For twenty years I taught a self contained 4th grade classroom. This year I am doing something very different. For our district, we have a large 4th grade class (31 students) and a very small 3rd grade class (9 students). These two classes have been combined and I am sharing the instructional time with my sister-in-law. She is teaching the ELA and Social Studies. I am teaching Math and Science. It is safe to say that I have a wide range of ability levels. Regardless of that, this is one of the most excited and eager to learn groups I have encountered.
These two groups have similar interests and I am looking to offer them special STEAM activities that will push them beyond our math and science curriculums.
I would love to offer them real time weather information from our school property to extend the Weather unit they will be experiencing.
My Project
Not only will a new weather station allow our students to use immediate and local weather information for our weather unit, our staff will also be able to use the information to make decisions regarding the safety of ourdoor activities.
The use of a local weather station makes everything we do more relevant to the learning associated with our weather unit.
Allowing the students to draw information from a local instrument is much more impactful than searching for information drawn from other weather instruments that can be from areas with drastically differing weather. Our location on Saginaw Bay can vary significantly from local National Weather Service resources and we need accurate information that will also allow for safe decisions to be made regarding the participation of our students in outdoor activities.
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