Exploring the power of nature can be intriguing for your naturally curious fourth graders.
Fourth graders are at the ideal age to learn about weather patterns, systems, and read, check and prepare for bad weather. Teaching them about the natural science of weather isn't difficult and you will find a heightened amount of interest in this particular age group. Learning about the weather can be fun for both you and your students as they explore the power of nature and the ways in which man tries to understand and predict it.
Instructions
1. Start your discussions on weather by asking the students what constitutes good and bad weather. Start two widely-spaced columns labeled "good weather" and "bad weather". You will need a space in the middle for a "both" category as the children begin to discuss weather such as snow and rain which can be both beneficial and harmful.
2. Begin your lessons on weather by asking your kids where they see weather information, whether it is in the newspaper or on television. Talk about how the weather is assessed and reported on and what observations must be taken in order for it to be assessed correctly.
3. Use a large weather map to discuss weather systems and contributing factors such as low pressure, high pressure, cold fronts and weather systems. Teach children read a weather map on their own and include handouts where they can practice reading a map on their own.
4. Ask a local weather authority such as a weather reporter from a local news station to come and speak to the students about weather. Have the weatherman discuss the career opportunities that can be pursued in in the weather field such as meteorologist, climatologist and hydrologist, who studies rain.
5. Discuss the role of weather in nature such as how predominant weather events can leave their mark on history, including tree rings known as dendroclimatology. Temperature, floods and even fluctuation in sun spots can be ascertained from tree rings and are assessed by a dendroclimatolgist. Look for materials and video demonstrations on tree rings or call your local forestry service to see if they can come and speak in class.
6. Teach the protective steps that everyone should know about bad weather -- protect yourself during a tornado, the importance of evacuation, call 911 during an emergency and where to seek shelter during a disaster. The smallest piece of information could save a life later on.
7. Explain how the cycle of evaporation helps make clouds. A great way to do this is to place a small amount of water in a two liter jar and place it in the sun. As the water evaporates and collects on the inside of the bottle the students understand how clouds are formed through evaporation.
8. Build your own weather station outside your classroom and choose one student each week to record the weather. Be sure to allow other children to map the weather on a classroom weather map and compare and contrast it with the weatherman's predictions.
9. Utilize online resources such as Weather Channel Kids or Scholastic's Interactive Weather Maker to get your students interested in weather.
Tags: about weather, tree rings, come speak, discuss weather, good weather, power nature, weather asking
