Lesson+6

Lesson # 6 - Forecast Earth: Continents & Climates Description of lesson: Does it snow in Argentina? Are there palm trees in Antarctica? Building off our discussion of hemispheres, in this lesson, we will define climates and begin to understand how they vary in different regions of the world. Specifically, we will look at average temperatures around the globe in the seven cities we visited earlier in the unit. Students will begin to understand how different locations have different climates, which affects what kinds of agriculture, weather and lifeforms we can find there!

In Class Assignment: In groups, pick three cities on different continents. Using www.wikipedia.com or www.freemeteo.com, find the average high and low temperatures for each city. Then using GoogleDocs create a graph of those temperatures. What are three conclusions you can make based on your findings? Think about the plants or animals that may live in these places? What would you need to walk outside? Are there any similarities between the places you picked?

media type="custom" key="8503636" Homework Assignment: 5 Day Forecast - Record the high and low temperatures for a city in Colorado over five days. Create a graph either using GoogleDocs or by hand. Make sure to correctly label all important parts of your graph. Then answer the following three questions: What was the range of the temperatures? What was the average temperature over the five days? What was median temperature? Resources needed: SmartBoard, internet research, GoogleDocs, calculator

Technology Reflection: Using GoogleDocs will allow students to create an accurate and vibrant summary of their data research. This easy to use website will allow students to fully engage with the material and create a workable document that we can add to as a class. Students will enhance their graphing skills by creating a spreadsheet to determine the axis, form of measurement etc. Additionally, they will practice their research skills by finding the temperature information from the two sources provided. Overall, students will have a strong relationship with the research and feel a sense of accomplishment after successfully creating a vivid graph of their data.

 Evaluation: Students will be evaluated based on their ability to create a complete graph, with the appropriate axis, labels, and form of measurement for the in class assignment. If limited computers are available for class use, I will provide the temperature data for the students so they can divide their time creating the graph online. With the use of GoogleDocs we can combine all of graphs easily and analyze the data as a whole. This is a great, flexible tool that will give students practice at graphing, as well as test their critical thinking skills when drawing conclusions about the data.