Unit Summary
Are you prepared? Weather has a profound influence on human activities. Favourable weather is helpful while severe weather could be harmful and endanger human life. Students form a meteorologist team to study the weather of their area. They observe and keep track of the weather conditions. The students predict weather for the upcoming week by analyzing the weather patterns. They present their forecasts and weather influences through a multimedia presentation. They work together to design a weather poster to share information on preparing and adapting to different weather conditions with the local community.

Curriculum-Framing Questions 

• Essential Question
  Are you prepared?
• Unit Questions
  How do you predict weather?
  How do people prepare and adapt to different weather conditions?
• Content Questions
  What are the influences of weather on our daily activities?
  What are the key words used by the meteorologist to talk about the weather conditions?

Assessment Processes
View how a variety of student-centred assessments are used in the Come Rain or Shine Unit Plan. These assessments help students and teachers to set goals; monitor students’ progress; provide feedback; assess thinking, processes, performances and products and reflect on learning throughout the learning cycle.

Instructional Procedures
Introducing the unit (1 Period)
Present the essential question: Are you prepared?  Engage students to give examples of the preparations that they need for their daily life. Relate the question to the importance of preparation in different weather conditions. Have students discuss the Essential Question in small groups. Ask students to share their responses with the class and have them write their responses in their journals.

Introduce the project, Come Rain or Shine. Divide students into groups and tell them that they will form meteorologist teams to study the weather in their area. Explain the roles and responsibilities of a meteorologist. Each team’s main task will be to predict the weather for an upcoming week, study on weather influences and suggest preparation and adaptation to different weather conditions.

Getting to know weather (2 Periods)
Read a poem (DOC 846KB) “Oh my!”. Have student volunteers or the whole class read after you with the correct intonation and word stress. After the reading, discuss with students the underlying meaning of the poem.

Post the Content Question: What are the key words used by the meteorologist to talk about the weather conditions?

Have students identify the vocabulary commonly used by meteorologist from the poem. Guide them to look for the meaning of the vocabulary by using the online dictionary, for example, wordcentral*. Have the students fill up the vocabulary list (DOC 76KB) so that they can track the new vocabulary they learn.

In groups, ask students to brainstorm their ideas and thoughts on the following questions:

• How do you predict weather?
• Why is weather prediction important to us?
• What are the important facts in a weather chart?

Have students record their responses in the journal. Explain to students that understanding weather chart is the initial step before they can predict weather. Show a sample weather chart (DOC 49KB) to students and have them recognize and analyze what each symbol means according to the weather conditions. Ask students to choose a symbol that represents the current weather conditions. Give a quiz (DOC 51KB) to students to determine their understanding about the symbols and weather conditions.

Collecting Data (1 Period + 7 days outside classroom activity)
Demonstrate how to obtain readings from a thermometer and have students practice recording their readings on a thermometer chart (DOC 60.5KB). Instruct students to prepare a weatherproof box and attach a thermometer to the bottom of the box. Once the weatherproof box is ready, get the students to find a secure and shadiest location on the north side of the school building and place the box besides the building. Have the students observe the weather conditions and temperature for the duration of one week. Share with them the data collection form (DOC 303KB) that could help them to keep track and record their observations. Remind students that good observations make good forecasts and every meteorologist has to keep a good weather record. 

Optional activity: There are various types of apparatus used for weather measurement, for examples, weather vane, barometer, rain gauge and so on. Have students make their own weather stations with the full set of apparatus for more accurate weather prediction.

Researching Weather Influences (2 Periods)
This activity addresses the following questions:

• How does weather influence us?
• What are the influences of weather on our daily activities?

Put up pictures of different weather conditions (such as sunny, rainy, cloudy, windy and so on) and human activities (such as kite flying, using umbrella, picnic, eating ice-cream and so on). Ask students how the pictures relate. Have students match the human activities to the different weather conditions. Ask students to justify their decisions and record in their journals.

Guide students with the use of conjunctions. Explain to them conjunctions are joiners used for connecting parts of a sentence. Show some examples using conjunctions to join sentences that relate to weather conditions and human activities. Let students complete the weather worksheet (DOC 36.5KB) to enhance their understanding about the weather influences by using conjunctions. Guide students to gather more information about weather influences by using the Internet. 

Predicting Weather and Creating Multimedia Presentation (1 Period + 3 Lab Periods)
Revisit the Unit Question: How do you predict weather?
Use the sample weather chart again to help students organize their collected data. An example is shown below:

Date
Time
Temperature
Weather Condition

Ask students to analyze the weather patterns and predict the weather for the upcoming week. Tell students that they need to illustrate the importance of their weather prediction. Have students present their prediction and study on the weather influences by creating a weather multimedia presentation (PPT 148KB). Show students how to use the weather presentation rubric (DOC 34KB) as a guide for them to develop a good and quality presentation. Remind them not to over focus on the design and multimedia effects. Have students ready with their story board before they start developing the weather multimedia presentation.

Creating Poster (1 Period + 2 Lab Periods)
Introduce the activity to create a weather poster (DOC 94KB) for increasing the local community’s awareness about the preparation and adaptation to different weather conditions. Tell students to consider the Unit Question: How do people prepare and adapt to different weather conditions? Elicit students’ responses and have them share their experiences. Provide the poster score sheet (DOC 30.5KB) to help students create their posters. Make sure students are ready with their posters design outline before they start creating the weather poster.

Class Presentation (2 Periods)
Arrange a session for students to present their multimedia presentation and poster to the class. Have students bear in mind their role as a meteorologist during the presentation. Engage other students to share their comments on the presentation. 

Wrapping up (1 Period)
Conduct a post-unit class discussion to readdress the Essential Question: Are you prepared? Allow students to discuss their weather prediction as well, and revise if necessary. Ask students to reflect what they have learned about weather and how important is weather prediction in their lives. Have students record their reflection in the journal.

Prerequisite Skills

• Basic knowledge on weather.
• Fundamental skills of basic computer operations.

Differentiated Instruction
Resource Student

• Give more examples in the vocabulary list.
• Discuss and check on student progress frequently.
• Give students extra assistance and time to complete the tasks assigned.

Gifted Student

• Have students to be responsible to make a check list for data collection.
• Allow students to make their own weather station.

Credits
This project idea has been developed by Fauziah binti Mohd Said, Harnida binti Md Nor and Rosmita binti Khamis. A team of educators expanded the plan into the example you see here.