Building Knowledge of Weather and Its Impact on Daily Life
After the unit, the students would have structured and comprehensive knowledge of the science behind weather and how weather affects people’s lives. The science behind weather phenomena could be introduced by showing students pictures of weather occurrences and asking them to write names for them.
Engaging Activities to Connect Students with Weather Phenomena
Furthermore, the students could be tasked with writing in a journal regarding their day-to-day weather experiences and sharing them with the class. This would allow students to have a closer connection to the subject through their experiences and the recollections from their peers.
Mathematics Applications Through Weather-Related Exercises
The mathematics portion would include exercises in counting and evaluating produce influenced by the weather. For example, the students can be given a picture of an area affected by droughts or floods and a picture of an area unaffected by these phenomena. The task would be to compare the number of trees or produce in the pictures and draw conclusions. This would allow the students to develop comprehension and critical thinking skills.
Learning Outcomes
As a result of the unit, the students will be able to explain the reasons behind different weather phenomena and their consequences for the world. In addition, after completing the unit, the students will become aware that nature is interconnected and directly affects how people live. This would lead to students being interested in the environment and climate change. Furthermore, this plan would partially include service learning, as the students would get involved in the community and human needs that stem from weather and climate phenomena. The reading material that helped me conceptualize the idea of climate and environmental issues as a part of the unit was the part about adding a conceptual focus.
Utilizing Community Resources to Support Learning
One of the community resources that will be useful for this topic is the program Cycles of Nature at the Hawaii Nature Center. It shows growth and development cycles, helping students describe and understand how natural rhythms work. The codes integrated into it are LS2.A, LS4.D, and ESS2-C: T, which indicate that the program teaches an understanding of biodiversity, ecosystem relations, and the role of water in nature.