Deciphering Weather Maps

Apr 20 2011

Source: msscott10

Summary Information

Keywords:

decipher, weather, maps

Topic:

Earth Science

Target Grade (Ages):

Grade 6 (Ages 11-12)

Estimated Time Required:

2-3 hours

Diversity Indicators:

This lesson is appropriate for students at various learning levels.

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LESSON

Goals and Prerequisites

Goals:

Students will be able to:

Understand basic information about weather
Learn about different types of weather maps.

Prerequisites:

Students should have a basic understanding of the general uses of maps.

Instructional Objective(s)

Students will be able to:

Use technology to increase their understanding about weather
Create and present national weather maps showing different weather conditions.

Instructional Resources

Background:

Our World: What is Weather? video: This NASA video segment focuses on the relationship between weather and climate. Learn how heat, air pressure, winds and moisture work together to produce local weather.

Science Is Elementary: What in the World? The Earth Explained: Weather and Climate video: (Note: To view this video you must have a Discovery Education account) In this video, we learn that weather is the condition of the atmosphere in terms of heat, air pressure, wind, and moisture that changes almost daily, whereas climate is the long-term weather in a certain area. The concepts of water vapor, evaporation, condensation, and precipitation are introduced in a discussion of the water cycle. The different layers of the atmosphere are named and discussed, as is the role of the sun in providing heat energy to warm the earth and its atmosphere. Wind, air masses, fronts, storms and other weather phenomena are described, as are hurricanes and tornados. The video concludes with a brief reference to instruments used to measure various aspects of weather.

Vocabulary

Air Pressure: The weight per unit of area of a column of air that reaches to the top of the atmosphere.

Context: Areas of high air pressure, or high-pressure systems, usually have clear skies, and areas of low air pressure, or low-pressure systems, usually have clouds.

Atmosphere: The layer of air that surrounds Earth and is made up of nitrogen (about 78 percent), oxygen (about 21 percent), and miscellaneous gases (about 1 percent).

Context: Our weather takes place in the lower part of the atmosphere.

Front: A narrow zone of transition between air masses that differ in temperature or humidity.

Context: Most changes in the weather occur along fronts.

Humidity: A measure of the amount of moisture in the air in the form of invisible water vapor.

Context: Humidity is important for making weather forecasts, because it can help scientists predict precipitation.

Meteorologist: A scientist who studies the weather.

Context: Meteorologists use different types of maps to report the weather.

Precipitation: Moisture that falls from clouds in the form of rain, snow, sleet, or hail.

Context: Without rain or other forms of precipitation, the ground becomes dry, and crops cannot grow.

Temperature: The measure of the heat energy of the gases in the air.

Context: Changes in temperature lead to changes in air pressure, bringing different kinds of weather.

Weather: The state of the atmosphere at a given time in a particular place.

Context: The three main factors of weather are humidity, air pressure, and temperature.

Wind: The movement of air, which tends to move from a high-pressure area to a low-pressure area.

Context: Winds are named for the direction from which they blow, so an easterly wind blows from the east.

Materials:

Our World: What is Weather? video
Science Is Elementary: What in the World? The Earth Explained: Weather and Climate video
Local Weather Map Activity
Internet access
Print resources about weather
Five pieces of poster board, each with an outline of the United States
Markers
Stickers
Scissors
Making a Map Rubric

Local Weather Map (gif)

Making A Map Rubric (doc)

Procedure:

Begin the lesson by writing the following questions on the board:

What are some examples of weather?
Where does weather come from?
Where does weather happen?
How does weather happen?
Is weather always the same?

As students answer the questions, write their ideas on the board.

As a class, come up with a definition for weather. One definition for weather is the following: The state of the atmosphere at a given time in a particular place. (If students aren’t familiar with the term atmosphere, it can be defined as the layer of air that surrounds Earth.) Then have students brainstorm elements that make up weather. You might ask what makes one day’s weather different from the next, for example:

Temperature
Precipitation (rainfall, snowfall)
Wind speed
Humidity
Cloud cover

Explain that meteorologists, or scientists who predict and report the weather, use different types of maps to show the elements of weather. Students will watch either the Our World: What is Weather? video or the Science Is Elementary: What in the World? The Earth Explained: Weather and Climate video. The class will discuss factors that affect weather such as wind, air masses, fronts and storms Following this, students will work in groups to look at one type of weather map, focus on one aspect of weather, research facts about that aspect, and present their map to the class. Write the following types of maps on the board:

Satellite
Radar
Precipitation
Temperature
Wind speed
Front

Divide the class into six groups and assign each one a different type of map. Provide the links and questions below for each group. In addition, give each group one poster board with an outline of the United States. Tell each group to use the map as a base to draw its assigned type of map for today’s weather. Remind them to include a map key. Each group should also create a presentation that answers the questions below.

Satellite maps

Map: United States satellite picture
Background: Satellites give bird's-eye view of clouds
Questions to answer:

- What do satellite images show? Why is this information important?

- How do we get satellite images? How do satellites travel?

- What can meteorologists learn by the shade of the clouds on a satellite image?

Radar maps

Map: North America Radar Image
Background: Understanding weather radar
Questions to answer:

- What does radar show?

- How do you use the map key on a radar map?

- How do we get radar images?

- What are some of the limitations of radar maps?

Precipitation maps

Map: Precipitation
Background: Precipitation: hail, rain, freezing rain, sleet and snow
Precipitation definitions
Questions to answer:

- What is precipitation?

- What are some examples of precipitation?

- Define the different types of precipitation on the map.

- What causes different types of precipitation?

Temperature maps

Map: North America Temperature Forecast
Background: More to temperature than you might think
U.S. current temperatures
Questions to answer:

What is temperature? (For the clearest definition, see the “Weather terms” chart in the background article.)

What are the two most important factors in temperature?

Why is it usually cooler at night?

Why does temperature change during the seasons?

Wind-speed map

Map: Current Winds
Background: Pressure differences give wind its push
Questions to answer:

- Explain the main cause of winds.

- Why are some winds stronger than others?

- How does wind affect the weather?

- How are winds named?

Front maps

Map: Current Surface
Background: This morning's storms, fronts map
Questions to answer:

- What is a low-pressure system? What is a high-pressure system? What kind of weather does each typically bring?

- What is a cold front? What is a warm front? What types of weather does each typically bring?

- Explain how the map key shows each of the terms above.

Other helpful sites

Weather
Weather Basics
Meteorology A to Z

The next two class periods, have the groups hang their posters on a bulletin board. Ask members of each group to give a weather report using their map. Their presentations should also answer the questions provided. Following the presentations, ask each group to compare its map with another and explain how the two are related.
Students will then individually complete the Local Weather Map Activity. They will go online and record the weather for the day from the USA today website. They will include a brief explanation of what they recorded based on their knowledge of weather and what they learned throughout the previous activities.

Extensions

Print out temperature, satellite, and front maps of the current national weather. (See Web sites above.) Then have students work in pairs to give a weather report for a city in a different part of the country. This information, including a local Doppler radar image, is available at weather.com by entering the city and state at the top of the page. Students should report on current conditions, such as temperature, humidity, and precipitation, as well as the forecast for the next five days. In addition, their reports on current weather conditions should use the Doppler radar image. Encourage students to be creative in their language and presentation. For example, think about how a dramatic change in weather, such as a sudden drop in temperature or a thunderstorm, might affect people’s lives. How might that affect a meteorologist’s weather report?

Assessments and Rubrics

Please see Making a Map Rubric.

Using the maps from the activity, choose one place in the country that had different weather from your hometown’s. How do you think this weather affected kids in that area? How might their days have been different from yours? Think about what they wore, what they did for recess, and what they planned for after school.
Why is it helpful to use different types of weather maps? When might some maps be more helpful than others? For example, why might you be more interested in precipitation one day and wind speed the next?
Describe other maps you’ve seen in weather reports (examples: UV index, snowfall, pollen count). Why are these maps important?

Making A Map Rubric (doc)

External Resources

This video explains weather predictions: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YxH1xiNir

This is a basic overview of weather fronts: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mlm_OKWYYw8&feature=related

Credits

Discovery.com
Joy Brewster, writer and editor of educational materials for K-12 teachers and students

RESOURCES

Original Resources

Local Weather Map (gif)

Rubrics

Making A Map Rubric (doc)

Contributed Resources

Contribute a Resource

Click the button above if you would like to contribute a resource to this lesson.

STANDARDS

Click here to add Standards

This lesson links with NY State Middle School Science Standards

Standard Type: State New York

New York State Standards

The Physical Setting: Performance Indicators:

2.2i Weather describes the conditions of the atmosphere at a given location for a short period of time.
2.2j Climate is the characteristic weather that prevails from season to season and year to year.
2.2k The uneven heating of Earth’s surface is the cause of weather.
2.2l Air masses form when air remains nearly stationary over a large section of Earth’s surface and takes on the conditions of temperature and humidity from that location. Weather conditions at a location are determined primarily by temperature, humidity, and pressure of air masses over that location.
2.2m Most local weather condition changes are caused by movement of air masses.
2.2n The movement of air masses is determined by prevailing winds and upper air currents.
2.2o Fronts are boundaries between air masses. Precipitation is likely to occur at these boundaries.
2.2p High-pressure systems generally bring fair weather. Low-pressure systems usually bring cloudy, unstable conditions. The general movement of highs and lows is from west to east across the United States.

National Science Education Standards for students in grades 5-8:
Earth Science: Understanding the elements of weather

Your rating

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Comments

Juliane Sullivan

Texas, United States

Permalink

May 21, 2014 - 9:17am

I loved that this lesson had

I loved that this lesson had students explore more than one type of weather map. My students really enjoyed looking at the different types and learning what for and how to use them. My students were able to make better connections to the maps they find on weather apps that they were familiar with. For my low performing students, I used edheads.com – Weather Maps activity to help remediate and build students up in their understanding. This really helped because it was leveled and my students could start out easy and then build.

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I loved that this lesson had