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Debbi Badgley
Professor Dornfeld
NSC 200
August 10, 2012
NSTA METEOROLOGY SUMMARY ACTIVITY # 1
Focused grade span: K -2
Related Michigan Department of Education GLCE –
E.ES.01.21 – Compare daily changes in the weather related to temperature (cold, hot, warm,
cool); cloud cover (cloudy, partly cloudy, foggy); precipitation (rain, snow, hail, freezing rain);
wind (breezy, windy, calm).
E.ES.01.32 – Observe and collect data of weather conditions over a period of time.
Vocabulary:
Meteorologist: A scientist who studies the atmosphere.
Precipitation: Any form of water, such as rain of ice, which falls from the atmosphere and
reaches the ground.
Atmospheric pressure: A measure of how much the air pushes against things.
Front: A boundary between two air masses, each with a different temperature and / or humidity.
Temperature: A measure of the degree of hotness or coldness of the air as indicated on a scale.
Additional Vocabulary:
Atmosphere: The mass of air surrounding the Earth.
Humidity: Wetness in the atmosphere.
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Summary:
Activity # 1 pages xxiv-13, Reading #1, on pages 225 - 228, and Reading #5, on pages 243- 250.
In NSTA Meteorology by William R, Veal and Robert A. Cohen clearly introduces the concept
of weather observation. It gives bases to discuss “Compare daily changes in the weather related
to temperature[s of]cold, hot, warm, cool; cloud cover [such as]cloudy, partly cloudy, foggy;
precipitation[s like] rain, snow, hail, freezing rain; [and] wind [like] breezy, windy, calm”. As
well as “observe and collect data of weather conditions over a period of time” (MI Education
GLCE).
It introduces the concept of weather observation, and the effects of weather. It also is an
introduction of atmosphere and its relationship to the weather.
In the Reading #1, on pages 225 - 228, and Reading #5, explains the “Earth’s
Atmosphere.” This explanation goes into detail about the effects of atmosphere effect on
weather, and it composition. Reading section #5, on pages 243- 250, explains the “Weather and
the Redistribution of Thermal Energy.” This explanation goes into detail about the comparison of
heat versus temperature, types of energy, and the suns effects on the Earth in relationship to heat,
heat transfer, and air masses and fronts. However, at a focus grade of K -2 simplifying and
focusing on the sun, clouds, temperature, and precipitation is as in depth as I would go.
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Work Cited
Veal, William R., and Robert A. Cohen. Project Earth Science Meteorology. Arlington, VA:
NSTA, 2011. Print.