4.4: Weather measurements create a record that can be used to make weather…

Weather Detectives Grade 5

Warm winter winds, the hottest spot in the schoolyard and the last frost of spring. Students measure weather fairly and find out why farmers care so much about it.

• Why does a chinook feel like spring in January? 50–60 min

  Students test how moving air speeds up melting, then use a tabletop mountain and a few simple numbers to follow a parcel of air over the Rockies and find out why it arrives warm. They compare the chinook with similar winds around the world.

• Is it hotter by the slide? 50–60 min

  Teams take thermometers into the schoolyard and measure the air temperature at the same spots, the same way, to find the warmest and coolest places. They learn why a fair measurement matters and explain the differences they find.

• Why do farmers care about the last frost? 50–60 min

  Students compare frozen and fresh lettuce leaves to see what frost does to a plant, then use frost dates to work out the growing season in their own town and decide which crops have time to grow. They give planting advice backed by data.

Climate Clues Grade 6

Tree rings, old weather records and what your own town's numbers say. Three lessons on how scientists tell climate apart from a cold week.

• Is this winter colder than when your grandparents were kids? 50–60 min

  Students compare January temperatures from the 1960s with the last ten years, using their own town's records. They find out why memories and single years can mislead, and how averages show the real pattern.

• What can a tree ring tell us? 50–60 min

  Students count and measure the rings in a real slice of tree, match ring widths to rainfall, and compare old and new photographs of a glacier. They explain how nature keeps records of past climate long before anyone owned a thermometer.

• What's the difference between weather and climate? 45–60 min

  A cold week versus a cold century. Students sort evidence cards into weather and climate, then roll dice to make a month of 'weather' and see how a small shift in climate still allows cold days. They settle the argument with evidence.

Printable practice for 4.4

• Weather Detectives workbook included with the unit

  1 word wall, 1 English-support page, 1 practice page, 1 reading, 1 unit review, 1 unit test, with answer keys.

• Monsoon Science: Rain, Sun and the Nón Lá workbook included with the unit

  2 readings, 1 unit test, with answer keys.

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