SCIENCE WITHIN LITERATURE/LANGUAGE ARTS STUDIES
FIFTH GRADE
Atherwood Elementary School
Simi Valley Unified
Lori Lioy
RATIONALE: EACH YEAR THE FOCUS OF ELELMENTRY EDUCATION IS
MORE HEAVILY CENTERED UPON LANGUAGE ARTS AND MATH
CURRICULOUM. WE ARE MANDATED TO SPEND THE MAJORITY OF OUR
DAY WORKING SPECIFICALLY IN THESE AREAS. LANGUAGE ARTS
PUBLISHERS ATTEMPT TO BRING SCIENCE AND SOCIAL STUDIES TOPICS
INTO THE LANGUAGE ARTS BOOKS, BUT TEACHERS MUST EXTEND THE
OPPORTUNITIES TO EXPLORE SCIENTIFIC INQUIRY IF WE WANT STUDENTS
TO BE MOTIVATED AND CONFIDENT IN THEIR WORK IN SCIENCE. MANY
MIDDLE SCHOOL AND HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS ARE ENTERING
SECONDARY YEARS WITH VERY MINIMAL EXPOSURE TO SCIENCE TOPICS.
OVERVIEW: The first literature arts unit in the fifth grade language arts series we use
in Simi Valley is NATURE’S FURY. It is a motivating theme that includes three longer
literature selections and three shorter pieces that explore natural phenomenon
(earthquakes, hurricanes and tornadoes, and volcanoes specifically) There are non fiction
and fiction selections that explore scientific facts and explain these natural events. The
following lessons are a way to use these literature pieces as a starting point and go
beyond to incorporate science inquiry and extend the theme opportunities.
5th Grade Science Content Standards:
Energy from the sun heats the Earth unevenly, causing air movements resulting in
changing weather patterns.
As a basis for understanding this concept, students will know the causes and
effects of different types of severe weather.
Scientific progress is made by asking meaningful questions and conducting careful
investigations. As a basis for understanding this concept, and to address the content in
the other three strands, students should develop their own questions and perform
investigations.
Students will record data using appropriate graphic representation (including
charts, graphs, and label diagrams), and make inferences based on those data.
Students will draw conclusions based on scientific evidence and indicate whether
further information is needed to support a specific conclusion.
OBJECTIVES:
1. Students will read and discuss the literature pieces that introduce facts
about the conditions that are present when hurricanes and tornados
develop.
2. Students will understand, define and use vocabulary that is important
to describing these natural weather conditions.
3. Students will research using the internet, and record data about where
recent hurricanes and tornados have occurred in the United States.
They will record their findings on maps of the United States.
4. Students will collect, summarize, and respond to newspaper articles
that describe recent effects of hurricanes in the United States.
5. Student will research and organize information they gather about the
storm levels that occur and the characteristics that determine each
classification of storm.
6. Students will prepare appropriate questions to ask a Meteorologist
about tornadoes and hurricanes.
7. Students will take notes during the meteorologist’s presentation.
8. Students will prepare a written account of the causes and effects of
either hurricanes or tornadoes.
PROCEDURE:
1. The week before these science objectives are presented students will
be completing activities related to language arts goals. The following
literature pieces will be read and discussed in the context of language.
“Hurricanes: Weather at its Wildest” by Fran Hodgkins
Eye of the Storm by Stephen Kramer
Photographs by Warren Faidley
Hurricanes: Earth’s Mightiest Storms by Patricia Lauber
2. Specific science and weather vocabulary will be reintroduced and
students will keep journals recording the meanings of these terms.
3. Students will look at internet sites that record and present recent data
about hurricanes and tornadoes over the past year. Hurricanes will be
of particular interest because the season is at its peak during this fall
unit each year. (2005 was especially dramatic and therefore the interest
level of students was very high.)
4. Students will find newspaper accounts and internet reports about the
effects of these storms to gather information about the effects of
different level storms.
5. Students will prepare a list of five strong questions they would like to
ask a meteorologist about hurricanes and tornadoes as they read and
discuss the literature selections and as they explore the internet sites
related to weather.
ASSESSMENT
1. Students will be given a quiz on weather terms.
2. Students will present their maps in small groups and be required the
support their conclusions about the conditions that are present when
hurricanes and tornadoes occur using real data on their maps.
3. Students will make a chart that describes the levels of either a tornado
or a hurricane. They will outline the characteristics of each level and
the possible destruction that is caused by each.
4. Students will show their understanding of storm effects by writing a
fictional journal entry as if they personally experienced the storm.
They must write in first person and include scientific details and
vocabulary.
5. Students will take the map data they find and create their own maps.
They must draw the map, make an appropriate key, and write a
scientific analysis of their findings,
6. Students will present their questions during a visit from a local
meteorologist and then take notes on his answers.
WEATHER/STORM VOCABULARY
AIR MASS: A widespread body of air with consistent temperature and moisture
characteristics.
ANEMOMETER: An instrument which measures wind speed.
BAROMETER: An instrument for measuring atmospheric pressure.
CLIMATE: The statistical collective of weather records during a specific period of time.
COLD FRINT: The front edge of a cold air mass. It often produces precipitation and
frequently,severe weather.
CONVECTION: An atmospheric motion which is predominantly vertical. Warm air
rising or cold air sinking or both.
FUNNEL CLOUD: A rotating, funnel-shaped cloud extending below the base of a
thunderstorm. When it reaches the ground, it is called a tornado.
HURRICANE: An intense tropical cyclone in the North Atlantic, Caribbean Sea, Gulf of
Mexico and the Eastern Pacific Ocean with sustained wind speeds of 74 MPH.
LIGHTNING: All of the various forms of electrical discharge produced by
thunderstorms.
METEOROLOGY: The study of atmospheric phenomena.
PRECIPITATION: Any form of water particles, liquid or frozen, that fall from the
atmosphere and reach the ground.
PRESSURE: The force exerted by the weight of air above a given point,
RADAR: A device used to detect precipitation by sending an electromagnetic signal and
measuring the intensity of the reflected energy.
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM: A thunderstorm with wind gusts in excess of 58 mph and
frequent lightning.
STORM SURGE: A rise above the normal water level along a shore caused by strong
onshore winds and/or reduced atmospheric pressure.
TORNADO: A violent rotating column of air, extending from the base of a cloud to the
ground, producing damaging winds up to 300 mph.
WARM FRONT: A leading boundary of a warm air mass that is often moving into an
area influenced by a cooler air mass.
WATCH: A public notice issued by the NWS when conditions are such that a certain
hazard is possible.
WARNING: A public notice issued by the NWS when a certain hazard is imminent.
WEATHER SERVICE CENTERS AND AGENCIES
NCDC: National Climate Data Center
NWS: National Weather Service
NOAA: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
NSSL: National Severe Storms Laboratory
INTERNET SITES
http://www.stormfax.com
www.weatherandkids.com
http://teachnet.edb.utexas.edu
http://school.discovery.com
http://ww.wxdude.com
http://oncampus.richmond.edu/academics/education/projects/webunits/weather/title.html
http://www.cnn.com/WEATHER/
http://www.weather.com/
http://www.42explore.com
http://www.usatoday.com/weather/wworks0.htm
http://www.nssl.noaa.gov/resources
http://www.nssl.noaa.gov/edu/