KATIE HARRIS

11/25/17
MINI METEROLOGISTS KINDERGARTEN SCIENCE LESSON

21st Century Skill Objectives: 1. Focus on 21st century skills, content

knowledge, and expertise.
2. Build understanding across and among
academic subjects as well as 21st century
interdisciplinary themes.
3. Emphasize deep understanding rather
than shallow knowledge.
4. Engage students with real world data,
tools, and experts they will encounter in
college, on the job, and in life students
learn best when actively engaged in
solving meaningful problems.
5. Allow for multiple measures of mastery.
COS Standards: SC K.10 Ask questions to obtain information about
the purpose of weather forecasts in planning for,
preparing for, and responding to severe weather.

SC K.9 Observe, record, and share findings of local

weather patterns over a period of time (e.g.
increase in daily temperature from morning to
afternoon, typical rain and storm patterns from
season to season).

AE VA K.1 Investigate, Plan, Make

a) Use motor skills to create two-dimensional
art
b) Use motor skills to create three-
dimensional art

WIDA Standards: Standard 1 Social and Instructional Language

English language learners communicate for social
and instructional purposes within the school
setting.

Standard 4 The Language of Science English

language learners communicate information,
ideas, and concepts necessary for academic
success in the area of science.
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11/25/17
MINI METEROLOGISTS KINDERGARTEN SCIENCE LESSON

Objectives Students will identify local weather conditions.

Students will demonstrate their ability to apply

weather knowledge to weather forecasting.

Students will create art for the weather

forecasting station.
Prior to the lesson: Gather videos for students to watch
before class
Gather materials
Set up field-trip to local news station
Plan technology
Materials: Weather Words and What They Mean By: Gail
Gibbons video
Weather Forecasting By: Gail Gibbons
Weather Forecasting Cards for Pocket Chart
Paper
Crayons
Pencils
iPad Shadow Puppet App
Grouping Information: Groups used in this lesson will be table groups,
and groups of two that are chosen by me
according to who I think will work well together.
Pre-Class Video/Materials Students will watch this video read-aloud prior to
coming to class:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UeJohy6cHl4

While viewing the video: They will make a list of

Anticipatory Set/Introduction:
three weather words to share and discuss in
class.
On the day we begin this lesson, I will begin by
gathering the children on the rug at the front of
the room with their weather word lists that
they compiled from watching the read-aloud
video at home. Each child will share a word, and
we will talk about what they learned about that
word. Next, I will ask the questions, Who in our
community has the job of watching the weather
and telling us about it? We will discuss
meteorologists. I will read Weather Forecasting by
Gail Gibbons. We will combine new weather
terms with pictures to aid students
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MINI METEROLOGISTS KINDERGARTEN SCIENCE LESSON

understanding, especially English Language

Guiding Questions/Building Background
Knowledge:
Learner Students. Students will practice being
meteorologists each morning for several days by
observing the weather and reporting the
conditions to the class during morning meeting.
How do you forecast weather?
Why is weather forecasting important?
How can we forecast the weather at our school?

To answer these questions further, we will visit a

local television station to let the kids watch a
meteorologist in action! After the forecast, they
will be able to talk to the meteorologist and ask
questions.
Student Activities: When we return to school, the students will
create a word web of different features they
noticed in the weather forecast. We will use their
observations to create our own weather
forecasting station in our classroom.

I will have four table groups. Each table will be

responsible for creating part of the weather
forecasting station backdrop. The groups will
complete the following:
1. Group 1: Paper Chain Rainbow
2. Group 2: Tissue Paper Sunshine
3. Group 3: Cotton Ball Clouds and Raindrops
4. Group 4: Paper Snowflakes

The next step in planning our weather forecast

will be developing a simple dialogue to follow
during the forecast. We will develop this as a class
and write it on chart paper to hang in the weather
forecasting station.

The observation area will be the window of our

classroom. The students will present the weather
in groups or two. I will group these students by
low-high students (or two of my choice).

Student Presentation We will implement recording the forecast using

the app Shadow Puppet on the iPad. With my
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MINI METEROLOGISTS KINDERGARTEN SCIENCE LESSON

assistance, one of the students will record the

video. Using the Smartboard, we will project the
video and edit it as a class, adding text and
weather related emojis as desired. This video will
be added to the slideshow that plays daily on
televisions around the school.

Debriefing/Discussion (review) The debriefing activity will occur as a classroom

discussion and writing activity. We will discuss all
the things we have learned about weather,
weather observations, and meteorologists. As a
class, we will compose a classroom blog entry on
our website telling about all the fun things we did
and learned during our lesson on weather and
meteorology. The students will draw a picture of
them being a meteorologist and tell their favorite
part of being a meteorologist in kindergarten as a
writing activity to be displayed in the hallway.
Assessment Assessment for this activity will occur through
observation of student participation and
discussion. I will also use a rubric for evaluating
the students during their weather forecasts.
Formative assessment will occur throughout the
lesson with the hand motions shown below.
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11/25/17
MINI METEROLOGISTS KINDERGARTEN SCIENCE LESSON

Resources Reina, H. (2017, February 12). Project based

learning science lesson plans for PBL. Retrieved
from https://hubpages.com/education/project-
based-learning-science-lesson-plans-pbl

Partnership for 21st century learning. (n.d.).

Framework for 21st century learning. Retrieved
from http://www.p21.org/our-work/p21-
framework

*Attached below is the rubric I will use for assessment.

Requirement Target (4 points) Acceptable (2-3 Needs

points) Improvement (1
point)
Students use and Student uses new Students makes an Students does not
understand new weather terms in the attempt to use new understand the
weather correct context. weather terms and meaning of the new
vocabulary. do so correctly most weather terms.
of the time.
Students Student consistently Student uses some Student does not use
describe current use new weather new weather terms new weather
weather terms to describe to describe weather. vocabulary.
conditions with local weather.
appropriate
vocabulary.
Students are Student Student makes some Student does not
engaged in demonstrates their real-world understand real-
content and make understanding of connections. world applications.
real-world weather and
meteorology to the
connections.
real-world.