Welcome to TechKNOW Associates' Weather Watcher page. This project was developed through a partnership between TechKNOW Associates and Compass Learning. To download a copy of the project, you will need a userid and password. Please go to the Terms of Use page for more information.

TechKNOW Associates Corporation can provide expert, onsite staff development to insure that teachers and children fully implement this and other projects at a reasonable cost. We will train teachers in the classroom with their students, model lessons, and help them integrate technology into their curriculum through a project-based approach.

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Over the next few weeks, your first, second and third grade students will become junior meteorologists. They will work in small cooperative groups to become experts in one or more aspects of the weather. Through the use of a comprehensive learning tool, CompassLearning Odyssey, books, magazines, the newspaper, television and the Internet, your young meteorologists will research aspects of seasons, weather, and climate as they develop critical math, literacy and science skills. Your meteorologists will break new ground by using the computer as an educational tool to plan and present a multimedia presentation at the conclusion of the project.

The Weather Watcher project is designed to develop and build a foundation of strong math, reading and communication skills. It provides a variety of problem solving and reading experiences in various content areas while addressing performance standards in English Language Arts, Science, and Mathematics. The project provides a vehicle for early childhood teachers to introduce young students to the concept of research and related strategies in the context of a real-world activity. Finally, this project provides your students with a genuine opportunity to present information and ideas in front of an audience in a meaningful and exciting fashion.

The project is divided into three related yet independent learning phases. In each phase, students will explore the job of a meteorologist as they become immersed in the world of weather:

• Phase One – Becoming a Weather Watcher: Students will engage in hands-on experiences as they set up a class weather station. Students will observe and record temperature and weather conditions,

• Phase Two – Tracking the Weather: Students will interpret what they have observed and use graphs to demonstrate patterns in weather over time. They will learn how meteorologists use weather patterns to predict the weather.

• Phase Three – Extreme Weather Watching: Students will continue their study of the weather by researching more extreme weather conditions. They will expand their weather related vocabulary and explore such phenomena as hurricanes and tornadoes.

To download a copy of this project, you will need a userid and password. Please go to the Terms of Use page for more information. If you have a userid and password, click here.