ePals Weather Watch

Theme: Weather and Seasons

Age Range: Ages 5-18

This project idea supports these subject areas:

Science, Technology, Language Arts, Writing and Research, Visual Presentations, Reasoning and Critical Thinking, Group Skills, Media Communication, Math and Social Studies.

Time Frame For Completion: 2 to 3 weeks

Overview:

Welcome to the world of weather! We've designed this unit as a way for ePALS partners to understand more about where you live and what you do during different times of the year in different parts of the world. It will also be exciting for your students to read weather predictions for their partners' location and to use that as a reference point to find out if it is really happening! The world's climates and weather patterns are all connected to one another. What goes on in one part of the world affects, and is affected by, what happens in another part of the world. This is partially in relation to predictable (and sometimes not-so-predictable!) weather patterns, to the seasons and to the earth's proximity to the sun.

Objectives:

1. Learn about weather patterns, seasons and temperatures in at least two parts of the world.
2. Learn how to read world maps or globes by locating your country and your partners' country.
3. Learn how to interpret weather patterns on a satellite map and in your local newspaper and to interpret predictions, probability and long-range forecasting from two different sources.
4. Identify conditions which create specific seasons in two parts of the world.
5. Learn how to create charts that can be used to map out the accuracy of weather predictions and find out how frequently these predictions are correct.

Activities:

As part of a larger calendar activity, have your class prepare some information that describes in pictures or in writing the different types of weather (weather patterns) that occur in your area at this time of year and the name of the current season.

Following is a list of 4 suggested units that make up this project idea. While we encourage you and your partners to do them all, you can choose to do any one independently of the rest.

1. In your current season, and in collaboration with your partner teacher, choose a five-day period with your partner class. Have both classes chart out how often a "typically seasonal" day occurs. Older students may want to do this in a pie-chart format, younger students may want to use the bar-graph method. Use the appropriate math concepts to reinforce portions, fractions, percentages etc. with your students (i.e. one out of four days was sunny). Exchange these results with your partners to learn about what is happening in a second part of the world. Compare these results. Have your students come up with questions for your ePALS partners to answer that may help explain the similarities and differences between your locations. Look at your globe and world map to help you answer some of these questions.

2. How many seasons do each of you have? Describe to your partners what these are like, listing the temperature range of each season either in picture or number format. Have your students come up with a set of survey questions that would inform each other about their favorite activities during these seasons, what their favourite season is and why. Have them describe to each other any community work that is required during a specific season (i.e. harvesting, collecting, preparing for a rainy season, a dry season, a storm season, etc.).

3. Choose a 5-day period with your partner class and create a 5-day chart with six columns. Three columns will represent your city/town and three columns will represent the city/town of your partners. Using an online weather service and your local newspaper (to gain experience using another resource), fill the first two columns of each location with the weather forecast given for each of the five days. Record what actually happens - you will need to be in touch with your partner class on a daily basis to find out what the current weather is and to provide them with your current weather conditions. Map out the accuracy of these predictions. How frequently does this happen based on your five-day project? Does the online satellite map accurately reflect real weather conditions in both locations? How do you know? (What is the evidence on the map?)

4. Have there been any unusual weather occurrences in your area in the last two years? (Flooding, hurricanes, tornadoes, drought, high air pollution indexes, ice storms, winter storms, calm winters, very hot summers, brush or forest fires?) Describe these events to each other - how did it effect your community, your school and your home life? Trade experiences in writing or in pictures. If you have access to a scanner, you can exchange these pictures.

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