Sunday, November 24, 2013

1st Grade Meteorologists

Our weather unit is up and running in first grade! Throughout this unit we will discuss the tools meteorologists use to measure, forecast, and report the weather. We will also conduct a variety of experiments for a hands-on approach. 

Wind speed was our focal point last week. We discussed that wind itself is invisible, so we must use our environment to determine the severity of the wind. Therefore, to informally measure the wind speed we utilized a numerical scale: 0-no wind, 1-some wind, and 2-strong wind. Our first graders created flags as tools to measure the wind speed, and we ventured outside to see the effects the wind had on our flags. 





On this particular day we came to a consensus that that the wind was at a level 1-some wind, with some level 2 gusts on occasion. We confirmed our observations by looking on weather.com to see the specific wind speed for Quakertown. 

Talk with your first grader about the varying experiments we will conduct over the next month and a half. Consider having your child look on weather.com, a comparable weather app, or the local news forecast each day to gain an understanding of how the temperature changes daily and the implications these temperatures have on our clothing choices. 

After Thanksgiving break we will create rain gauges and determine the best fabric to wear on a rainy day. 

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