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Topic(s):
Atmosphere, Climate, Elementary (K-4)
Scenario: Climate Poem
Climate and Air
The air around us moves and behaves in different ways.
The weather that happens there changes with the days.
A place's climate is all it's weather, something like a sum.
Could you take all the days in a year and describe them as one?
You talk about the weather. You can feel it in the air.
Need a hat in winter cold or shorts when it is fair.
All those clothes in your closet might just be a clue.
About the climate where you live. I have a coat, do you?
If you could look in the closets of people far away.
See all the clothes they could wear on any given day.
Think of it like you are playing a climate guessing game.
Do you think that their clothes and yours would look the same?
If you wanted to visit an Inuit and stay for awhile.
Packed a trunk full of clothes and traveled all of those miles.
Thought about how the air feels there in a polar climate.
What would be packed in your trunk? How would you describe it?
If you wanted to spend some time on a tropical beach.
Packed your bag, took a boat to an island you could reach.
Thought about the air that's there blowing across the sand.
What would you need to be wearing when you hit the land?
If you decided to try to cross a desert on a camel.
Knowing that the humps they have are needed for that travel.
Thought about how hot and dry a desert climate can be.
What would you wear to give you shade instead of a tree?
If you went on safari in a jungle in the tropics.
Trying to learn about frogs, plants and other topics.
Thought about the hot, damp air there feeling oh, so sticky.
Would packing for your visit to that climate zone be tricky?
Now think about how the air usually feels where you live.
I'm going to pack for a visit based on the advice that you give.
If I stayed for quite awhile, let's say, a year or more.
What would be on a list for me to bring along for sure?
Climate and Air Essential Questions
As you work through this module see if you can find answers to these essential questions and other questions of your own about climate and air.- How are weather and climate alike? How are they different?
- What does the temperature of the air in your neighborhood have to do with your climate?
- What does the amount of water in the air in your neighborhood have to do with your climate?
- What climate words would you use to describe the air in your neighborhood?
- How is the air in your neighborhood the same or different from the air in other places on Earth with a different climate?
Date: 11/20/2009
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Scenario Images
The Earth is surrounded by a thin blanket of gases called the atmosphere. The atmosphere protects the Earth from the harsh rays of the Sun. Weather happens in the atmosphere and over time that weather determines the climate. In some places the air is cold or hot and dry. Other places have humid (full of water vapor) air or air that changes a lot with the seasons. Water, carbon and nitrogen all move from the Earth's surface into the Earth's atmosphere in cycles. These cycles are important to Earth's living things. Images: clipart.com
Sunshine around the world. What do the colors mean? The Sun shines and warms our air, water, land and us, too. Not all of the places on Earth get the same amount of sunshine. Even the same place on Earth gets different amounts of sunshine at different times of the year (seasons). Watch this and see how the amount of sunshine changes during the year and from year to year around the world. Image credit: NASA Earth Observatory
Air temperatures around the world. What do the colors mean? The Sun warms Earth's land, water, living things and air. Some places on Earth have hot air and some places have cold air. In many places the air temperature changes from hot to cold with the seasons. Watch this and see how air temperature changes with the seasons and from year to year around the world. Image credit: http://climviz.org
Cloud cover around the world. What do the colors mean? Clouds are weather indicators. They can tell us about the weather now and how the weather might change. The amount of cloud cover in a place over a long period time affects the climate. Watch this and see how cloud cover changes during the year and from year to year around the world. Image credit: NASA Earth Observatory
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Resources
Climate: Air
(Cycle A)
Use these kid sites to learn more about climate and air.
Earth Science Basics
(Cycle A)
Need information about Earth's cycles, systems and processes? These resources are for you:
Learn About Climate and Air for Teachers
(Cycle B)
Use these resources to build your understanding of climate and air: - What is Climate? This Exploring Earth investigation explores factors affecting climate.
- World Climates Information about climate classification, biomes and more.
- The World's Biomes from the University of California's Museum of Paleontology.
- NSTA Science Objects NSTA Science Objects are on-line interactive inquiry-based modules that help teachers better understand the science content they teach. Many objects are free to non-members and can be saved in a personal library by creating an account. On the home page select Earth and Space Science from the Subjects menu. Scroll to find topics of interest and these free specific objects from the weather topics:
- Global Climate Patterns
- Ocean Effects on Climate and Weather: Global Circulation Patterns
- Oceans Effects on Climate and Weather: Global Precipitation and Energy
- Effect of Oceans on Weather and Climate
- Global Climate Change from NASA's Eyes on the Earth - a complete resource for exploring climate change.
- Human Influence on Global Climate This Exploring Earth investigation explores how human activities influence the global climate system.
- Earth's Climate and Global Change This collection from Windows on the Universe explores a variety of climate topics.
- U.S. Climate Normals This NCDC site has links to free information and data. Select Climate of the States then your state for a brief desciption of your climate.
Design You Own Investigation for Teachers
(Cycle C)
The following provide lesson plans and more relating to climate and weather: - Global Climate Animations
- MY NASA DATA Access lesson plans, activities and more for grades 3-5.
- Kids' Crossing in the Classroom This curriculum guide provides activities and more for use with the Kids' Crossing website from the the folks at UCAR.
- NASA Earth Observatory Image Generator Use this tool to make custom inmages of climate and weather datasets. Use the images to compare factors like snow coverage over a period of time in your neighborhood. Click on ? icon on the tools menu to learn how.
- Climate Change Wildlife and Wildlands - Toolkit for Teachers - Explore the impacts of climate change on the U.S. by region.
- This issue of Beyond Polar Bears and Penguins online magazine explores Weather and Climate: From Home to the Poles. Includes misconceptions, activities, recommended books and more. Additional archived issues are available here.
- Teach Engineering has activities and lessons that can be sorted by subject and grade level.
- Digital Libray for Earth System Science the ultimate resource for Earth Science lesson plans, investigations and publications.
- This American Library Association site has links to all kinds of great websites for kids.
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Sample Investigations
A Way to Start Understanding Climate: Air
(Cycle A)
This investigation explores the difference between weather and climate and how air temperature affects climate.
Do you remember what the weather was like on your birthday last year? Probably not unless there was a big storm or you had an outdoor birthday party and it rained. Now try to remember what the weather was like on all of your birthdays for last 3 years. Hard, isn't it? Weather happens for a day, for a week, a month or a year. But climate is all of the weather that happens all year long over many years.
Want to learn more about climate? Do you like playing with sand? Then do this investigation and explore your family's climate by looking at one climate and weather indicator, high temperatures. You will use your birthday and the birthdays of your family to build a "family climate" profile.
Class Climate: Temperature for Teachers
Difficulty: beginner
Carbon Dioxide and Air Temperature
(Cycle A)
What's in the air? Not just the oxygen living things need, that's for sure. The air is a mixture of gasses and tiny pieces of solids. It has oxygen, nitrogen, carbon dioxide and water vapor gasses, to name just a few. It has dust and ice crystals and pollen, too. The Earth's atmosphere, it's blanket of air, keeps the Earth warm.
In this investigation you will explore how changes in what's in the air changes the temperature of the air. You can use the tanks from this investigation to explore how air temperature affects the water cycle and melting of glaciers and polar ice caps, too. Want to learn more about how the atmosphere affects water and land? Try these investigations: Carbon Dioxide and Air Temperature for Teachers
Difficulty: beginner
What Would You Take on Your Trip?
(Cycle A)
You know more about climate than you think. If you were going on a trip to the desert, what would you pack in your suitcase for you visit? What if you were going to a tropical jungle? Give this interactive game a try and see how climate smart you already are. Pick one of the biomes and see what else you can learn about it and the climate there. Use what you learn to write a story or a make scrapbook about your tip. Here's a great place to start.
What Would You Take? for Teachers
Difficulty: beginner
Learn About Climate and Air
(Cycle B)
Work with your team to find answers to questions of your own and these Essential Questions about Earth's climate and air: - How are weather and climate alike? How are they different?
- What does the temperature of the air in your neighborhood have to do with your climate?
- What does the amount of water in the air in your neighborhood have to do with your climate?
- What climate words would you use to describe the air in your neighborhood?
- How is the air in your neighborhood the same or different from the air in other places on Earth with a different climate?
Difficulty: beginner
Design an Climate: Air Investigation
(Cycle C)
Design an investigation of your own that will help students ask and seek answers to questions like these about Earth's climate and air: - How are weather and climate alike? How are they different?
- What does the temperature of the air in your neighborhood have to do with your climate?
- What does the amount of water in the air in your neighborhood have to do with your climate?
- What climate words would you use to describe the air in your neighborhood?
- How is the air in your neighborhood the same or different from the air in other places on Earth with a different climate?
Difficulty: beginner
Standards:
- Science
National Science Education Standards - Science Content Standards
http://www.nap.edu/readingroom/books/nses/html/overview.html#content
The science content standards outline what students should know, understand, and be able to do in the natural sciences over the course of K-12 education.
- K-12 UNIFYING CONCEPTS AND PROCESSES
The understandings and abilities associated with the following concepts and processes need to be developed throughout a student's educational experiences:
- Systems, order, and organization
- Evidence, models, and explanation
- Constancy, change, and measurement
- GRADES K-4 CONTENT STANDARDS
- Science as Inquiry (Std A)
- Abilities necessary to do scientific inquiry
- Understanding about scientific inquiry
- Physical Science (Std B)
- Properties of objects and materials
- Life Science (Std C)
- Organisms and environments
- Earth and Space Science (Std D)
- Science in Personal and Social Perspectives (Std F)
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