FOSS Next Generation Weather and Seasons

Students engage with the phenomenon of the air that surrounds us and the earth materials that cover the planet’s surface. They use tools and methods to build on their understanding of the weather. They use calendars to record observations and monitor change over a day, weeks, and months. Students use simple tools to observe, describe, analyze, and sort solid earth materials. They observe the properties of rocks of various sizes and study the results of weathering and erosion, and locate natural sources of water.

Students use instruments to observe and record weather over 4 weeks on a class calendar and in science notebooks. Students monitor temperature with a thermometer and rainfall with a rain gauge. They learn to identify three basic cloud types by matching their observations with a cloud chart. Students look for evidence of moving air. They observe and describe wind speed using an anemometer and a wind scale. They construct wind vanes to find the wind’s direction.

Students investigate a mixture of different-sized river rocks as a phenomenon. They separate the rocks using a series of three screens to identify five sizes of rocks: large pebbles, small pebbles, large gravel, small gravel, and sand. They add water to a vial of sand to discover silt and clay. Students learn how sand is formed and compare slow landform changes of weathering and erosion to rapid landform changes due to volcanic eruptions.

Students organize monthly weather data, using graphs to describe weather trends. They continue to monitor weather throughout the year, compare the seasons, and look for weather patterns.