Become a Meterologist – 7361

Summary

Students were posed the following scenario: You have just been hired by the local TV station as a meteorologist! A meteorologist is someone who studies the weather and the weather patterns. They make forecasts, or predictions, about what they think the weather will be like based on the weather patterns. They also use specific weather tools. You will work with a group to make a weather prediction. You will put to use lots of the vocabulary you have learned.

You will create a 5-day forecast/prediction. Your group should decide what season you want to use for your forecast, because that will strongly influence your other choices. Students created their own script, 5-day flipchart forecast then created a video of their actual forecast using those materials.

TIPC Ratings

Entry: This was not a focus of this lesson. Students were using the instruction provided by the teacher on weather vocabulary and instruments.

Developing: Students were placed in randomly selected groups. The groups organized tasks and roles around the assignment requirements. The student communication occurred predominantly in class, but the structure of the collaboration was the skill highlighted in this lesson. Students had to come to consensus on the assignment decisions and work load. The teacher also emphasized the importance of the flow of information during the forecast presentation, which can only be achieved if students worked as a cohesive team. The class verbally reflected at the end of the assignment regarding what we thought worked well and what could be done to improve upon the project next year.

Approaching: The teacher designed an authentic task which required students to use an interactive map, images, and weather terminology to create an original and accurate forecast. Students chose a season for their forecast first which required them to insert weather events to match that season and then justify those predictions with their maps and weather descriptions.

Ideal: Students analyzed trends in weather to create the extended 5 day forecast. Students had to chose a season, a potential storm and align their forecast to represent the transition before or after the potential storm, which lead students to creating their own forecast and insights to why the weather is happening. Students could have gone in a variety of directions with their forecast as long as they could explain their work and it made sense. Students produced scripts with more than just the weather and really owned their role as meteorologist, and in turn gained a deep understanding of how to predict the weather.

Student Artifact

Group 6.

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Contents:

  • Lesson Plan
  • Lesson Outline
  • Rubric
  • Links to student artifacts

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