Chapter Challenge
Winds, Oceans, Weather, and Climate
Design a Children’s Book
Getting Started
The hydrosphere (water) and the atmosphere (air) are Earth’s most fluid systems. They
are constantly interacting in dynamic ways. For example, winds act on the surface of
bodies of water to produce waves and surface currents. Water evaporates into the
atmosphere and condenses to form clouds. The interactions of heat and water in the
atmosphere result in weather. Weather refers to the conditions in the atmosphere at a
given time and place. The average weather over a longer time is climate.
• What weather events are most common in your community?
• How do those events compare with weather events in other parts of the country?
• In what ways are winds, oceans, weather, and climate connected?
What do you think? Write down your answers to these questions below. Be prepared to
discuss your responses with your small group and the class.
Scenario
The Aura and Aqua Family Foundation (AAFF) is a not-for-profit organization. It
promotes grades K–12 science education. AAFF is looking for ideas for projects that get
young students involved in and excited by science. AAFF has just finished a research
study. The study shows that children decide whether or not they like science by the
time they are in the upper grades of elementary school. The same study has also found
that high school students can be very effective in coming up with creative ways to teach
younger students. Therefore, AAFF is asking high school students to design storybooks
for young children. The book should help students in grades four through six learn about
how winds, oceans, weather, and climate are connected. The book should also help
younger students understand what effect these connections can have on the rest of the
Earth system. AAFF chose these topics for several reasons.
• Everyone is affected by winds, oceans, weather, and climate every day. However, not
everyone may know how these are connected.
• Stories about winds, oceans, weather, and climate are always in the news.
Unfortunately, they are not always explained well.
• Severe weather can be very dangerous. Younger students need to know what to do
when bad weather strikes.
Chapter Challenge
Your challenge is to write and illustrate a children’s storybook. The book should provide
information on wind, oceans, weather, and climate. It should be directed at students in
grades four through six. You can do this by hand or on the computer, but you will turn in
a hard copy of the book.
You will also need to prepare a 10-minute presentation. The presentation should convince
AAFF to fund your book for younger students. If you have the software and the skills, it
would be even better to actually publish and distribute your book. Your storybook and
presentation should include examples of each of the following:
• At least 5 definitions and explanations of wind, oceans, weather, and climate
that pertain to the severe weather topic you selected.
• Explanations of how winds, oceans, weather, and climate are related to the topic.
• Select a location (U.S. city, region or state) that you focus your story on. You
may compare and contrast two, if you’d like.
• Safety rules for dealing with the severe-weather event you’ve focused on.
• Illustrations of the story
• At least 2 reputable links at the end of the book for students to learn more.
• At least 5 FAQs (frequently asked questions) about winds, oceans, weather, and
climate that students may come up with while reading. The answers should be
provided either on the backcover or the end of the book that sums up the concepts
learned in the book.