Friday, January 8, 2010

It's about the weather: Forecasting a "Teachable Moment"

Today’s weather will provide us with arctic winds, cloudy skies and an unprecedented amount of snow. Although this is not the actual forecast, this winter has no doubt been cold and even brutal, with occasional bouts of snow, low wind chill factors, and icy rain. This type of weather is not uncommon, nevertheless in this part of the south, this weather is not the norm. And thus, drastic shifts in temperatures provide teachers with opportunities to discuss the weather. Kindergarten teachers may use this opportunity to discuss precipitation and temperature. Fifth grade teachers may use this as a chance to discuss how weather forecasters use various elements to predict weather conditions. Teachers may find the following weather related resources helpful when studying, observing and understanding weather conditions. (See Kindergarten (Science-Goal 2 and Fifth grade(Science Goal 3).

Online Resources:
http://www.theweatherchannelkids.com/weather-games/
http://www.theweatherchannelkids.com/weather-ed/teacher-resources/
http://www.weather.com/

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