The Great Vacation Debate
Background:
You and your best friend are planning a vacation for your families
over February break. Your parents want you to learn something
from the vacation, so they have given you two choices:
Los Angeles, California or Little Rock, Arkansas ( both are at 34
degrees N. latitude)
It’s your job to research weather and climate conditions for
those cities, and choose the best city from the two. Then create
a PowerPoint for your parents explaining your choice of vacation
destination. If your PowerPoint isn’t convincing, you might not get
to go!
Process:
1. Introduction: Tell who you are, what choices you had, and
which city you chose. List three things the audience will
learn during your presentation that will convince them that
you made the best choice.
2. Define weather and climate and explain the difference.
3. Tell how different weather occurs due to the constant
motion of the atmosphere. Explain how the heat of the
sun, combined with the rotation of the earth, causes wind
and causes the water cycle. Include the term convection.
4. Show your audience how your cities are either near or far
from an ocean. Explain how the ocean causes differences
in climate for your cities.
5. Declare which city is your choice. Defend your choice with
information about climate and weather as well as local
attractions.
6. Include a list of websites you used for your information.
Google is NOT a source.
Web Sources:
Definitions of Weather and Climate
http://epa.gov/climatechange/kids/climateweather.html what
is the difference
http://www.weatherwizkids.com/climate.htm what is climate
http://www.weatherwizkids.com/Weather%20Words.htm
weather vocabulary list
http://www.windows.ucar.edu/tour/link=/earth/climate/cli_de
fine.html what is climate and how it’s different from weather
http://www.oznet.ksu.edu/wdl/climate/kids/kid1.asp what is
climate
The Sun and Earth’s Rotation cause weather
http://www.weatherwizkids.com/wind1.htm what causes wind
http://www.wxdude.com/page1.html the sun starts it all
http://www.wxdude.com/page13.html the sun heats the earth
unevenly
http://www.wxdude.com/page25.html water cycle
http://www.weatherquestions.com/What_is_convection.htm
what is convection
Location
http://www.eduplace.com/ss/maps/ outline maps of US,
Europe
http://www.worldatlas.com/ more maps – choose your location
http://www.infoplease.com/atlas/ more maps – choose your
location
Climate/Weather for your Cities
http://www.weather.com/activities/travel/vacationplanner/?fr
om=secondarynav Type in the name and country of your city.
You can find average weather as well as attractions, hotels,
etc. here
http://www.worldclimate.com/ climate for cities around the
world
http://gocalifornia.about.com/cs/losangeles/l/bl_la_temp.htm
Los Angeles climate info
http://www.travel-climate.com/ Choose the country and then
the city for climate info.
How the Oceans affect Climate
http://www.windows.ucar.edu/tour/link=/earth/Water/ocean_
heat_storage_transfer.html&edu=elem why oceans affect
climate
http://physics.suite101.com/article.cfm/why_extreme_contine
ntal_climates why water moderates climate – includes
definition of specific heat
http://trc.ucdavis.edu/biosci10v/bis10v/media/ch31/climate_c
urrents_v2.html map of warm and cool ocean currents
http://www.mos.org/oceans/motion/currents.html ocean
current info
http://www.cbs6albany.com/sections/weather/research/topics
/topicsixteen/ differences in water and land heat capacity
(specific heat)
Local Attractions
http://www.latourist.com/ Los Angeles tourist info
http://www.smartertravel.com/travel-guides/los-angelestravel-guide.html?id=1697 more Los Angeles travel info
http://littlerock.about.com/od/thingstodo/tp/aatpattractions.
htm Little Rock tourism
http://www.littlerock.com/ More Little Rock tourism
Evaluation:
Omitted or
Below
Plagiarized (0 Expectations
points)
(10 points)
Meets Expectations Exceeds Expectations
(12 points)
(14 points)
Introduction
None or text Some
is obviously requirements
cut and
met.
pasted
Most requirements Explains the purpose
met.
of your presentation
and lists at least three
things the audience will
learn.
Define weather and climate
and explain the difference.
Missing or text Some
is obviously requirements
cut and
missing.
pasted
All requirements
met.
All requirements met
and are clear, concise,
and complete.
Tell how different weather
Missing or text Some
occurs due to the constant
is obviously requirements
motion of the atmosphere.
cut and
missing.
Explain how the heat of the
pasted
sun, combined with the rotation
of the earth, causes wind and
causes the water cycle.
Include the term convection.
All requirements
met.
All requirements met
and are clear, concise,
and complete.
Describe the location and
climate for each of your cities.
Explain how the ocean causes
differences in climate for your
cities.
Missing or text Some
is obviously requirements
cut and
missing.
pasted
All requirements
met.
All requirements met
and are clear, concise,
and complete.
Declare which city is your
choice. Defend your choice
with information about climate
and weather as well as local
attractions.
Missing or text Some
is obviously requirements
cut and
met.
pasted
All requirements
met.
Recommendations and
results are
exceptionally clear,
concise, and complete
List of Sources
None
Most sources seem List appears complete
to be listed
Presentation was Presentation was
interesting.
thoroughly enjoyable.
Pictures, diagrams, Audience participation
and photos used
encouraged.
for each slide.
Read from notes.
Power Point Presentation Skills Presentation
not made to
the class
Too few
sources listed
Presentation
lacked photos,
too much text,
or read from
slides.