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Equipment and Supplies NecessaryTo Conduct the ActivitiesDevelopment of the Learning Philosophyto Science EducationWe understand that many schools may not have thesupplies and equipment necessary to conduct costlymeteorology experiments and activities, so this publication focuses on activities using common materialspeople can find in the home or in local stores. It is important to note that we have included only one way toconstruct instruments; the educator may have alternative methods, which may work as efficiently and areless costly. The authors make these instrument construction suggestions as a starting point for educators.Staff members who work in well-equipped schoolsmay substitute commercially available equipment andsupplies. However, there are pedagogical advantagesto constructing the equipment. Constructing theequipment may lead to a better understanding of thephenomenon measured and how the equipmentworks. The “Materials Needed” suggestions arebased on the activity; quantities required woulddepend upon how the students are grouped forconducting activities.For science education to have meaning for all students, there should be a strong focus on the essentialelements of inquiry learning, which are described inthe National Science Education Standards (NSES)and the American Association for the Advancementof Science (AAAS) Benchmarks. Using these documents as a foundation, the Council of State ScienceSupervisors (CS3), through the CS3/NASA NLISTInitiative, developed an operational definition ofScience as Inquiry (www.nlistinquiryscience.com).It is extremely important that teachers advise studentsabout safety considerations when conducting scienceactivities. Educators must exert judgment as to thematurity level required for the students to carry outsome of the activities independently. As an example,can the students, wearing protective heatproof glovesand safety glasses, handle the boiling water, or shouldthe educator handle the waterwith the students at a safedistance? The samequestion applies to thesling psychrometer,Are the students matureenough to sling thepsychrometer, or shouldthe educator sling it at asafe distance from thestudents? Learning set in a broad context (concepts) canenable deeper understanding and enhance thetransfer of knowledge to new and different situations (Appendix III).Meteorology Activities for Grades 5-9The operational definition of science as inquiry promulgated by the CS3/NASA NLIST Initiative consists of these essential elements: (1) conceptual context for science content; (2) relevant and importantscience content; (3) information-processing skills;and (4) the scientific habits of mind (approaches).These essential elements should become the focusof material development. They enhance the relevancyand applicability of science knowledge. Content then becomes a building block for constructing and comprehending important concepts. Skill development becomes the means forcontinuing the generation of new knowledge. Habits of mind (approaches) employed by expertsand nurtured in learners can ensure the integrityof the discipline and provide a valid world viewfrom the perspective of science (Appendix III).These essential elements, brought together holistically in a learning environment, make science bothrelevant and applicable for all learners. Furthermore,this approach enables the development of skills andapproaches needed to continue lifelong learning.2NP-2006-08-97-LaRC

Levels of Inquiry in ActivitiesThe skills scientists use and the scientific approach,which are the foundation of generating a body ofscientific knowledge, are often overlooked in scienceeducation. Science education is still taught andlearned as a history lesson — with a focus on “this iswhat we know.” If educators emphasize “how weknow,” students will develop skills and acquirescientific attitudes that yield a valid scientific view ofthe world and the ability to use these skills as a lifelong way of resolving problems. Many activities usedto teach science are mindless “hands on” lessons anddo not engage a “minds on” response. Capable students can see the activity outcomes without goingthrough the procedures and are not challenged. Manyeducators think inquiry learning takes place onlythrough student activities. Teacher demonstrations,classroom discussions, and even lectures can encourage the development of the essential elementsof inquiry if the focus is on “how we come aboutknowing” rather than on “this is what we know.”Just as children move through a series of stages whenlearning to walk, programs designed for science education should consider important developmentalstages in moving learners toward taking charge oftheir own learning. The programs should have effective experiences that will enable learners to movefrom receivers of information to pursuers of knowledge. Young learners and less-experienced learnersneed more direction and “hand holding,” but as theymature and increase their abilities, they need moresophisticated challenges. There should be a gradualshift in the help given students as they move to theupper levels of schooling, even during the later stagesin a course.Scientists approach the generation of knowledgedifferently than the way schools provide learnersaccess to this knowledge. Experts start with observations, pose questions, and at some point frame acontext for these questions. Depending upon thediscipline, they apply the ground rules or approachesto a particular discipline. Experts make “wrong turns”or reach “dead ends” and often must rework approaches to get resolutions to questions. Using theseskills and applying the ground rules of the disciplineenables experts to improve the learners’ abilities toresolve problems. With this emphasis on learning, thestudent develops a more valid view of the scientificprocess and can better see the world through the lensof a particular discipline.There are four levels of activities that can be classified according to levels of inquiry potential. Whileany of these inquiry levels can be appropriate for alllevels of learners, it is expected that the morestructured learning experiences lie at lower gradelevels and the more open-ended and less-structuredones predominate as students approach high schoolgraduation. The following classification is modifiedfrom the work of Herron (1971) and his efforts todevelop a simple, practical rubric for assessing thedegree to which activities promote student inquiry.Based partly on the writings of Schwab (1964),Herron describes four levels of inquiry. The subsequent classification is a slight modification in looking at a teacher-centered approach versus a shifttoward a more learner-centered approach.AN IMPORTANT NOTE: For teachers who needa more traditional correlation with the national standards and benchmarks that put greater emphasis uponcontent correlation, see Appendix IV. This type ofcorrelation does not negate the important educationalapproach outlined previously but helps to illustratethat this publication’s approach considers the demands on teachers in current classrooms.Meteorology Activities for Grades 5-93NP-2006-08-97-LaRC

(3) Guided inquiry. Students investigate a teacherpresented question using their own procedures forconducting the activity. The value of this level ofactivity is in challenging learners to design theprocedure that will produce appropriate data tovalidly resolve the question. Further, the learner hasan additional opportunity to learn from the teacherpresented testable question.(4) Open inquiry. Students investigate a topic-relatedquestion that they have formulated. They are responsible for defining a manageable question(s), designingprocedures to collect, record, and evaluate data, anddraw interpretations, inferences, and conclusions. Inthis level of activity, the student benefits from learning how to design a testable question and also todesign a procedure to generate the data necessary toappropriately resolve the question. The teacher ensures that the student addresses the concepts beingstudied by framing a context in a broad nontestablestatement, such as, “Investigate an aspect about whatcauses air movement within Earth’s atmosphere.” It isthen necessary for the learner to carve out a piece orpieces of this statement that can be tested.Throughout this publication the learner will have theopportunity to experience activities that representeach of the four levels. Furthermore, these activitieswill be specifically identified as to the predominantinquiry level of the particular activity. This identification will assist the educator in better understandinginquiry levels and how to select or develop moreactivities that address these various inquiry levels.(1) Confirmation-verification. Students confirm orverify a concept through both a prescribed questionand procedure; the results are known in advance.The value of this level of activity is in introducingstudents, who have had very little or no experiencein performing science activities, to the general stepsin the design of investigations.NOTE: It should be understood that any of theseinquiry levels of activities can provide educationalbenefit. However, it is important to challenge thelearner to take more responsibility for his/herlearning. After working through these activitieswith students, the teacher will also have a betterunderstanding of ways to modify these levels ofactivities to suit the needs of various learners.(2) Structured inquiry. Students investigate ateacher-presented testable question through a prescribed procedure. The results of the investigationare not known in advance, and students generalizerelationships by using the outcomes of the activity.The value of this level of activity is to challenge thelearner to examine the data and to come to a validconclusion based upon these data. It also gives thelearner further experience with the concept of a“testable” question and investigative design structure.Meteorology Activities for Grades 5-94NP-2006-08-97-LaRC

Chapter 2. Weather and ClimateThe Structure of the AtmosphereWhile the Earth’s atmosphere extends upward forhundreds of kilometers until it merges with interplanetary space, more than half of the atmosphere’s totalmass is below an altitude of only about 6 kilometers(3.75 miles) above the surface (Figure 2-1). Thelowest region of the atmosphere, the troposphere,extends from the surface to an altitude that varies from10 to 15 kilometers (km) (6.2 to 9.3 miles (mi.)),depending on latitude and season. The top of thetroposphere is called the tropopause. The regions ofthe atmosphere above the troposphere are thestratosphere (from between 10 and 15 to 40 km(between 6.2-9.3 and 25 mi.)), the mesosphere (40 to80 km (25 to 50 mi.)), the thermosphere (80 to 500 km(50 to 310 mi.)) and the exosphere (begins at about500 km (310 mi.)). The exosphere merges withinterplanetary space. The ionosphere is the region ofatmosphere between 40 and 300 km (25 and 185 mi.).It is the region of positively-charged atoms andmolecules and negatively-charged electrons.Surrounding the Earth is a gaseous envelope oratmosphere, held in place by the planet’s gravitationalattraction. The Earth’satmosphere is a complexdynamical, physical, andchemical system. Dynamic processes cover alarge range of scales fromthe microscopic-scaledynamics of evaporation,condensation, cloudformation and precipitation, to small-scale,localized vertical andhorizontal wind motions,to medium-scalecyclones, anticyclones,hurricanes, typhoons,tornadoes, thunderstorms,fronts, etc., to the largescale general circulationof the atmosphere.Physical processes in the atmosphere include thetransfer of incoming solar radiation through theatmosphere to the surface, the heating of the surface,the emission of outgoing infrared radiation, theabsorption of infrared radiation by atmospheric gases,the evaporation of water, the condensation of atmospheric water vapor into clouds, and precipitation.Chemical processes include the transformation andproduction of atmospheric gases, such as atmosphericozone, via chemical reactions involving many dozensof gases in the atmosphere.Meteorology Activities for Grades 5-9Figure 2-1. Regions of the atmosphere.5NP-2006-08-97-LaRC

The Chemical Compositionof the AtmosphereInstruments to Measure WeatherWeather is the instantaneous or current state of theatmosphere and is measurable in terms of temperature, atmospheric pressure, humidity, wind speed anddirection, cloudiness and precipitation. Climate is thestate of the atmosphere over long time periods, suchas over years, decades, centuries or greater. In general, the weather that impacts the surface of the Earthand those that live on the surface takes place in thetroposphere. Weather parameters are measured withdifferent instruments. Atmospheric temperature ismeasured with a thermometer.The Earth’s atmosphere is a complex mixture ofgases: nitrogen (N2) (about 78% by volume), oxygen(O2) (about 21% by volume) and argon (Ar) (about0.9% by volume) with small and varying amounts ofwater vapor (H2O) (0 to 4% by volume) and stillsmaller amounts of carbon dioxide (CO2), methane(CH4), nitrous oxide (N2O), ozone (O3) and dozens ofother gases at still smaller concentrations. The chemical composition of the atmosphere is given in Table2-1. The protection afforded by the atmosphere isvery important for life on Earth. The atmosphereshields the Earth’s surface and its myriad forms oflife from biologically damaging high-energy cosmicradiation. In addition, ozone, found mostly in thestratosphere, absorbs ultraviolet radiation from theSun, shielding the Earth’s surface from this biologically damaging radiation.Atmospheric pressure is a measure of the forceexerted by the mass of atmosphere on the surface ata given location. The average pressure of the atmosphere at mean sea level is about 1 kg per square cm,which is equivalent to about 14.7 pounds per squareinch or a pressure of 1013.25 millibars (mb), andwhich is also referred to as 1 atmosphere. Atmospheric pressure is measured with a barometer.Table 2-1. Chemical Compositionof the Earth’s AtmosphereGasNitrogen (N2)Concentration*78.084%Oxygen (O2)20.946%Argon (Ar)0.934%Carbon Dioxide (CO2)0.037%Water Vapor (H2O)0.01 to 4%†Neon (Ne)18.2 ppmvHelium (He)5.0 ppmvMethane (CH4)1.8 ppmvKrypton (Kr)1.1 ppmvHydrogen (H2)0.5 ppmvNitrous Oxide (N2O)0.5 ppmvXenon (Xe)0.09 ppmvOzone (O3)0.0 to 0.07 ppmv†Nitrogen Dioxide (NO2)Humidity is a general term that refers to the watervapor content of the air. Absolute humidity is theactual amount of water vapor per volume of air.Relative humidity is the percentage of water vaporin the atmosphere compared with

an all-inclusive textbook, but rather an educator’s guide to some of the phenomena explored in this publication. Many activities offered in this guide build upon each other and use the inquiry in the previous activity to assist in the activity that follows. Thus, this publication en