The cost of supplies to increase learning about the weather is $638, including shipping and <a target="new" href="http://www.donorschoose.org/html/fulfillment.htm" onclick="g_openWindow('http://www.donorschoose.org/html/fulfillment.htm', 300, 800, 'fulfillwindow');return false;">fulfillment</a>.
I am a fourth grade teacher looking for the opportunity to encourage my students to become meteorologists as we study and predict the weather. I teach in a rural town in South Carolina, with about 20-25 students in each class each year. I teach science to all fourth grade students.
In this project, teams of students will gather weather data using various instruments, such as wind vanes, anemometers, and rain gauges. They will use software programs to graph their data and report the current conditions and predictions to the class as a team. Each fourth grade class will have four or five teams with each member having a specific job, such as the data collector, the director, or the camera technician. The students will alternate being the meteorologists for each forecast.
This project would have many great benefits for my students. They would not only learn about the weather, but they will be involved in the entire process from gathering the data, entering the data into graphing software programs, displaying the graphs in a meaningful, easy to read format, creating weather predictions based on past weather conditions, and presenting their forecasts to the class. To gather the data, students will learn how to use a variety of tools and weather instruments as they reinforce their measurement skills. This will allow them to become familiar with each weather instrument, which is required by the state standards. As students enter the data into graphing software and create the graphs, they will use critical thinking skills as they decide which graphs are more meaningful, accurate, and easy to read. This is crucial because the audience will have to quickly read the information from the charts and graphs, as television time is costly! Finally, as teams present their forecast to the class throughout the year, their presentation skills will improve as they become more confident. Not only is this important in school, but it will prepare them for a job setting.
Thanks in advance for giving my students the opportunity to function as a team as they study weather in a fun and motivating approach. They will learn so much more and become prepared for the world by working together instead of reading about weather in a textbook.
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As a teacher-founded nonprofit, we're trusted by thousands of teachers and supporters across the country. This classroom request for funding was created by Mrs. B. and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.