III:

Unit Standards, Goals, and Objectives

3.1- Weather is a result of complex interactions of Earths atmosphere, land and

water, that are driven by energy from the sun, and can be predicted and described
through complex models

This standard includes the following inquiry questions:
1. Why does weather vary from day to day?
2. What are the strengths and limitations of different types of weather models?
3. What are the variables that make predicting weather challenging?
4. How do weather patterns relate to climate?
3.2- Earth has a variety of climates defined by average temperature, precipitation,
humidity, air pressure, and wind that have changed over time in a particular
location
This standard includes the following inquiry questions:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

How does the climate in one area compare and contrast with another area?
Why are there different climates on Earth?
How has Earths climate changed over time?
What evidence supports and/or contradicts human influence on climate change?
What is the difference between weather and climate?

At the end of this unit, students will be able to:

-Write clear and concise explanations for the variation of weather on Earth
(Literacy)
-Read and use modern weather maps to accurately predict future weather patterns
(Literacy, and higher-order thinking)
-Use a variety of online resources to learn about weather fronts (technology)
-List evidence for and against the cause of climate change on Earth AND devise an
argument paragraph that supports your belief (Literacy, Higher-order thinking)
-Predict how much drinkable water there is on Earth now? Ten years from now? 50
years from now? (Numeracy, Higher-order thinking)

They will demonstrate proficiency using weather map modeling, webquest
questioning, testing, and writing a conclusion-stating paragraph on water.

Literacy Goals and Objectives:

Lesson 1: Literacy is integrated through introduction reading to atmosphere layers
and composition (30 minutes)

Lesson 2:
Literacy is integrated through writing and describing the water cycle (25 minutes)
Literacy is integrated through writing observations on lab demonstrations (30
minutes
Literacy is integrated through reading about Earths water and writing a
conclusions-based paragraph (30 minutes)

Lesson 3: Literacy is integrated through reading website information for webquest
(50 minutes)

Lesson 4: Literacy is integrated by answering questions based on weather map
predictions (30 minutes)

Lesson 5: Literacy is integrated by students writing out their arguments for climate
change debate (class period)

Lesson 6: Assessment Day/ Movie. Literacy is integrated by writing test answers,
and observations on movie (class period)

Throughout the Unit: Students will write their answer to the Brain Buster/Class
opening question every day in their journal and discuss as a class.


Numeracy Goals and Objectives:
Lesson 2: Numeracy is integrated through students using mathematical models to
predict how much of Earths water is drinkable (25 minutes)

Throughout the Unit: Numeracy is unfortunately not a large part of this Unit, but
came into play heavily in Forces and Motion (Quarter 3s unit) and will play a larger
role in Astronomy (Quarter 4.5s unit)


Technology Goals and Objectives:
Lesson 1: Technology is integrated via presentation on SMART board with models of
atmospheric layers (20 minutes)

Lesson 2:
Technology is integrated via demonstrations, clips, and videos for air pressure and
influence on weather (class period)
Technology is integrated with students having the option to use in class readings, or
internet sources and models to predict where Earths water is (class period)

Lesson 3: Technology is integrated via students using their computers to complete a

webquest on weather fronts (50 minutes)

Lesson 4: Technology is integrated via students using computer-based models and
interactive applications to simulate weather maps (30 minutes)

Lesson 6: Technology is integrated by students having the option to type out their
test answers (45 minutes)

Throughout the Unit: Students will always have access to their computers, phones,
and SMART board to answer any questions or gather any information they may
need


Higher-order Thinking Goals and Objectives:
Lesson 2: Students will be able to use their knowledge and a little bit of predictive
math to write high-level predictions of where Earths water will be in a future tense
(10 years/50 years) (25 minutes)

Lesson 4: Students will analyze modern weather maps to predict weather patterns
and extreme weather events (class period)

Lesson 5: Students will use all of their resources and any new resources they choose
to construct a reasonable and scientific argument involving climate change
(for/against, cause/effect, etc etc)

Throughout the Unit: Students will be encouraged to come up with questions and
answers they may have regarding anything in the unit. They will also use all of the
information to build up to a reasonable argument for our climate change debate.