Unit Design
For
Atmospheric Effects
Developed by
Sarah E. Bradley
Name of My Charter:
Marvin L. Winans Academy of Performing Arts
Understanding by Design
UBD Unit Design Worksheet / Saginaw Valley State University
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Unit Design Worksheet
Subject: 7th Grade Science
Unit Title: Atmospheric Effects
Topic: Atmosphere Composition
Grade: Seventh
Name: Sarah E. Bradley
Stage 1 - Desired Results
Established Goals:
Content Goals (Grade Level Content Expectations):
1. E.ES.07.71 Compare and contrast the difference and relationship between climate and weather.
2. E.ES.07.72 Describe how different weather occurs due to the constant motion of the atmosphere from the energy
of the sun reaching the surface of the earth.
3. E.ES.07.73 Explain how temperature of the oceans affects the different climates on Earth because water in the
oceans holds a large amount of heat.
4. E.ES.07.74 Describe weather conditions associated with frontal boundaries (cold, warm, stationary, and
occluded) and the movement of major air masses and the jet stream across North America using a weather map.
5. E.FE.07.71 Describe the atmosphere as a mixture of gases.
6. E.FE.07.12 Compare and contrast the composition of the atmosphere at different elevations.
Literacy Goals (Common Core State Standards):
RI.7.1 Cite several pieces of textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences
drawn from the text.
RL.7.2 Determine a theme or central idea of a text and analyze its development over the course of the text; provide an
objective summary of the text.
SL.7.4 Present claims and findings, emphasizing salient points in a focused, coherent manner with pertinent descriptions,
facts, details, and examples; use appropriate eye contact, adequate volume, and clear pronunciation.
SL.7.5 Include multimedia components and visual displays in presentations to clarify claims and findings and emphasize
salient points.
W.7.2 Write informative/explanatory texts, including the narration of historical events, scientific procedures/experiments,
or technical processes.
UBD Unit Design Worksheet / Saginaw Valley State University
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Understandings:
Students will understand
1. the relationship between weather and climate.
2. that different weather occurs due to the constant
motion of the atmosphere from the energy of the
sun reaching the surface of the earth.
3. that water in the oceans holds a large amount of
heat and that the temperature of the oceans affects
the different climates on earth.
4. that weather conditions are affected by many
factors and that frontal boundaries and air masses
affect weather conditions.
5. that the atmosphere is a mixture of gases divided
into layers.
6. that the atmosphere has a different composition at
each layer.
Students will know
1. the relationship between weather and climate.
2. that different weather occurs due to the constant
motion of the atmosphere from the energy of the
sun reaching the surface of the earth.
3. that water in the oceans holds a large amount of
heat and the temperature of the oceans affects the
different climates on earth.
4. that weather conditions are affected by many
factors and that frontal boundaries and air masses
affect weather conditions.
5. that the atmosphere is a mixture of gases divided
into layers.
6. that the atmosphere has a different composition at
each layer.
Essential Questions:
1. How are weather and climate associated?
2. How does the movement of the atmosphere
determine our daily weather?
3. How do oceans affect temperature and climate?
4. How can a weather map be used to analyze and
predict weather?
5. How does each layer of the atmosphere affect us?
6. How does the composition of the atmosphere
change at different elevations?
Students will be able to
1. compare and contrast the relationship between
weather and climate.
2. interpret weather maps that show atmospheric
motion.
3. compare climates with warm ocean temperatures
and cold ocean temperatures.
4. look at current weather and forecast the weather
for the following week.
5. identify the different layers in the atmosphere.
6. describe the composition of each layer of the
atmosphere.
Unit Enduring Understanding:
Unit Questions:
Students will understand that other factors such as ocean
temperatures, movement of the atmosphere, and the
relationship between weather and climate.
What factors affect the weather and climate in a region?
Students will understand that the sun’s heat, oceans
temperatures, and cloud coverage play a role in weather
prediction.
What roles does the atmosphere play in weather
prediction?
Students will gain confidence in speaking and presenting
their prepared information in front of others.
Students will cite textual evidence and determine central
themes of text throughout unit.
UBD Unit Design Worksheet / Saginaw Valley State University
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Stage 2 - Assessment Evidence
Performance Tasks:
Goal: Your task is to draw and interpret the weather of all four seasons based on your chosen location.
Role: Meteorologist from your chosen location.
Audience: The people of your community.
Situation: You are a new meteorologist in your town. You need to predict the weather of all four seasons. You must take
into account the following factors that affect weather: climate, energy of the sun reaching the surface of the earth,
temperature of the oceans, and the movement of major air masses.
Chosen location choices: Perth, Australia; Cape Town, Africa; London, England; and New York, New York.
Product: Newscast – Weather for the Four Seasons. Newscast presentation will require spoken and visual components.
Visual component examples can be, but are not limited to, PowerPoint presentations, Prezi.com presentations, poster, etc.
Standards: Rubric below.
Key Criteria:
Newscast - Presentation and Planning : Weather for the Four Seasons
Teacher Name: __________________________
CATEGORY
Accuracy of Facts
Student Name:
4
________________________________________
3
2
All supportive facts are
Almost all facts are
reported accurately (3 of reported accurately (2 of
3).
3).
Research
Student researched the
subject and integrated 3
or more details from
their location.
Visuals
Visuals include some
original material and are
clearly related to the
content being presented.
Graphics are clearly
related to the content
being presented, but
none are original.
Duration of presentation
The newscast was
between 1.5 and 3
minutes and did not seem
hurried or too slow.
The newscast was
between 1.5 and 3
minutes but seemed
SLIGHTLY hurried or
too slow.
Speaks clearly
Speaks clearly and
distinctly all of the time
and mispronounces no
words.
Speaks clearly and
distinctly all of the time
but mispronounces 1 or
more words.
This section’s score will
be multiplied by 4.
UBD Unit Design Worksheet / Saginaw Valley State University
One fact is reported
accurately.
1
No facts are reported
accurately OR no facts
were reported.
Student researched the
Student researched the
Either no research was
subject and integrated 2 subject and integrated 1 done or it was not clear
details from their
detail from their location. that the group used it in
location.
the newscast.
Graphics include some Graphics are not related
original material but are
to the content being
only somewhat related to
presented.
the content being
presented.
The newscast was
between 1.5 and 3
minutes but seemed
VERY hurried or too
slow.
The newscast was too
long or too short.
Speaks clearly and
Does NOT speak clearly
distinctly most of the and distinctly most of the
time and mispronounces
time AND/OR
no words.
mispronounces more
than 1 word.
4
Posture and Eye Contact Stands or sits up straight Stands or sits up straight. Slouches or appears too
and looks confident and Establishes eye contact
casual but establishes
relaxed. Establishes eye
with audience during
good eye contact with
contact with audience
most of newscast.
audience during most of
during most of newscast.
newscast.
Enthusiasm
Facial expression and
body language show a
strong interest and
enthusiasm about the
topic throughout the
newscast, but it is not
overdone.
Point of View - Purpose
Newscast establishes a
purpose at the beginning
and maintains that focus
throughout! Cohesive
newscast.
Science Content
This sections score will
be multiplied by 4.
All science content is
1 scientific fact is
2 scientific facts are
3 or more scientific facts
portrayed correctly.
incorrect. One of the
incorrect. 2 of the
are incorrect. 3 or more
Students will present
following is omitted:
following are omitted:
of the following are
information that the suns
Students will present
Students will present
omitted: Students will
heat, oceans
information that the suns information that the suns present information that
temperatures, and cloud
heat, oceans
heat, oceans
the suns heat, oceans
coverage play a role in temperatures, and cloud temperatures, and cloud temperatures, and cloud
weather prediction.
coverage play a role in
coverage play a role in
coverage play a role in
weather prediction.
weather prediction.
weather prediction.
Other Evidence:
Before
Pre-Assessment Test
What do you know about the
atmosphere?
Discussion and visual discovery of a
picture of the atmosphere divided into
layers.
Facial expression and
body language show a
strong interest and
enthusiasm about the
topic throughout the
newscast, but it is
somewhat overdone.
Facial expression and
body language show
some interest and
enthusiasm about the
topic throughout the
newscast.
Slouches or appears too
casual AND establishes
little eye contact with
audience during
newscast.
Establishes a purpose at The purpose is somewhat It was difficult to figure
the beginning, but
clear but many aspects of out the purpose of the
occasionally wanders
the newscast seem only
newscast.
from that focus.
slightly related.
During
After
Journaling
Students will have a section in the
back of their science booklets
explaining what they understood
specifically about that day’s
concept or what they are having
trouble with.
Plane Ride Story
Students will write a story of them
being on a plane ride and how they are
going through the different parts of the
atmosphere.
Visual discovery
Visual discovery of a picture of the
atmospheres differentiation at
elevations.
Quick Write
What is the atmosphere composed of?
Why is this combination important to
living things?
What do you know about:
In social studies, I know you have
learned about the word climate. What
is climate?
What is weather?
How are these two different?
Quick Write
How does the composition of the
atmosphere change at different
elevations?
How do these changes affect the
properties and temperature of the air?
Visual discovery
Visual discovery of a picture showing
the sun hitting the oceans, which
contributes to the convection cycle.
What do you observe?
Visual Discovery
Facial expression and
body language depict
apathy or boredom with
the topic.
Think-Pair-Share
What are some similarities and
differences between climate and
weather?
Think-Pair-Share
How does the movement of the
atmosphere determine our daily
UBD Unit Design Worksheet / Saginaw Valley State University
Interview Activity
Students will read a story during the
lesson and will write interview
questions to the athlete to ask them
why training at altitude helps them
become a better athlete. Students will
then pair up and interview each other.
The interview questions with answers
will be turned in.
Tracking Daily Weather
Students will track daily weather for a
period of time and afterward discuss
how climate affected the weather.
Draw a picture
Students will draw a picture of how
convection contributes to the water
cycle.
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Visual discovery of a picture of a heat
sink.
What do you know about…?
How does the temperature of oceans
affect weather and climate?
Visual Discovery
Show a weather map and have students
visually discover what they observe.
This will activate prior knowledge and
allow students to assess what they
already know.
Discuss that the map key can help
students out.
weather?
Think-Pair-Share
How do oceans affect temperature
and climate?
Vocabulary Activities
Jigsaw on these vocabulary terms:
What is a frontal boundary?
What is a cold front?
What is a warm front?
What is a stationary front?
What is an occluded front?
What is a jet stream?
Draw a picture
Students will draw a picture of two
toilets and explain why the toilets flush
a different way in each hemisphere.
Forecast
Have students look at current weather
and forecast the weather for the
following week. Students will actually
present like a forecaster on the news.
GRASP
Presentation and Graphic Organizer on
describing weather conditions Quizzes
Quiz One
Over GLCE’s 1
Quiz Two
Over GLCE’s 2-3
Quiz Three
Over GLCE 4
Quiz Four
Over GLCE’s 5-6
Unit Test
Over all essential questions in unit.
GRASPS Assessment (above)
Describe the assessment/s and state the prompt if applicable.
xF xS
What type of scoring tools will be used for evaluation?
x Analytic rubric
x Holistic rubric
x Criterion rubric
x Checklist
x Answer Key
x Other
Student Self-Assessment and Reflection:
Students will have a section in the back of their science booklets explaining what they understood specifically
about that day’s concept or what they are having trouble with (Science Journal). They may be asked to
describe what they found to be the best part of that days lesson, or the unit as a whole.
Stage 3 - Learning Plan
Differentiated Instruction:
C Level (30 points)
1. Vocabulary Dictionary of key terms from the unit (in booklet) * (10 points)
2. “Do Now” log of bell work “before” activities* (10 points)
3. Foldable of the atmosphere at different elevations* (10 points)
UBD Unit Design Worksheet / Saginaw Valley State University
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B Level (60 points)
(Students need to pick one activity each from the following clusters: cluster 1 and 2, cluster 4 and 5, cluster 7 and 8. 3, 6,
and 9 are required activities. Students will turn all work in.)
1. Create a graphic organizer comparing and contrasting the relationship between weather and climate. (10 points)
2. Pretend weather and climate are people, and create a Facebook page for each. Then create a “things friends have
in common” list, with 5 things that weather and climate have in common. (10 points)
3. Create a story board to describe how different weather occurs due to the constant motion of the atmosphere from
the energy of the sun reaching the surface of the earth. (10 points) *
4. Create a story, comic strip, or story board that explains how the temperature of the oceans affects the different
climates on Earth because water in the oceans holds a large amount of heat. (10 points)
5. Create a graphic organizer that explains how the temperature of the oceans affects the different climates on Earth
because water in the oceans holds a large amount of heat. (10 points)
6. GRASP: Presentation and Graphic Organizer on describing weather conditions. (10 points) *
7. Create a diagram to describe the atmosphere as a mixture of gases. (10 points)
8. Create a brochure to describe the atmosphere as a mixture of gases. (10 points)
9. Create a graphic organizer that compares and contrasts the composition of the atmosphere at different elevations.
(10 points) *
A Level (60 points)
1. Unit Test* (30 points)
2. GRASP: Newscast – Weather for the Four Seasons * (20 points)
*denotes mandatory activity
Learning Activities:
W
Where are we going? To a deeper understanding of the factors that affect the weather and climate in a region.
Why? Students will better understand weather forecasting in their daily life.
What is expected? Students will have a complete understanding of how weather and climate are created and
related.
H
I will hook student interest by showing them a weather forecasting clip at the very beginning of the unit, and posing
the question: “Do you understand WHY this weather is occurring?”
I will hold student interest through interactive activities, such as: artistic expression and creating a facebook page,
student choice in layered curriculum, and alternative methods of the student “showing what they know.”
E
Students will be equipped to do well on this unit through journaling, a variety of lessons and assignments (both
artistic and writing-based), class discussions, and their end of unit GRASP.
R
Students will be asked to rethink and revise their work through journaling before, during, and after the unit is
completed, as well as by giving peers “two stars and a wish” after their various presentations and after going over
work in peer relations.
E
Students will self-evaluate through journaling and a post-test reflection activity.
T
Learning will be tailored by using the differentiated instruction above.
O
The unit will be organized so that key concepts build upon one another, assignments tailored to the learning goals,
and an overall aligned unit. See calendar below for day-by-day schedule.
UBD Unit Design Worksheet / Saginaw Valley State University
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Essential Vocabulary
Air mass: a widespread body of air, the properties of which can be identified as: having been established while that air
was situated over a particular region of the earth's surface (air mass).
Atmosphere: the gaseous envelope surrounding the earth; the air.
Climate: the composite or generally prevailing weather conditions of a region, as temperature, air pressure, humidity,
precipitation, sunshine, cloudiness, and winds, throughout the year, averaged over a series of years.
Cold front: the leading edge of an advancing mass of cold air.
Compare: to examine (two or more objects, ideas, people, etc.) in order to note similarities and differences.
Composition: a material formed from two or more substances.
Contrast: to differ in a way that can serve to distinguish meanings.
Describe: to tell or depict in written or spoken words; give an account of.
Elevation: the altitude of a place above sea level or ground level.
Energy: the ability to do work.
Exosphere: the region of the upper atmosphere in which temperature increases continuously with altitude, encompassing
essentially the entire atmosphere above the mesosphere.
Explain: to make known in detail.
Factor: one of the elements contributing to a particular result or situation
Frontal boundary: the zone where the air masses meet when two different air masses approach each other.
Gases: a substance possessing perfect molecular mobility and the property of indefinite expansion, as opposed to a solid or
liquid.
Heat sinks:
Jet stream: any of the high-speed, high-altitude air currents that circle the Earth in a westerly direction.
Mesosphere: the mesosphere is above the stratosphere. Here the atmosphere is very rarefied, that is, thin, and the
temperature is decreasing with altitude, about –130 Fahrenheit (-90 Celsius) at the top.
Meteorologist: the science dealing with the atmosphere and its phenomena, including weather and climate.
Mixture: any combination or blend of different elements, kinds, qualities.
Occluded front: occurs when a cold front overtakes a warm front at the surface and a temperature contrast exists between
the advancing and retreating cold air masses.
Solar energy: energy derived from the sun in the form of solar radiation.
Stationary front: a boundary between air masses that is neither advancing nor retreating.
Stratosphere: found from about 7 to 30 miles (11-48 kilometers) above the Earth’s surface. In this region of the
atmosphere is the ozone layer, which absorbs most of the harmful ultraviolet radiation from the Sun. The temperature
increases slightly with altitude in the stratosphere. The highest temperature in this region is about 32 degrees
Fahrenheit or 0 degrees Celsius.
Thermosphere: starts at about 55 kilometers. The temperature is quite hot; here temperature is not measured using a
thermometer, but by looking at the motion and speed of the rarefied gases in this region, which are very energetic but
would not affect a thermometer. Temperatures in this region may be as high as thousands of degrees.
Troposphere: the lowest atmospheric layer and is about seven miles (11 km) thick. Most clouds and weather are found in
the troposphere. The troposphere is thinner at the poles (averaging about 8km thick) and thicker at the equator
(averaging about 16km thick). The temperature decreases with altitude.
UBD Unit Design Worksheet / Saginaw Valley State University
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Warm front: the trailing edge of a retreating mass of cold air.
Weather: the state of the atmosphere with respect to wind, temperature, cloudiness, moisture, pressure, etc.
Sequencing the Learning
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Pre-Assessment Test
Introduce Unit
Vocabulary C: 1 and
2
Vocabulary C: 1 and
2
Vocabulary C: 1 and
2
Introduce Unit
Vocabulary C: 1 and
2
B Level 1 and 2
B Level 1 and 2
B Level 1 and 2
Weather forecasting
clip: “Do you
understand WHY this
weather is
occurring?”
Quiz over content
goal 1
Vocabulary C: 1 and
2
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Vocabulary C: 1 and
2
Vocabulary C: 1 and
2
Vocabulary C: 1 and
2
Vocabulary C: 1 and
2
Vocabulary C: 1 and
2
B Level 3
B Level 3
B Level 4 and 5
B Level 4 and 5
B Level 6
Quiz over content
goals 2 and 3
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Vocabulary C: 1 and
2
Vocabulary C: 1 and
2
Vocabulary C: 1 and
2
Vocabulary C: 1 and
2
Vocabulary C: 1 and
2
B Level 6
B Level 6
B Level 6
B Level 6
B Level 6
Quiz over content
goal 4
Monday
Tuesday
UBD Unit Design Worksheet / Saginaw Valley State University
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
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Vocabulary C: 1, 2,
and 3
Vocabulary C: 1, 2,
and 3
Vocabulary C: 1 and
2
Vocabulary C: 1 and
2
Vocabulary C: 1 and
2
B Level 7 and 8, 9
B Level 7 and 8, 9
Quiz over content
goals 5 and 6
A Level 2: work time
A Level 1
A Level 2:
Explanation and work
time
UBD Unit Design Worksheet / Saginaw Valley State University
A Level 2:
Presentations
Weather forecasting
clip: “Do you
understand WHY this
weather is
occurring?”
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