Lesson Overview:
This lesson introduces the expanding and condensing properties of air masses and the unequal heating of Earth as the force behind the wind. Students will write a report on a topic related to wind and weather patterns, and will create a dance to demonstrate their understanding of weather patterns.
Length of Lesson:
One 45-minute period
Instructional Objectives:
Students will:
- learn about the concept of wind and how it affects the weather.
- understand the concept of molecular expansion and contraction as it relates to temperature.
- write a report that will discuss a concept related to wind and weather.
- create a movement sequence to show understanding of weather concepts.
Supplies:
- Diagrams depicting expanding and condensing air, solar energy moving through the atmosphere, the Wind Cycle, and movement of high and low pressure areas in the troposphere
Instructional Plan:
Introductory Activity
Draw and explain to the students how a thermometer works. Refer students to Diagram 1 in the Diagram handouts.
Reiterate the concept of space between the molecules as in the shrinking wall exercise. (This exercise is described in the Instructional Plan of the Sphere's Density Dance lesson.) As the mercury in the thermometer warms, it expands. As the mercury in the thermometer cools, it condenses or falls. The same is true of air.
Introduction to Weather Concepts
Refer students to Diagram 2 in the Diagram handouts and tell them that they are going to learn about what creates weather on our planet and how the wind is created. Explain that solar energy from the sun does not heat Earth equally. Using the diagram, show them that energy traveling through the atmosphere at the equator must pass through a smaller amount of atmosphere than at the poles. Explain that when the solar energy reaches the earth's atmosphere, it is like shaking energy (very intense), but as it passes through the atmosphere, it loses energy. The solar energy passing through at the equator does not lose as much energy as the solar energy at the poles.
Show students Diagram 3 in the Diagram handouts. Explain that as the air from the equator rises and the air at the poles falls or collapses, it creates a cycle that becomes the wind.
Wind Activity
Students must communicate what they learned by creating a dance sequence and writing an accompanying report. Dance is a form of communication, so students must first identify the story and/or ideas that they want to portray in their dance. Give the students a list of wind-related ideas to help them choose what their dance and their report will be about. Listed below are some possible subjects and themes that could form the basis of a dance.
Scientific Principles
- Air masses rise and expand or descend and condense.
- The wind moves in a circle or cycle.
- The wind turns clockwise or counterclockwise. (See diagram 4 in the Diagram handouts).
- The wind moves very fast or slowly depending on the pressure gradient.
- A combination of any of the above (e.g., counterclockwise motion that is descending and condensing like a low-pressure area).
Distribute and review the terms on the Famous Winds vocabulary handout.
National Weather Service Warnings:
- Gale warning: Issued by the National Weather Service when winds reach "gale
force"; that is, between 32 and 54 miles per hour.
- Small Craft Warning: Issued by the National Weather Service for winds up to 32 miles per hour, which could threaten marine crafts.
- Storm/Hurricane Warnings: Issued by the National Weather Service when winds reach between 54 and 74 miles per hour.
Assessment:
Students will be graded on the quality of their research paper, and how well it explains the weather concept being discussed.
Sources:
Web:
Authors:
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ARTSEDGE
The John F. Kennedy Center
Washington, DC
