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Meteorologist for a day (lesson plan)

Meteorologist for a day (lesson plan)

In this lesson, students practice meteorology for a day. Students work in pairs or groups to research and present a weather report for a city somewhere in the country. Students will present their reports to the class using Microsoft® Office PowerPoint®. For variety, be sure to assign cities with different climates.

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Overview

In this lesson, students practice meteorology for a day, then research and present a weather report for a city somewhere in the country.

Meteorologist for a day

Lesson plan information

Lesson plan
Item Requirements
Instructional level
  • Beginning user
School level
  • Middle school (11-14 years)
Curriculum areas
  • Science
  • Mathematics
Themes
  • Seasons and weather
  • E-learning
Class time
  • 1-2 class periods
Academic standards
  • Mathematics: The student gains an understanding of measurement, data-analysis, and probability.
  • Science: The student learns about earth and space science.
ISTE NETS Standards for students
  • Basic operations and concepts: Students are proficient in the use of technology.
  • Technology communications tools: Students use telecommunications to collaborate, publish, and interact with peers, experts, and other audiences.
  • Technology research tools: Students use technology to locate, evaluate, and collect information from a variety of sources.
Software required
  • Microsoft Internet Explorer
  • Microsoft Office PowerPoint

Teacher guide

Objectives

  • Students will learn what it means to be a meteorologist.
  • Students will research and collect weather data for a U.S. city.
  • Students will present a weather report to the class.

Prerequisite skills

  • Basic research skills using Microsoft Internet Explorer
  • Basic experience with Microsoft Office PowerPoint

How to begin

  1. Write "Meteorologist" on the board and see if students can define the word. Explain that a meteorologist is a scientist who studies the weather and predicts weather forecasts.
  2. Brainstorm what kinds of tools or data a meteorologist can use to give accurate weather reports.
  3. Discuss why weather forecasts are important.

Resources and web links

Weather forecast template (134 KB Microsoft PowerPoint file)

Student directions (24 KB Microsoft Word file)

Student activity

Have you ever wanted to be a meteorologist? Now is your chance! In this activity, you will research the weather conditions for a specific city, use your data to prepare a weather forecast for people living there, and present your report.

Description

  • Software: Microsoft Internet Explorer, Microsoft Office PowerPoint
  • What to do
    Research and present a weather report
  1. Open Internet Explorer, and go to this site: http://www.weather.com/.
  2. Type in the name of the city you're researching in the Local Forecast search area.
  3. Gather data for your weather report. Be sure to include:
  • Current conditions
  • Temperature
  • Humidity
  • Wind
  • Precipitation
  • Current Doppler image
  • 5-day forecast
  1. For the last part of your forecast, include a paragraph on how you think the weather will affect people in this city. Is there anything in the forecast that might affect people's daily routines?
  2. Use PowerPoint to create your weather forecast and present it to the class.

Ways to extend the student activity

  • Students can research the other types of data meteorologists use when creating weather reports. They can watch a television news weather forecast or look to see what other kinds of weather data they can find on the Internet.
  • Have students chart the weather for their city or their hometown over time, and look for trends.

Assessment

Assess students on:

  • Their research skills.
  • How accurately they collected data.
  • Their participation in the class presentation.

This content is reprinted with permission from Microsoft. For additional content, please visit http://www.microsoft.com/education/default.mspx.