WeatherHawk Weather Books Project
Name of Activity: Weather Books
Grade level: K-12
Objectives and Purpose for learners:
National Science Teachers Association Standards (NSTA):
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Uses equipment and technology
Collects data by observing and measuring
Analyzes and interprets information to construct reasonable explanations
from direct and indirect evidence
Communicates valid conclusions
Analyzes and reviews scientific explanations
NSTA Earth and Space Science Guidelines:
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Weather can be described by measurable quantities such as temperature,
wind direction, wind speed, and precipitation.
Clouds, formed by the condensation of water vapor, affect weather and
climate.
Materials can exist in different states – solid, liquid, and gas. Some
common materials, such as water, can be changed from one state to
another by heating or cooling.
Water, which covers the majority of the earth’s surface, circulates through
the crust, oceans, and atmosphere in what is known as the water cycle.
Water evaporates from the earth’s surface, rises and cools as it moves to
higher elevations, condenses as rain or snow, and falls to the surface
where it collects in lakes, oceans, soil, and in rocks underground.
Lesson Objective:
In a combined science, writing and photography project, students will create a
book of photography and writing that shows different local weather conditions
such as clouds, snow, rain, etc. Published books can be added to the classroom or
school library, the local community library, and could also possibly be sold to
interested community members as a school or classroom fundraiser.
Materials needed:
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WeatherHawk weather station or WindMate/SkyMate hand held wind meters
Digital camera(s) with photo software
Computer(s) with broadband Internet access
Online book publishing software
Suggested website resources:
The following are commercial photo book websites. Your choice of publisher may be
decided according to the requirements they have for the number of photos per page
or per book, desirable layouts, unit pricing and/or group pricing, fundraising
possibilities, book size and design, and space allotted for writing, for instance.
Carefully check all options.
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http://www.shutterfly.com/
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http://www.blurb.com/
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http://www.picaboo.com/
Weather and cloud related reference websites:
1. http://www.windows.ucar.edu/tour/link=/earth/Atmosphere/weather.html&nl=8l
(Windows to the Universe)
2. http://www.nws.noaa.gov/pa/popular_weather_webs.php
(National Weather Service)
3. http://www.accuweather.com/ (AccuWeather)
4. http://www.weatherscapes.com/index.php
(Examples of beautiful weather photography)
5. http://ww2010.atmos.uiuc.edu/(Gh)/guides/mtr/cld/cldtyp/home.rxml
(Common cloud classifications)
6. http://www.clouds-online.com/ (Cloud atlas with photos and descriptions)
7. http://www.sky-fire.tv/index.cgi/cloudgallery.html
(cloud information and photos)
8. http://www.wildwildweather.com/clouds.htm (Dan’s Wild Weather Page)
9. http://eo.ucar.edu/webweather/ (Web Weather for Kids)
In addition, doing a general Internet search of cloud images will bring an
abundance of resources for you to use.
Project Procedure:
The following assumes that your project will be about cloud classification,
but it is easy to adapt for other projects, for instance, general weather, snow,
rain, etc.
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As part of your class study of the weather, read about and identify cloud
types.
Assign student partners or groups. Go outside every day to observe the
sky. This part of the project may take several weeks or months in order to
gather a complete file of photos.
Have students take photos of the clouds they see. Make sure to take
photos from a variety of angles and settings, as well as at different times
throughout the day. You may want to check out cameras for students to
take home so that they can take photographs in the early morning or
evening. Encourage students to take photos at every opportunity.
Use digital photo software to load all photos onto your computer and into
a file labeled Cloud Project, for instance.
Using a reference website or science book with a cloud identification
guide, identify the clouds in your photos. Group the photos according to
cloud types. Keep things organized by grouping similar photos in subfiles. Work together as groups to decide which photos of each cloud type
are most appropriate for your book.
A companion part of this project is the written word. Students may do
something as simple as photo captions that include a description of the
clouds or the associated weather they have photographed; they may want
to write poetry in association with their photos; or they may want to do
descriptive essays. Enlist the help of the language arts teachers, classroom
aides and parent volunteers in this cross-curricular project. Check with the
online publisher about the requirements they have for the length of writing
that is allowed for each page or photo.
Upload your photos and writing to the online publisher you have chosen.
A fun part of this project would be to have a classroom photo included in
each book.
Allow time for students and classroom aides or parent helpers to carefully
edit your online project before you submit and pay for your completed
books.
If you are doing this as a school or classroom fundraiser, you may want to
have a few finished books published and available for patrons to preview
at events such as Back–to-School or Parent/Teacher Night.