Lessons

GRADE K-2

What Is It Like Outside Today? (Grades K-1)http://www.lessonplanspage.com/ScienceMathMeasuringTempSeasonsK1.htmStudents learn to read a thermometer and color paper thermometers to show temperature. Students also begin to explore how a range of temperatures fit into each of the seasons.

Rain Rulers (Grades K-2)http://teacher.scholastic.com/lessonrepro/lessonplans/ect/classact0498.htmChildren will use tools to measure and record amounts of rainfall over a period of two weeks. This lesson introduces the concept and process of measurement to young students.

Measure Raindrop Sizes (Grades K-5)http://web2.airmail.net/kboyle/Raindrop.htmIn this activity (which requires advance preparation), students measure the size of raindrops with a simple and inexpensive tool. Students could track data and compare raindrop sizes during different storms. While the web site lists this as a lesson for K-2, it could be used with all elementary students.

GRADES 3-5

Graphin' and Glyphin' Utah Weather (Grades 3-5)http://www.uen.org/Lessonplan/preview?LPid=15089Students use glyphs as a way to visually represent information about Utah weather. This lesson can be adapted for use in any state.

Graphing the Weather (Grades 3-5)http://www.uen.org/Lessonplan/preview?LPid=18981Students take weather readings using simple instruments and predict the weather in this lesson. They take and chart readings for a month during a season. With the information, they can graph what is happening with each instrument each day and use the data to show patterns the storms follow for that particular season.

Tracking Local Weather (Grades 3-5)http://canadaonline.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?zi=1/XJ/Ya&sdn=canadaonline&cdn=newsissues&tm=18&gps=144_393_1389_812&f=10&tt=14&bt=0&bts=0&zu=http%3A//www.eduplace.com/rdg/gen_act/weather/track.htmlStudents track temperature, wind, and rain data for one week, calculate averages, and graph data.

Create a Graph (Grades 3-5)http://nces.ed.gov/nceskids/graphing/The National Center for Education Statistics created this online tool so that anyone can make area, bar, pie or line graphs and print them out or download the images to a computer or disk. Younger students will quickly learn the difference between the left X and Y axis when they need to create their own line graphs.

Brainstorming. Photo courtesy of Marco Arment, Flickr.

http://www.lessonplanspage.com/ScienceMathMeasuringTempSeasonsK1.htm




http://teacher.scholastic.com/lessonrepro/lessonplans/ect/classact0498.htm




http://web2.airmail.net/kboyle/Raindrop.htm

http://web2.airmail.net/kboyle/Raindrop.htm

http://www.uen.org/Lessonplan/preview?LPid=15089








http://canadaonline.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?zi=1/XJ/Ya&sdn=canadaonline&cdn=newsissues&tm=18&gps=144_393_1389_812&f=10&tt=14&bt=0&bts=0&zu=http%3A//www.eduplace.com/rdg/gen_act/weather/track.html












http://nces.ed.gov/nceskids/graphing/

http://nces.ed.gov/nceskids/graphing/

22

Science & Literacy: Lessons

Hands-On Science and Literacy

LessonsAbout Weather

and Climate


A common perception of the polar regions is that both experience severe weather and are characterized by a cold climate. While this is true, it is important to remember that the Arctic and Antarctica are quite different in terms of geography and, as a result, have profound differences in their weather and climate. A comparison of the regions will help students not only understand the weather and climate of these two places but also the many factors that influence weather and climate. See "Weather and Climate: The Short and the Long of It" on page 3 for more information about how the weather and

climate of these two places differ.

Before beginning a study of polar weather, it is imperative that students understand basic weather concepts, terminology, and instruments used in meteorology. Observing local weather patterns will help develop these concepts before expanding to a national or worldwide comparison.

These hands-on experiences also help students create nonlinguistic representations of weather vocabulary and concepts, an important tool in vocabulary development. See "Vocabulary Development and Nonlinguistic Representations: How Can Science Help?" on page 9 for more information.

Finally, understanding weather and climate allows students to begin exploring the topic of climate change - one that is particularly relevant to the polar regions. While not ready to deal with climate change in all its complexity, elementary students

can begin to learn about the topic through children's literature (see page 31), discussion, and modeling.

We've divided lessons and activities into four sections: General Weather and Climate, Comparing and Contrasting Weather and Climate, Polar Weather and Climate, and Climate Change. By beginning with a study of weather and climate close to home, then expanding to compare and contrast home weather with weather in other locations, and finally examining places far away, students will more easily master the content.

For each science lesson, we've included the appropriate National Science Education Standards. You can read the entire National Science Education Standards online for free or register to download the free PDF. The content standards are found in Chapter 6. http://books.nap.edu/openbook.php?record_id=4962&page=103.

Ross Sea ice jams. Photo courtesy of Brien

Barnett, U.S. Antarctic Program, National

Science Foundation.

23

GENERAL WEATHER AND CLIMATE

What Is It Like Outside Today? (Grades K-1)http://www.lessonplanspage.com/ScienceMathMeasuringTempSeasonsK1.htmStudents learn to read a thermometer and color paper thermometers to show temperature. Students also begin to explore how a range of temperatures fit into each of the seasons.

This lesson meets the National Science Education Standards: Science as Inquiry Content Standard, Earth and Space Science Content Standard, and the Science and Technology Content Standard.

Weather Walks (Grades K-2)http://www.uen.org/Lessonplan/preview?LPid=10665Students will learn about weather by taking walks in various types of conditions: sunny, rainy, windy and snowy. Each type of walk includes language arts and literacy connections.

This lesson meets the National Science Education Standards: Science as Inquiry Content Standard and Earth and Space Science Content Standard.

To further integrate literacy skills into this lesson, try the following:

How Does My Garden Grow? Writing in Science Field Journals (Grades K-2)http://readwritethink.org/lessons/lesson_view.asp?id=846This lesson involves students in recording observations in a field journal. While the lesson intends for students to keep a journal about a class garden, similar journals could be used during and after the weather walks.

This lesson meets NCTE/IRA Standards: 1, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 11, 12.

Calendar & Weather Book (Grades 1-2)http://www.uen.org/Lessonplan/preview?LPid=5721

Students will record and track weather patterns daily throughout the year. This activity is well suited for inclusion in a morning meeting or circle time.


To further integrate literacy skills into this lesson, try the following:

I Wonder: Writing Scientific Explanations with Students (Grades K-2)http://readwritethink.org/lessons/lesson_view.asp?id=872This lesson encourages second-grade students to ask questions about a specific topic, research a particular question using a variety of resources, and write a scientific explanation.

This lesson meets NCTE/IRA Standards: 1, 3, 5, 7, 8, 12.

Cloud, Rain, and Fog (Grades 1-2)http://www.uen.org/Lessonplan/preview?LPid=13664Students will learn to identify information from a nonfiction book on weather by asking questions and focusing on the text features of the book.

This lesson meets the National Science Education Standards: Earth and Space Science Content Standard.

To further integrate literacy skills into this lesson, try:

Weather: A Journey in Nonfictionhttp://readwritethink.org/lessons/lesson_view.asp?id=219This research project is designed to engage primary students in nonfiction text, in both print and digital format.

This lesson meets NCTE/IRA Standards: 1, 3, 6, 7, 8.


24

In grades 3-5, students begin to investigate weather in a more detailed way, learning about the components of weather, weather instruments, and forecasting. The following eight investigations are meant to be used as a comprehensive unit on weather. We've provided a literacy lesson to complement the unit as a whole.

This unit meets the National Science Education Standards: Science as Inquiry Content Standard, Earth and Space Science Content Standard, and the Science and Technology Content Standard.

• Investigation 1: Clouds (Grades 3-5)http://www.uen.org/Lessonplan/preview.cgi?LPid=10089Students observe and record different types of clouds.

• Investigation 2: Thermometers (Grades 3-5)http://www.uen.org/Lessonplan/preview.cgi?LPid=9840Students practice using thermometers, make homemade thermometers, and use thermometers to record and graph temperature data.

• Investigation 3: Wind (Grades 3-5)http://www.uen.org/Lessonplan/preview.cgi?LPid=9844Students create a wind vane and an anemometer and then use their instruments to observe and record weather data.

• Investigation 4: Air Pressure and Barometers (Grades 3-5)http://www.uen.org/Lessonplan/preview.cgi?LPid=9843Students learn about barometric pressure, create a homemade barometer, and observe and record weather data.

• Investigation 5: Severe Weather (Grades 3-5)http://www.uen.org/Lessonplan/preview.cgi?LPid=10090Students explore web sites to learn about severe weather. While this lesson plan is written for Utah, it can be easily adapted to any state.

• Investigation 6: Collecting Weather Data (Grades 3-5)http://www.uen.org/Lessonplan/preview.cgi?LPid=10092In this investigation, students collect weather data for two weeks. They will start seeing patterns and be able to make predictions.

• Investigation 7: Interpreting Weather Data (Grades 3-5)http://www.uen.org/Lessonplan/preview.cgi?LPid=10120Students graph, compare, and interpret the weather data from Investigation 6.

• Investigation 8: Weather Forecasts (Grades 3-5)http://www.uen.org/Lessonplan/preview.cgi?LPid=10122Students will learn how to predict and evaluate weather forecasts.

To further integrate literacy skills into this unit, try:

Weather Detectives: Questioning the Fact and Folklore of Weather Sayingshttp://readwritethink.org/lessons/lesson_view.asp?id=775This lesson explores the truth and reliability of weather-related sayings, such as "Mare's tails and mackerel scales make tall ships take in their sails."

This lesson meets NCTE/IRA Standards: 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 11, 12.


25

COMPARING/CONTRASTING WEATHER AND CLIMATEUse these lessons and activities to help your students compare and contrast the weather and climate of their hometown with other locations (including the polar regions).

How's the Weather - in Africa?! (Grades K-2)http://www.nationalgeographic.com/xpeditions/lessons/04/gk2/pgafrica1.htmlIn this lesson, students describe and later compare how weather affects human activity in two places on opposite sides of the world. The lesson can be adapted to include other locations.

This lesson meets the National Science Education Standards: Science as Inquiry Content Standard, Earth and Space Science Content Standard and the Science in Personal and Social Perspectives Content Standard for grades K-4.

How's the Weather Today? (Grades K-2)http://www.nationalgeographic.com/xpeditions/lessons/07/gk2/weathertoday.htmlThis lesson asks students to think about the weather in their area and introduces them to weather and temperature trends in different latitudes of the United States.

This lesson meets the National Science Education Standards: Science as Inquiry Content Standard, Earth and Space Science Content Standard, and the Science in Personal and Social Perspectives Content Standard for grades K-4.

Weather Complaints (Grades 3-5)http://www.nationalgeographic.com/xpeditions/lessons/08/g35/extremeweather.htmlThis lesson asks students to consider the weather and climate where they live and in other places and to think about the ways in which people complain about the weather.

This lesson meets the National Science Education Standards: Earth and Space Science Content Standard and the Science in Personal and Social Perspectives Content Standard.

To further integrate literacy skills into these three lessons, try:

Postcard Creatorhttp://www.readwritethink.org/student_mat/student_material.asp?id=61This interactive tool from ReadWriteThink helps students learn the parts of a postcard and create their own cards. A pdf document provides tips for using the tool.

This lesson meets NCTE/IRA Standards: 1, 3, 4, 5, 7, 11, 12.

Weather Scope (Grades 3-5)http://www.ciese.org/curriculum/weatherproj2/en/guidelessons.shtmlIn this project, students observe and track weather in their hometown and two additional locations (why not the Arctic and Antarctica?) to learn about weather, factors influencing weather and climate, and weather forecasting.



Weather forecast for McMurdo Station, November 2008.

Antarctica: It’s Warm Here in the Summer.

Photo courtesy of Elisfanclub, Flickr.

26


All About Our Town: Using Brochures to Teach Informational Writinghttp://readwritethink.org/lessons/lesson_view.asp?id=856This lesson teaches students about informational writing through brochures. The lesson could be modified so that students create their own brochures about the weather and climate of an area they've been tracking.


Creative Climates (Grades K-5)http://www.nationalgeographic.com/xpeditions/activities/08/climates.htmlThis activity involves creating a climate map to illustrate the world's different climate zones. Modifications and literacy integrations are provided for younger and older students.

This lesson meets the National Science Education Standards: Earth and Space Science content standard, and the Science in Personal and Social Perspectives content standard.


POLAR WEATHER AND CLIMATEFew lessons focus exclusively on the weather of the polar regions. To incorporate this topic into your teaching, begin with this issue's Feature Story, on page 13 and Virtual Bookshelf on page 31. We've highlighted an animation and two web sites that provide temperature data for various polar locations. Many of the lessons listed above can be modified to include the Arctic and Antarctica.

British Antarctic Surveyhttp://www.antarctica.ac.uk/The home page of this web site lists current temperatures (in Celsius) at various locations in Antarctica (see chart to the left).

Arctic Map with Weather Datahttp://www.athropolis.com/map2.htmThis map shows communities, villages, and research stations throughout the Arctic. Click on a yellow dot to display current weather information for that location.

Interactive Arctic Climate Maphttp://www.weather.nps.navy.mil/~psguest/polarmet/climate/arcmap.htmlClick on labeled points in the Arctic to view a graph of the annual temperature cycle for that geographic location.

Why Is It Cold at the Poles? (Grades 3-5)http://www.educapoles.org/multimedia/animation_detail/why_is_it_cold_at_the_poles/This animation from the EducaPoles site explains why the poles are colder than other places on earth.Current temperatures in Antarctica, November 2010. Chart

courtesy of British Antarctic Survey, www.antarctica.ac.uk.

http://beyondpenguins.nsdl.org/issue/column.php?date=June2008&departmentid=literacy&columnid=literacy!feature

http://beyondpenguins.nsdl.org/issue/column.php?date=June2008&departmentid=literacy&columnid=literacy!feature

http://beyondpenguins.nsdl.org/issue/column.php?date=June2008&departmentid=literacy&columnid=literacy!bookshelf


http://www.antarctica.ac.uk/

http://www.antarctica.ac.uk/

http://www.athropolis.com/map2.htm

http://www.athropolis.com/map2.htm

http://www.weather.nps.navy.mil/~psguest/polarmet/climate/arcmap.html




http://www.educapoles.org/multimedia/animation_detail/why_is_it_cold_at_the_poles/




27

CLIMATE CHANGEUse these lessons and activities to help your students develop an understanding of climate change and how it is affecting the polar regions. Younger students should be introduced to the basic ideas of global warming (see our Virtual Bookshelf on page 31) and resource conservation. Upper-elementary students can begin to investigate the topic in more detail.

Be Energy Wise! (Grades K-2)http://www.climatechangenorth.ca/section-LP/LP_34_P_S_energywise.htmlIn this lesson students learn how electricity comes into their homes and what household appliances and devices use electricity. They create reminders and posters to help their families remember to turn off lights and reduce hot water use.

This lesson meets the National Science Education Standards: Science in Personal and Social Perspectives Content Standard.


Teaching Audience Through Interactive Writinghttp://readwritethink.org/lessons/lesson_view.asp?id=242This lesson supports students in learning about audience through interactive writing.


Modeling the Greenhouse Effect (Grades 3-5)http://www.esrl.noaa.gov/gmd/infodata//lesson_plans/Modeling%20the%20Greenhouse%20Effect.pdfIn this lesson students will model the greenhouse effect and draw conclusions about global warming.


People Changing the Atmosphere (Grades 4-5)http://sln.fi.edu/tfi/activity/space/sp-1.htmlBy keeping a "CO2 Journal," students establish the connection between human activity and global warming, while simultaneously discovering what they can do to reduce global warming.


To further integrate literacy skills into these two lessons, try:

Sing! Sing a Song! (Grades 3-5)http://climatechangenorth.ca/section-LP/LP_02_I_BMS_singing.htmlAfter learning about climate change, students work in small groups to write, sing, and make a recording of a song.


Antarctica: Snow Melt Run-off. Photo courtesy of Elisfanclub, Flickr.






http://www.climatechangenorth.ca/section-LP/LP_34_P_S_energywise.html




http://readwritethink.org/lessons/lesson_view.asp?id=242




http://www.readwritethink.org/classroom-resources/lesson-plans/teaching-audience-through-interactive-242.html?tab=2#tabs




http://www.esrl.noaa.gov/gmd/infodata//lesson_plans/Modeling%20the%20Greenhouse%20Effect.pdf






http://sln.fi.edu/tfi/activity/space/sp-1.html

http://sln.fi.edu/tfi/activity/space/sp-1.html

http://climatechangenorth.ca/section-LP/LP_02_I_BMS_singing.html




http://www.ncte.org/standards

http://www.ncte.org/standards

28

Weather Stations: Teaching the Science and

Technology Standard


Creating a classroom or school weather station can make the study of weather a daily and engaging activity. Yet this process also meets an important standard of the National Science Education Standards. According to the Science and Technology Content Standard, students in grades K-4 should understand that:

Tools help scientists make better observations, measurements, and equipment for investigations. They help scientists see, measure, and do things that they could not otherwise see, measure, and do.

Additionally, students in grades 5-8 should understand that:

Science and technology are reciprocal. Science helps drive technology, as it addresses questions that demand more sophisticated instruments and provides principles for better instrumentation and technique. Technology is essential to science, because it provides instruments and techniques

that enable observations of objects and phenomena that are otherwise unobservable due to factors such as quantity, distance, location, size, and speed. Technology also provides tools for investigations, inquiry, and analysis.

Creating and using a weather station gives students firsthand experience with tools and helps them understand the reciprocal relationship between science and technology. It also allows students to participate in real-time data projects.

Teaching & Assessment Strategies

CREATING A WEATHER STATIONHow should you go about creating a weather station? First, decide on what data will be collected. This will determine which instruments you'll need. Most weather stations include the following instruments:

• Thermometer: measures air temperature

• Rain Gauge: measures precipitation

• Wind Vane: measures wind direction

• Anemometer: measures wind speed

• Barometer: measures air pressure

• Hygrometer: measures humidity

Additionally, a cloud reference chart may be helpful in determining type of cloud cover. Cloud cover is usually recorded as a percent of the sky.

Weather stations traditionally are housed in louvered sheds, which allow for air circulation. Thermometers need to be kept out of direct sunlight and should ideally be located over grass, not pavement. Barometers can be kept indoors. All other instruments (rain gauge, wind vane, anemometer) should be kept in an open area.

While many weather stations and instruments are commercially available through science supply companies, it may be worthwhile to have students create their own weather tools (see the two web sites below for more information). Simply creating the tools provides students with valuable experience in terms of the Science and Technology Content Standard and gives them a better understanding of how the "real" tools work. It is important to note, however, that many of these homemade tools will provide comparative data, not qualitative data. For example, a homemade

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louver

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louver

29

barometer may tell students that the pressure has dropped since yesterday, but it will not provide an exact reading. For qualitative weather data that can be shared, purchase an inexpensive instrument or use data found in the newspaper or on the Internet. For gauging wind speed, a poster depicting the Beaufort wind scale, http://www.spc.noaa.gov/faq/tornado/beaufort.html, and a stationary object, like a flag, may be sufficient in lieu of an expensive anemometer.

On Observing the Weatherhttp://www.nsta.org/store/product_detail.aspx?id=10.2505/4/sc04_041_08_32This article from Science and Children shadows a meteorologist as he observes and records weather data at the Mount Washington Observatory in North Conway, New Hampshire. The article is free for members of the National Science Teachers Association and $0.99 for nonmembers.

Weather Toolshttp://www.miamisci.org/hurricane/weathertools.htmlA page from the Miami Museum of Science web site explains how to create simple weather tools. Some of these (barometer) will not take accurate measurements to be compared with those in newspapers or on web sites. Best for learning about each type of weather tool and how it works.

Make Your Own Weather Stationhttp://www.fi.edu/weather/todo/todo.htmlIncludes a hygrometer, a device that measures humidity. Describes homemade instruments.

Build Your Own Weather Stationhttp://school.discoveryeducation.com/lessonplans/activities/weatherstation/These directions are intended for students in grades 6-12, so you may need to modify them to create instruments in your classrooms. This page includes directions for building a hygrometer and general information for teachers.

Kids "Tune In" to Weather Curriculumhttp://www.education-world.com/a_curr/curr019.shtmlThis article from Education World describes how a classroom weather station is the basis for second- and third-grade studies of weather.

SHARING DATACollecting weather data may lead students to wonder how the weather differs across town or across the country. Interactive maps and web sites can provide this data for use with your class, or students can share their data (and compare with other classes) through real-time data projects.

Personal and Home Weather Stationshttp://www.weatherforyou.com/personal_weather_stations/maps/This interactive map shows personal and home weather stations across the continental United States (some international sites are also available).


Iceberg B-15A Weather Instrument.

Photo courtesy of Josh Landis, Wikimedia Commons.

30

Wonderful World of Weatherhttp://www.ciese.org/curriculum/weatherproj/This standards-based, real-time project was created to allow students in the elementary grades to investigate weather phenomena both locally as well as in other places around the world.

Weather Scopehttp://www.k12science.org/curriculum/weatherproj2/en/In this project, upper elementary students will conduct an investigation of local and world weather and climate.

ASSESSMENTAfter creating and using a weather station in your classroom, you may want to assess the students’ knowledge of weather tools and what they measure. Asking students to match pictures of instruments and their purpose is one way to assess this knowledge. Through a partnership with Content Clips, we’ve created an interactive sort that can be used as an assessment.

Weather Instrument Sorthttp://rs1.contentclips.com/ipy/fwd/ipy_0806_act_1_65.htmlThis sort asks students to match pictures ofweather tools to their uses. This activity requires Adobe Flash to view. If you don't have Flash, you

can download it for free from the Adobe web site. You will also need to turn off your pop-up blocker to use Content Clips.

Weather Instrument Sort Answer Keyhttp://onramp.nsdl.org/eserv/onramp:866/ipy_0806_weather_a65_key.pdfUse this answer key (a screenshot of the completed activity) to assess your students' work on the Weather Instrument Sort.

A Snapshot of Sea Ice. Photo courtesy of NASA Goddard Photo and Video, Flickr.


Content Clips, www.contentclips.com,is an interactive web environment designed

to help K-12 teachers supplement their curriculum with compelling online

resources and activities. By creating a free account, you can save resources and

activities (such as the weather tool sort) to your own collection. You can also create your own interactive activities to use in

your classroom. If you follow the links to the electronic books listed above, you will enter the site as a guest and will not be

able to save them to your own collection. If you wish to save these stories in your own collection, create an account, login, and

then search for "weather."

http://www.contentclips.com/

http://www.contentclips.com/

31

Weather and Climate: From Home to the

Poles:Virtual Bookshelf

By Kate Hastings

and Jessica Fries-Gaither

What do hurricanes, droughts, tornadoes, and floods have to do with the polar regions? When we think of the poles, we imagine snow storms and cold temperatures. But there is much to learn about polar climates and how fluctuations in planetary conditions are often first noticed

in these extreme locations.

It turns out that the poles (especially Antarctica) are actually very dry. It rarely snows because the temperature is too cold. But when it does snow, it stays around - for centuries. Blizzards are common in Antarctica because nothing holds the powdery snow in place. There are no trees. No rocks. Just a flat, cold, windy desert.

As our planet warms, ice at the poles melts. This changes the temperature, depth, and direction of ocean currents, which in turn changes weather and climate around the world. Scientists thus look to the polar

regions first to understand the impacts of global warming on our planet.

This month, your students will get a taste of meteorology - how to observe and study the weather and describe long-term weather patterns (climate). We've divided the bookshelf into five sections: Weather and Climate, Polar Weather and Climate, Snow and Winter Weather, Climate Change, and, of course, Penguins and Polar Bears. We've also included links to related lessons or articles from Beyond Penguins and Polar Bears.

WEATHER AND CLIMATE

What Will the Weather Be? Lynda DeWitt. 1991. Nonfiction book. Recommended ages: Grades K-3.With informative text and colorful

pictures, this book explains the science of meteorology, warm and cold fronts, weather instruments, and the difficulties of predicting the weather. It complements the General Weather and Climate lessons in the Science and Literacy Lessons and Activities on page 22.

The Cloud Book. Tomie de Paola. 1975. Nonfiction book. Recommended ages: Grades K-5.This book introduces the types of clouds, typical weather

associated with clouds, and weather-related stories and sayings. For older students, this book can be used in association with the ReadWriteThink lesson Weather Detectives: Questioning the Fact and Folklore of Weather Sayings, http://www.readwritethink.org/classroom-resources/lesson-plans/weather-detectives-questioning-fact-775.html.

Off The Bookshelf

http://beyondpenguins.nsdl.org/issue/column.php?date=June2008&departmentid=literacy&columnid=literacy!lessons








32

WEATHER AND CLIMATE (CONTINUED)

Off The Bookshelf

What's the Weather? Melissa Stewart. 2005. Nonfiction book. Recommended ages: Grades 2-5.Bright photographs and simple concepts urge children to

explore weather through observation. Use in conjunction with General Weather and Climate lesson plans in the Science and Literacy Lessons and Activities on page 22. Boldface words and a glossary provide opportunities for vocabulary development.

Climates. Theresa Jarosz Alberti. 2005. Nonfiction book. Recommended ages: Grades 2-5.This book showcases Earth's diverse climates and will help

children compare and contrast polar and boreal climates with those in tropical, subtropical, temperate, mountain and desert climates. Use this book with the Comparing/Contrasting Weather and Climate lessons in the Science and Literacy Lessons and Activities on page 22.

Hands-On Projects About Weather and Climate. Krista West. 2002. Nonfiction book. Recommended ages: Grades 2-5.Students can learn about

weather by creating simple barometers, anemometers, and rain gauges. Directions for activities are supported with photographs - budding scientists will learn much from this hands-

on approach. Use this book with the General Weather and Climate lessons and activities found in the Science and Literacy Lessons and Activities on page 22.

Climate Maps. Ian F. Mahaney. 2007. Nonfiction book. Recommended ages: Grades 3-5.Maps aren't just for representing cities, countries and landforms!

Maps can also show us where average temperature and rainfall create distinct climates. Students will learn map terminology and how climate maps can be useful for both farmers and scientists. This book is a perfect complement to the lesson Creative Climates from the National Geographic Xpeditions web site: http://www.nationalgeographic.com/xpeditions/activities/08/climates.html.

Meteorologists. Heather Hammonds. 2004. Nonfiction book. Recommended ages: Grades 3-5.In this book, students learn about the history, science, and

career of meteorology. This book complements the General Weather and Climate lessons and activities found in the Science and Literacy Lessons and Activities on page 22.











http://www.nationalgeographic.com/xpeditions/activities/08/climates.html

http://www.nationalgeographic.com/xpeditions/activities/08/climates.html





33

SNOW AND WINTER WEATHER

Stella, Queen of the Snow. Marie-Louise Gay. 2000. Picture book. Recommended ages: K-2.Sam is a very curious little boy with lots of questions for his big

sis, Stella - who sometimes knows the answers, even if she needs to make them up. A fun springboard for discussing the real facts about what polar bears eat (Do they really eat snow?) and what happens to frogs under a frozen pond.

Off The Bookshelf

POLAR WEATHER AND CLIMATE

Recess at 20 Below. Cindy Lou Aillaud. 2005. Nonfiction book. Recommended ages: Grades K-5.In Delta Junction, Alaska, it is recess (and school) as usual at

20 below zero. Join real students as they trudge to school in the dark, bundle up for snowy fun, and share what it is like to live in a cold and beautiful place. Written and photographed by an Alaskan educator, this book will intrigue students and adults alike.

North Pole, South Pole. Nancy Smiler Levinson. 2002. Nonfiction book. Recommended ages: Grades 2-4.An easy reader explains basic

weather at the poles - no rain, dry and windy - and how people and animals survive. This book

complements a study of polar weather suggested in the Science and Literacy Lessons and Activities on page 22.

Survivor's Science at the Polar Regions. Peter D. Riley. 2005. Nonfiction book. Recommended ages: Grades 3-5.This book compares and

contrasts the polar regions in terms of weather; clothes you would need to wear; plants and animals; ice, water, and snow; traveling in these regions; and seasons. Each topic includes a hands-on activity suitable for use in a classroom or as at-home enrichment. The book includes a glossary and an index.

While these books do not relate directly to the polar regions, they can be used as an introduction to snow and winter weather for students of all ages.



34

Names for Snow. Judi K. Beach. 2003. Picture book. Recommended ages: K-1.When a young mouse asks her mother what snow is, her mother uses several words to describe it.

Good for building vocabulary and descriptive skills.

A Cold Snap! Frosty Poems. Audrey B. Baird. 2002. Poetry book. Recommended ages: Grades 3-5.Poetry artistically describes winter weather from the Alberta Clippers

whipping up the water on the Great Lakes to the breath clouds hanging in the air at a bus stop.

SNOW AND WINTER WEATHER (CONTINUED)

Off The Bookshelf

Why Are the Ice Caps Melting? The Dangers of Global Warming. Anne Rockwell. 2006. Nonfiction book. Recommended ages: Grades 2-5.

This book explains the science behind global warming and provides local examples to help students understand this complex subject. While the book emphasizes the serious nature of global warming, it does focus on simple actions students can do to promote change. A read-aloud for younger grades and independent reading for older students. Use this book in conjunction with the lessons on Climate Change in the Science and Literacy Lessons and Activities on page 22.

Hands-On Projects About Weather and Climate. Krista West. 2002. Nonfiction book. Recommended ages: Grades 2-5.In addition to weather activities,

there are also activities to encourage students to create their own climate timelines and ice core

samples and study tree rings to learn about climate change. Directions for activities are supported with photographs. Budding scientists will learn much from this hands-on approach. Use this book in conjunction with the lessons on Climate Change in the Science and Literacy Lessons and Activities on page 22.

A Kid's Guide to Global Warming. Glenn Murphy. 2008. Nonfiction book. Recommended ages: Grades 3-5.Students will be engaged by this

book's full-color photographs, short, informational text, and compelling subject matter. This book is organized like an encyclopedia, answering the questions: What is global warming? What does it mean for us? What are we doing? and What can you do? This book is suitable for inclusion at a learning center or for studying the headings and structure of informational text. Use this book in conjunction with the lessons on Climate Change in the Science and Literacy Lessons and Activities on page 22.

CLIMATE CHANGE







35

CLIMATE CHANGE (CONTINUED)

Off The Bookshelf

Penguins and Their Chicks. Margaret Hall. 2004. Nonfiction book. Recommended ages: Grades K-2.Large, bright photographs and

simple text explain basic facts about penguins in general. Different species are shown, but not named. Good for sharing with a large group at the beginning of a unit of study. The section "Watch Penguins Grow" uses full-color photographs to introduce the concept of life cycles and timelines.

Ice Bear: In the Steps of the Polar Bear. Nicola Davies. 2005. Picture book. Recommended ages: Grades K-5.Exquisite oil on canvas paintings

accompany simple text that describes polar bears and their adaptations - small ears close to their heads and out of the wind, fur coats four fingers thick, adults weighing more than two lions. The book's size makes it perfect for sharing with a group. In addition to developing science knowledge, the book could be a springboard for an art project in watercolor or in oil pastels.

GEOLOGICAL TIME

Climate Change. Corona Brezina. 2008. Nonfiction book. Recommended ages: Grades 4-5.This compact resource explains the difference between weather

and climate, and how climates change over time. Topics include ice cores, greenhouse gases, and the effects of warming on the planet. Dense, expository text makes this most suitable for advanced students needing greater challenge and individual reading. Use this book in conjunction with the lessons on Climate Change in the Science and Literacy Lessons and Activities on page 22





About Us

Beyond Penguins and Polar Bears is an online professional development magazine for elementary

teachers. It prepares teachers to integrate high-quality science instruction with literacy teaching. The

magazine is available for free at http://beyondpenguins.nsdl.org.

Twenty thematic issues link polar science concepts to the scope and sequence of elementary science

curricula. The result is a resource that includes issues devoted to day and night, seasons, plants and

mammals, erosion, and other physical, earth and space, and life science concepts. Some issues are

also interdisciplinary, focusing on polar explorers, the indigenous people of the Arctic, and the

challenges of doing science in the polar regions. To browse the complete archive of issues, visit

http://beyondpenguins.nsdl.org/archive.php.

Other project features include a companion blog (http://expertvoices.nsdl.org/polar) about polar news

and research, a polar photo gallery (http://beyondpenguins.nsdl.org/photogallery/index.php) and a

podcast series (http://beyondpenguins.nsdl.org/podcast/index.php).

Beyond Penguins and Polar Bears is funded by the National Science Foundation under Grant No.

0733024 and is produced by an interdisciplinary team from Ohio State University (OSU), College of

Education and Human Ecology; the Ohio Resource Center (ORC) for Mathematics, Science, and

Reading; the Byrd Polar Research Center; COSI (Center for Science and Industry) Columbus; the

Upper Arlington Public Library (UAPL); and the National Science Digital Library (NSDL) Core

Integration team at Cornell University and University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR).

Copyright November 2010. Beyond Penguins and Polar Bears is produced by an interdisciplinary team from Ohio State

University (OSU), College of Education and Human Ecology; the Ohio Resource Center (ORC) for Mathematics, Science, and

Reading; the Byrd Polar Research Center; COSI (Center for Science and Industry) Columbus; the Upper Arlington Public

Library (UAPL); and the National Science Digital Library (NSDL). This material is based upon work supported by the National

Science Foundation under Grant No. 0733024. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in

this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation. Content

in this document is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license. Printed version layout

and design by Margaux Baldridge, Office of Technology and Enhanced Learning, College of Education and Human Ecology,

The Ohio State University. For more information email: [email protected].

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Weather and Climate: From Home to the Poles

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