Science Curriculum

Grade 6 Unit 4: FOSS Weather & Water

Graded Six Unit 4: FOSS Weather & Water Instructional Days: 60

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Course Description

The students in the sixth grade Science course will develop a conceptual understanding of Science topics using hands-on instruction, interactive

notebooking, observations of and interactions with natural phenomena and the use of engineering and design processes to identify problems, plan,

test and revise possible solutions. In Life Science, students will explore the vast diversity of life on earth and how organisms grow and reproduce. In

Physical Science they will explore how forces affect the movement of objects on Earth and across the universe, as well as how and why objects are

attracted to or repelled by one another. In Earth Science, students will explore the role that water and energy play in our ocean and climate systems.

Teachers may choose from a variety of instructional approaches that are aligned with 3 dimensional learning to achieve this goal. These approaches

include:

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Grade Six Pacing Chart Please note that pacing is based upon 240 minutes per 6 day cycle.

Unit 1 Science Practices and Engineering Design 10 days

Unit 2 Forces and Motion 25 days

Unit 3 FOSS Electromagnetic Forces 25 days

Unit 4 FOSS Weather & Water 60 days

Unit 5 FOSS Diversity of Life 55 days

Final Assessment 5 days

Unit Summary

The FOSS Weather and Water Course focuses on Earth’s atmosphere, weather, and water. Students will delve into topics that may seem unrelated to weather, including a good dose of physics and a bit of chemistry. A good understanding of meteorology as an earth science isn’t complete without an introduction to concepts that cross into these disciplines. Understanding weather is more than reading data from a weather center. Students need to grapple with ideas about atoms and molecules, changes of state, and heat transfer before they can launch into the bigger ideas involving air masses and fronts, convection cells and winds, and the development of severe weather. Earth’s atmosphere is composed of a variety of gases, with nitrogen and oxygen the most abundant. But Earth wouldn’t be the same if it weren’t for one keystone gas, water vapor, a relatively small and variable component of the atmosphere. Without water vapor and its liquid and solid forms, both on the surface and in the atmosphere, there would be no weather. There would be neither clouds nor precipitation. If precipitation didn’t occur, we wouldn’t have runoff to create the streams and rivers that erode mountains, deposit deltas, and replenish lakes and oceans. An atmosphere without water vapor would be an alien and hostile place. The importance of water on Earth is a major element of this course.

Student Learning Objectives

Develop a model that predicts and describes changes in particle motion, temperature, and state of a pure substance when thermal energy is added or removed. [Clarification Statement: Emphasis is on qualitative molecular-level models of solids, liquids, and gases to show that adding or removing thermal energy increases or decreases kinetic energy of the particles until a change of state occurs. Examples of models could include drawings and diagrams. Examples of particles could include molecules or inert atoms. Examples of pure substances could include water, carbon dioxide, and helium.] (MS-PS1-4)

Plan an investigation to determine the relationships among the energy transferred, the type of matter, the mass, and the change in the average kinetic energy of the particles as measured by the temperature of the sample. [Clarification Statement: Examples of experiments could include comparing final water temperatures after different masses of ice melted in the same volume of water with the same initial temperature, the temperature change of samples of different materials with the same mass as they cool or heat in the environment, or the same material with different masses when a specific amount of energy is added.] [Assessment Boundary: Assessment does not include calculating the total amount of thermal energy transferred.] (MS-PS3-4)

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Develop and use a model of the Earth-sun-moon system to describe the cyclic patterns of lunar phases, eclipses of the sun and moon, and seasons. [Clarification Statement: Examples of models can be physical, graphical, or conceptual.] (MS-ESS1-1)

Develop a model to describe the cycling of water through Earth's systems driven by energy from the sun and the force of gravity. [Clarification Statement: Emphasis is on the ways water changes its state as it moves through the multiple pathways of the hydrologic cycle. Examples of models can be conceptual or physical.] [Assessment Boundary: A quantitative understanding of the latent heats of vaporization and fusion is not assessed.] (MS-ESS2-4)

Collect data to provide evidence for how the motions and complex interactions of air masses results in changes in weather conditions. [Clarification Statement: Emphasis is on how air masses flow from regions of high pressure to low pressure, causing weather (defined by temperature, pressure, humidity, precipitation, and wind) at a fixed location to change over time, and how sudden changes in weather can result when different air masses collide. Emphasis is on how weather can be predicted within probabilistic ranges. Examples of data can be provided to students (such as weather maps, diagrams, and visualizations) or obtained through laboratory experiments (such as with condensation).] [Assessment Boundary: Assessment does not include recalling the names of cloud types or weather symbols used on weather maps or the reported diagrams from weather stations.] (MS-ESS2-5)

Develop and use a model to describe how unequal heating and rotation of the Earth cause patterns of atmospheric and oceanic circulation that determine regional climates. [Clarification Statement: Emphasis is on how patterns vary by latitude, altitude, and geographic land distribution. Emphasis of atmospheric circulation is on the sunlight-driven latitudinal banding, the Coriolis effect, and resulting prevailing winds; emphasis of ocean circulation is on the transfer of heat by the global ocean convection cycle, which is constrained by the Coriolis effect and the outlines of continents. Examples of models can be diagrams, maps and globes, or digital representations.] [Assessment Boundary: Assessment does not include the dynamics of the Coriolis effect.] (MS-ESS2-6)

Analyze and interpret data on natural hazards to forecast future catastrophic events and inform the development of technologies to mitigate their effects. [Clarification Statement: Emphasis is on how some natural hazards, such as volcanic eruptions and severe weather, are preceded by phenomena that allow for reliable predictions, but others, such as earthquakes, occur suddenly and with no notice, and thus are not yet predictable. Examples of natural hazards can be taken from interior processes (such as earthquakes and volcanic eruptions), surface processes (such as mass wasting and tsunamis), or severe weather events (such as hurricanes, tornadoes, and floods). Examples of data can include the locations, magnitudes, and frequencies of the natural hazards. Examples of technologies can be global (such as satellite systems to monitor hurricanes or forest fires) or local (such as building basements in tornado-prone regions or reservoirs to mitigate droughts).] (MS-ESS3-2)

Construct an argument supported by evidence for how increases in human population and per-capita consumption of natural resources impact Earth's systems. [Clarification Statement: Examples of evidence include grade-appropriate databases on human populations and the rates of consumption of food and natural resources (such as freshwater, mineral, and energy). Examples of impacts can include changes to the appearance, composition, and structure of Earth’s systems as well as the rates at which they change. The consequences of increases in human populations and consumption of natural resources are described by science, but science does not make the decisions for the actions society takes.] (MS-ESS3-4)

Ask questions to clarify evidence of the factors that have caused the rise in global temperatures over the past century. [Clarification Statement: Examples of factors include human activities (such as fossil fuel combustion, cement production, and agricultural activity) and natural processes (such as changes in incoming solar radiation or volcanic activity). Examples of evidence can include tables, graphs, and maps of global and regional temperatures, atmospheric levels of gases such as carbon dioxide and methane, and the rates of human activities. Emphasis is on the major role that human activities play in causing the rise in global temperatures.] (MS-ESS3-5)

Modifications for differentiation at all levels

(Note: Teachers identify the modifications that they will use in the unit. See NGSS Appendix D: All Standards, All Students/Case Studies for vignettes and explanations of the modifications.)

• Structure lessons around questions that are authentic, relate to students’ interests, social/family background and knowledge of their community. • Provide students with multiple choices for how they can represent their understandings (e.g. multisensory techniques-auditory/visual aids; pictures, illustrations,

graphs, charts, data tables, multimedia, modeling). • Provide opportunities for students to connect with people of similar backgrounds (e.g. conversations via digital tool such as SKYPE, experts from the community

helping with a project, journal articles, and biographies). • Provide multiple grouping opportunities for students to share their ideas and to encourage work among various backgrounds and cultures (e.g. multiple

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representation and multimodal experiences). • Engage students with a variety of Science and Engineering practices to provide students with multiple entry points and multiple ways to demonstrate their

understandings. • Use project-based science learning to connect science with observable phenomena. • Structure the learning around explaining or solving a social or community-based issue. • Provide ELL students with multiple literacy strategies. • Collaborate with after-school programs or clubs to extend learning opportunities. • Restructure lesson using UDL principals (http://www.cast.org/our-work/about-udl.html#.VXmoXcfD_UA)

Educational Technology Standards

8.1.8.A.1, 8.1.8.A.2, 8.1.8.A.3, 8.1.8.B.2, 8.1.8.C.1, 8.1.8.D.1,8.1.8.D.2, 8.1.8.D.3, 8.1.8.D.4, 8.1.8.D.5, 8.1.8.E.1, 8.1.8.F.1

Technology Operations and Concepts

Demonstrate knowledge of a real world problem using digital tools.

Create a document using one or more digital applications to be critiqued by professionals for usability.

Use and/or develop a simulation that provides an environment to solve a real world problem or theory.

Creativity and Innovation

Synthesize and publish information about a local or global issue or event.

Communication and Collaboration

Collaborate to develop and publish work that provides perspectives on a global problem for discussions with learners from other countries.

Digital Citizenship

Understand and model appropriate online behaviors related to cyber safety, cyber bullying, cyber security, and cyber ethics including appropriate use of social media.

Demonstrate the application of appropriate citations to digital content.

Demonstrate an understanding of fair use and Creative Commons to intellectual property.

Assess the credibility and accuracy of digital content.

Understand appropriate uses for social media and the negative consequences of misuse.

Research and Information Literacy

Effectively use a variety of search tools and filters in professional public databases to find information to solve a real world problem.

Career Ready Practices

Career Ready Practices describe the career-ready skills that all educators in all content areas should seek to develop in their students. They are practices that have been linked to increase college, career, and life success. Career Ready Practices should be taught and reinforced in all career exploration and preparation programs with increasingly higher levels of complexity and expectation as a student advances through a program of study.

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Career Ready Practices

CRP1. Act as a responsible and contributing citizen and employee Career-ready individuals understand the obligations and responsibilities of being a member of a community, and they demonstrate this understanding every day through their interactions with others. They are conscientious of the impacts of their decisions on others and the environment around them. They think about the near-term and long-term consequences of their actions and seek to act in ways that contribute to the betterment of their teams, families, community and workplace. They are reliable and consistent in going beyond the minimum expectation and in participating in activities that serve the greater good. CRP2. Apply appropriate academic and technical skills. Career-ready individuals readily access and use the knowledge and skills acquired through experience and education to be more productive. They make connections between abstract concepts with real-world applications, and they make correct insights about when it is appropriate to apply the use of an academic skill in a workplace situation. CRP3. Attend to personal health and financial well-being. Career-ready individuals understand the relationship between personal health, workplace performance and personal well-being; they act on that understanding to regularly practice healthy diet, exercise and mental health activities. Career-ready individuals also take regular action to contribute to their personal financial well-being, understanding that personal financial security provides the peace of mind required to contribute more fully to their own career success. CRP4. Communicate clearly and effectively and with reason. Career-ready individuals communicate thoughts, ideas, and action plans with clarity, whether using written, verbal, and/or visual methods. They communicate in the workplace with clarity and purpose to make maximum use of their own and others’ time. They are excellent writers; they master conventions, word choice, and organization, and use effective tone and presentation skills to articulate ideas. They are skilled at interacting with others; they are active listeners and speak clearly and with purpose. Career-ready individuals think about the audience for their communication and prepare accordingly to ensure the desired outcome. CRP5. Consider the environmental, social and economic impacts of decisions. Career-ready individuals understand the interrelated nature of their actions and regularly make decisions that positively impact and/or mitigate negative impact on other people, organization, and the environment. They are aware of and utilize new technologies, understandings, procedures, materials, and regulations affecting the nature of their work as it relates to the impact on the social condition, the environment and the profitability of the organization. CRP6. Demonstrate creativity and innovation. Career-ready individuals regularly think of ideas that solve problems in new and different ways, and they contribute those ideas in a useful and productive manner to improve their organization. They can consider unconventional ideas and suggestions as solutions to issues, tasks or problems, and they discern which ideas and suggestions will add greatest value. They seek new methods, practices, and ideas from a variety of sources and seek to apply those ideas to their own workplace. They take action on their ideas and understand how to bring innovation to an organization. CRP7. Employ valid and reliable research strategies. Career-ready individuals are discerning in accepting and using new information to make decisions, change practices or inform strategies. They use reliable research process to search for new information. They evaluate the validity of sources when considering the use and adoption of external information or practices in their workplace situation. CRP8. Utilize critical thinking to make sense of problems and persevere in solving them. Career-ready individuals readily recognize problems in the workplace, understand the nature of the problem, and devise effective plans to solve the problem. They are aware of problems when they occur and take action quickly to address the problem; they thoughtfully investigate the root cause of the problem prior to introducing solutions. They carefully consider the options to solve the problem. Once a solution is agreed upon, they follow through to ensure the problem is solved, whether through their own actions or the actions of others.

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Career Ready Practices

CRP9. Model integrity, ethical leadership and effective management. Career-ready individuals consistently act in ways that align personal and community-held ideals and principles while employing strategies to positively influence others in the workplace. They have a clear understanding of integrity and act on this understanding in every decision. They use a variety of means to positively impact the directions and actions of a team or organization, and they apply insights into human behavior to change others’ action, attitudes and/or beliefs. They recognize the near-term and long-term effects that management’s actions and attitudes can have on productivity, morals and organizational culture. CRP10. Plan education and career paths aligned to personal goals.

Career-ready individuals take personal ownership of their own education and career goals, and they regularly act on a plan to attain these goals. They understand their own career interests, preferences, goals, and requirements. They have perspective regarding the pathways available to them and the time, effort, experience and other requirements to pursue each, including a path of entrepreneurship. They recognize the value of each step in the education and experiential process, and they recognize that nearly all career paths require ongoing education and experience. They seek counselors, mentors, and other experts to assist in the planning and execution of career and personal goals.

CRP11. Use technology to enhance productivity.

Career-ready individuals find and maximize the productive value of existing and new technology to accomplish workplace tasks and solve workplace problems. They are flexible and adaptive in acquiring new technology. They are proficient with ubiquitous technology applications. They understand the inherent risks-personal and organizational-of technology applications, and they take actions to prevent or mitigate these risks.

CRP12. Work productively in teams while using cultural global competence.

Career-ready individuals positively contribute to every team, whether formal or informal. They apply an awareness of cultural difference to avoid barriers to productive and positive interaction. They find ways to increase the engagement and contribution of all team members. They plan and facilitate effective team meetings.

Learning Objective and Standard

Essential Questions

Content Related to DCI’s

Sample Activities Resources

Investigation 1 Part 1: Into the Weather

Students gather data from multimedia resources to develop a working definition of meteorology.

MS-ESS2-4, MS-ESS3-2

What is weather? Weather is the condition of Earth's atmosphere at a given time in a given place.

Severe weather has the potential to cause death and destruction in the environment.

Meteorology is the science of weather, and

meteorologists are the people who study

Earth's weather.

Benchmark Assessment: Pre-survey

Students view video segments of severe weather, and generate inquiry questions stimulated by the video and discussions.

Embedded Assessment: Quick writes

Science Notebook Entry: Questions about weather Weather observations Weather Chart Science Resources Book: “Severe Weather” (optional) “Naming Hurricanes” (optional) “Mr. Tornado” (optional) “Traditional Weather Tools” (optional)

Multimedia Resources: Climate Blog

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Investigation 1 Part 2: Local Weather

Students gather data to compare weather patterns locally with those of another area.

MS-ESS2-4, MS-ESS3-5

How can we measure the weather?

Weather and climate are different.

Students view local weather reports and determine the factors that combine to produce what we know as weather. They are introduced to a digital weather center to measure temperature, air pressure, and humidity. They use the tools to acquire daily data for their local site, and use media tools to track weather in another city. Embedded Assessment: Quick writes

Science Notebook Entry: Weather observations Weather Chart Science Resources Book: “Traditional Weather Tools” (optional) Multimedia Resources: “Class Weather Data Grapher”

Investigation 2 Part 1: The Air Around Us

Students develop an experiment to prove that air has mass.

MS-PS1-4, MS-ESS2-5

What is air? Air is matter; it occupies space,

has mass, and can be compressed.

Students work with syringes and tubing to discover that air takes up space and is compressible. They tackle the question, Does air have mass? Using available classroom materials, they design a procedure that will demonstrate that air has mass. Embedded Assessment: Scientific practices

Science Notebook Entry: Air Investigation Multimedia Resources: “Gas in a Syringe”

Investigation 2 Part 2: Earth’s Atmosphere

Students compare the characteristics of the atmosphere to identify trends as altitude changes.

MS-ESS3-5

What is the atmosphere? The atmosphere is the layers of

gases surrounding Earth.

Weather happens in the troposphere, the layer of the atmosphere closest to Earth's surface.

The troposphere is a mixture of nitrogen (78%), oxygen (21%), and other gases (1%), including argon, carbon dioxide, and water vapor.

Students study Earth’s atmosphere using diagrams, photos from space, and a reading. They are introduced to the atmosphere as a mixture of gases with properties that change with altitude above Earth’s surface. Embedded Assessment: Science notebook entry Benchmark Assessment: Investigations 1–2 I-Check

Science Notebook Entry: Earth's Atmosphere Questions Science Resources Book “What's in the Air?” “A Thin Blue Veil” (optional) Multimedia Resources: “Elevator to Space”

Investigation 3 Part 1: Air-Pressure Inquiry

Students gather evidence to form an explanation regarding how the density of air is affected by air pressure.

How does pressure affect air? Pressure exerted on a gas

reduces its volume and increases its density.

Students assemble pressure indicators (clear tubes in bottles filled with green water). They investigate the effect of air pressure on the system and consider how density is affected by air pressure. They view a demonstration of how changing air pressure affects a barometer.

Science Notebook Entry: Pressure in a Jar “What Is Air Pressure?” Questions Science Resources Book “What Is Air Pressure?” Multimedia Resources: “Pressure Indicator Setup”

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MS-PS1-4, MS-ESS2-5 Embedded Assessment: Response sheet

“Gas in a Syringe” “Barometer in a Bottle” “Weather-Balloon Simulation” “Elevator to Space”

Investigation 3 Part 2: Pressure Maps

Students make predictions regarding wind direction based upon patterns in air pressure data.

MS-ESS2-5

What happens when two areas of air have different pressures?

Wind is a large-scale movement of air.

Air tends to move from regions of high pressure to regions of low pressure.

Air pressure is represented on a map by contour lines called isobars.

Students are introduced to pressure maps and isobars as a means for representing air pressure over a large region. They locate high-­‐ and low-­‐ pressure areas on maps and predict where winds will blow and in what direction. What students predict does not exactly match what occurs because of other factors, which are introduced in a later investigation to clear up the mystery. Embedded Assessment: Scientific practices Benchmark Assessment: Investigation 3 I-Check

Science Notebook Entry: Surface Air-Pressure Map

Investigation 4 Part 1: Density of Fluids

Students gather data to determine the density of various solutions and support their observations with mathematical calculations.

MS-ESS2-6

What is the relationship between layering of fluids and density?

Density is the ratio of a mass to its volume.

If two solutions have equal volumes but differ in mass, the one with the greater mass is denser.

Students investigate density of fluids by layering colored salt solutions in a straw. They determine the relative densities of the salt solutions by comparing the masses of equal volumes. They calculate the density of each solution, using the ratio of mass to volume. Embedded Assessment: Response sheet

Science Notebook Entry: Liquid Layers Straw Column Calculating Density of Layers Density Practice (optional)

Investigation 4 Part 2: Convection in Water

Students gather evidence to support an explanation regarding how energy is transferred through liquids.

MS-PS1-4, PS3-4, MS-ESS2-6

How does heat affect density of fluids?

As matter heats up, it expands, causing the matter to become less dense.

Convection is the circulation of fluid (liquid or gas) that results from energy transfer; relatively warm masses rise and relatively cool masses sink.

Students are introduced to convection in liquids as a mechanism for energy transfer. They observe the interaction of colored water of different temperatures to determine that warm water rises and cold water descends. Embedded Assessment: Scientific practices

Science Notebook Entry: Layering Hot and Cold Water Science Resources Book: “Density” “Density with Dey” (optional) Multimedia Resources: “Fluid Convection” (optional) “Particles in Solids, Liquids & Gases”

Investigation 4 Part 3: How do gases flow

Convection is the circulation of Students observe a model convection Science Notebook Entry: Convection Chamber

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Convection in Air

Students use observations of a convection simulation to create an explanation of how air masses move due to convection.

MS-PS1-4, MS-ESS2-6

in the atmosphere? fluid (liquid or gas) that results from energy transfer; relatively warm masses rise and relatively cool masses sink.

chamber to confirm that convection cells operate in air. The observations are extrapolated to the real world, where warm air masses move upward and cool air masses sink. Embedded Assessment: Science notebook entry Benchmark Assessment: Investigations 1–4 I-Check

Science Resources Book: “Convection” (optional) Multimedia Resources: “Convection Chamber Preparation” “Convection Chamber Action” “Convection Animation”

Investigation 5 Part 1: Latitude

Students create and support a claim regarding the effect of latitude on climate.

MS-ESS2-6

How does weather differ between locations?

Latitude is a factor that affects local weather and climate.

Students examine weather data from two groups of cities to compare cities at different latitudes where other variables have been controlled. They make a greater distinction between weather and climate, and then draw conclusions about the effect of latitude on climate. Embedded Assessment: Scientific practices

Science Notebook Entry: Climate Factors— Latitude A and B Multimedia Resources: “Longitude and Latitude”

Investigation 5 Part 2: Solar Angle

Students gather data to form an explanation regarding the effect of solar angle on energy transfer.

MS-ESS1-1, MS-ESS2-6

How does the Sun affect the temperature of locations on Earth?

The angle at which light from the Sun strikes the surface of Earth is the solar angle.

The lower the solar angle is, the less intense the light is on Earth's surface.

The Sun is the major source of energy that heats the atmosphere, and solar energy is transferred by radiation

Light is introduced as a form of energy. Students observe a demonstration of solar angle that uses a flashlight shining on surfaces at various angles and a beam of light shining on a globe. They compare the effect of a beam of light when it falls on surfaces at different angles and determine that the greater the solar angle, the greater the energy transfer. Embedded Assessment: Science notebook entry

Science Notebook Entry: Light Angle Science Resources Book: “Seasons” (optional) Multimedia Resources: “Seasons”

Investigation 5 Part 3: Heating Earth

Students develop an experiment to test the absorption of solar radiation in different earth materials.

MS-PS3-4

What factors affect the surface temperature on Earth?

The Sun is the major source of energy that heats the atmosphere, and solar energy is transferred by radiation.

Heat is the increase of kinetic energy of particles.

Students are introduced to energy transfer by radiation. They investigate what happens to different earth materials (sand, soil, water, air) when placed in sunshine and then in shade. They set up an experiment and collect and analyze the data. Students observe the differential heating of earth materials, one factor that contributes to weather.

Science Notebook Entry: Earth-Material Temperatures Chart Earth-Material Temperatures Graph Earth-Material Temperatures Questions Science Resources Book “Thermometer: A Device to

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Embedded Assessment: Scientific practices Benchmark Assessment: Investigation 5 I-Check

Measure Temperature” (optional) Multimedia Resources: “Radiation Animation”

Investigation 6 Part 1: Conduction

Students gather evidence to create an explanation of energy transfer by conduction.

MS-PS1-4, MS-PS3-4

How does the atmosphere heat up?

Energy can move from one material to another by conduction.

Students observe two examples of heat transfer by conduction: movement of heat from a container of hot water to a container of cold water, and movement of heat from one end of a metal strip to the other. Students identify conduction as energy transfer between particles as a result of contact. Embedded Assessment: Science notebook entries

Science Notebook Entry: Heat Conduction Science Resources Book: “Heating the Atmosphere” Multimedia Resources: “Energy Transfer by Collision” “Conduction Animation” “Particles in Solids, Liquids and Gases” “Conduction Through Metals” “Thermometer”

Investigation 6 Part 2: Local Winds

Students create a model to explain the components of earth systems that create wind.

MS-PS1-4, MS-ESS2-5

How does energy from the Sun affect wind on Earth?

Differential heating of Earth’s surface by the Sun can create high- and low-pressure areas.

Local winds blow in predictable patterns determined by local differential heating.

Groups create diagrams that show what happens in the atmosphere to create wind. They label their diagrams to represent differential heating, energy transfer, convection, change of density, change of atmospheric pressure, and wind. Embedded Assessment: Science notebook entries

Science Notebook Entry: Sea Breeze Land Breeze Science Resources Book: “Laura’s Big Day” (optional) Multimedia Resources: “Local Wind”

Investigation 6 Part 3: Global Winds

Students revise their thinking about wind patterns based upon newly introduced evidence.

MS-ESS2-5, MS-ESS2-6

What affects the direction of global winds?

Convection cells and Earth’s rotation determine prevailing winds on Earth.

Students revisit their wind predictions from Investigation 1 Part 3, and start to explore reasons that could explain the unpredicted wind movement. They compare data to their models and determine that convection cells and the Coriolis effect are responsible for the wind patterns on Earth. Embedded Assessment: Science notebook entries Benchmark Assessment: Investigation 6 I-Check

Science Notebook Entry: Global Winds Science Resources Book: “Wind on Earth” Multimedia Resources: “NOAA Ridge” “Coriolis on Jupiter”

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Investigation 7 Part 1: Is Water Really There?

Students create an experiment to provide evidence to support the claim that water vapor is in the air and communicate their experimental results to their peers.

MS-PS1-4, MS-ESS2-4

Is there water vapor in the air? Water changes from gas to

liquid by condensation.

Students are challenged to come up with investigations to show that water vapor is in the air around them. Materials are provided, and each group plans an investigation, conducts it, and reports to the class in a short presentation. Embedded Assessment: Scientific practices

Science Notebook Entry: Answer the focus question.

Investigation 7 Part 2: Phase Change and Energy Transfer

Students gather evidence to create an explanation of dew point.

MS-PS1-4, MS-ESS2-4

How does energy transfer when water changes phase?

Water changes from liquid to gas (vapor) by evaporation.

Temperature change, which is evidence of energy transfer, accompanies evaporation.

Dew point is the temperature at which air is saturated with water vapor and vapor condenses into liquid.

Students experience a temperature change as water evaporates, and ponder the energy transfers involved as water changes from liquid to gas. Humidity is introduced as the measure of water vapor in the air, and students consider dew point. Embedded Assessment: Response sheet

Science Notebook Entry: Dew-Point Questions

Investigation 7 Part 3: Clouds and Precipitation

Students gather evidence to support a claim about the relationship between air pressure and air temperature. They use this claim to develop an explanation of how clouds are formed.

MS-PS1-4, MS-ESS2-4

What causes clouds to form? Increasing the pressure of a

given volume of air increases the temperature of air.

Students investigate the relationship between pressure and temperature, using 2L plastic bottles and thermometer strips. They discover that the greater the pressure in a gas, the higher the temperature. They apply this idea to air rising in the atmosphere. Air pressure drops as elevation increases, so a mass of air would expand as it ascends. As it expands, it cools. They use this understanding of pressure and temperature to explore cloud formation. Embedded Assessment: Science notebook entry Benchmark Assessment: Investigation 7 I-Check

Science Notebook Entry: Pressure/Temperature Demonstration Science Resources Book: "Observing Clouds" (optional) Multimedia Resources: “Cloud in a Bottle”

Investigation 8 Part 1: Weather Balloons

Why are data from weather balloons important?

Weather balloons travel high in the atmosphere and collect physical data using a

Students use an online simulation to analyze data collected by weather balloons launched in Phoenix, AZ, and

Science Notebook Entry: Answer the focus question

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Students analyze weather data to compare trends and identify patterns.

MS-ESS2-5

radiosonde.

Data from weather-balloon radiosondes can be used to determine dew point and the likelihood of clouds forming.

Chicago, IL. They analyze charts of data collected by weather balloons launched in four cities. Embedded Assessment: Scientific practices

Science Resources Book: “Weather Balloons and Upper Air Soundings” (optional) Multimedia Resources: “Weather-Balloon Video” “Weather-Balloon Simulation”

Investigation 8 Part 2: Weather Maps

Students develop weather predictions based upon weather maps.

MS-ESS2-5, MS-ESS2-6, MS-ESS3-2

What information can you get from a weather map?

Weather maps combine many kinds of atmospheric and surface data, including pressure, temperature, wind direction, wind speed, and precipitation.

Fronts are areas where large air masses collide.

Students consider all the factors that cause weather, and apply their knowledge to interpret a weather map. After learning about fronts, they pull together data about temperature, precipitation, surface wind, air pressure, and fronts to give a weather report for a given location. Embedded Assessment: Quick write Science notebook entry

Science Resources Book: “Severe Weather” “Animal Rains” (optional) Multimedia Resources: Wonders of Weather “Weather Maps”

Investigation 9 Part 1: Water Cycle Simulation

Students develop a claim about the effect of human population growth and human water use on the global water supply.

MS-ESS2-4, MS-ESS3-4

What is the water cycle? Most of Earth's water is

saltwater in the ocean, and Earth's freshwater is found in many locations.

A water particle might follow many different paths as it travels in the water cycle.

Students consider why Earth is called the water planet. They observe a demonstration that shows how Earth’s water is distributed. They participate in a simulation of the travels of a water particle through the water cycle. They compare the results of the simulation to their understanding of how the water cycle operates on Earth. After exploring an online version of the simulation, students use what they learned to diagram the water cycle and consider the implications of human water use and human population growth. Embedded Assessment: Quick write

Science Notebook Entry: Answer the focus question My Water Cycle Science Resources Book: “Earth: The Water Planet” Multimedia Resources: “Water Cycle”

Investigation 9 Part 2: Ocean Currents

Students predict patterns of ocean currents and develop an explanation of their

What affects the direction that ocean water flows?

Ocean currents are caused primarily by winds, convection of ocean water, and the Coriolis effect.

Students predict patterns of ocean currents, based on their experience with global winds, then explore actual patterns and causes of ocean currents.

Science Notebook Entry: Answer the focus question Science Resources Book: “Ocean Currents and Gyres”

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causes based upon gathered evidence. MS-ESS2-4, MS-ESS2-6

Embedded Assessment: Science notebook entry

Multimedia Resources: “Perpetual Ocean”

Investigation 9 Part 3: Ocean Climate

Students analyze climate data to create a claim regarding the effect of distance from the ocean on temperature range.

MS-ESS2-4, MS-ESS2-6

How does the ocean affect climate on land?

A location’s proximity to a large body of water generally results in less temperature variation and more precipitation.

Students review climate data for pairs of cities and determine what effect distance from the ocean has on temperature range and average annual rainfall. They consider what properties of the ocean would cause these climate effects. Embedded Assessment: Scientific practices Benchmark Assessment: Investigations 8–9 I-Check

Science Notebook Entry: Climate Factors—Ocean Distance A Climate Factors—Ocean Distance B Science Resources Book: “El Niño”

Investigation 10 Part 1: Climate Change

Students analyze climate graphs to determine if there is a trend in climate change over a fixed period of time.

MS-ESS3-5

How have climates changed over time? Weather is the condition of the

atmosphere at a specific time and location; climate is the average weather in a region over a long period of time.

Climate can change over time because of natural Earth cycles or human-induced changes.

Students analyze climate graphs for four different geographical locations and look for changes over a 50-­‐year period. They consider evidence of climate changes over geological time periods. Embedded Assessment: Science notebook entry

Science Notebook Entry: Answer the focus question Science Resources Book “Climates: Past, Present, and Future” Multimedia Resources: “Climate Blog” “CO2 in the Ice Core Record” “Climate Over Time Slideshow”

Investigation 10 Part 2: The Role of Carbon Dioxide

Students develop a claim about the effect of greenhouse gas emissions on climate change.

MS-ESS3-2, MS-ESS3-5

How do greenhouse gases in the atmosphere affect Earth's temperature?

When greenhouse-gas concentrations in the atmosphere increase, the global temperature rises.

Using a computer simulation, students explore the effects of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. They use data to build a case that an increase in greenhouse gases in Earth’s atmosphere can lead to an increase in Earth’s average temperature (global warming). Embedded Assessment: Science notebook entry

Science Notebook Entry: Gases in the Atmosphere Multimedia Resources: Carbon Cycle “Climate Blog” “Greenhouse Gas Simulator” “Human Sources of Carbon Dioxide”

Investigation 10 Part 3: Climate in the News

Students gather evidence to

What are the effects of a slight rise in global

Human activity can affect Earth's weather and climate.

Students read summaries of news stories from the past decade, looking for evidence of climate change and whether

Science Notebook Entry: Headline Activity Multimedia Resources:

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support a claim regarding human influence on climate change.

MS-ESS3-2, MS-ESS3-5

temperatures? that change is caused by humans. Embedded Assessment: Scientific practices

“Climate Blog” “Climate Change Basics” “Water Cycle Game” Water Cycle (Flash)”

Investigation 10 Part 4: Identify Key Ideas

Students create an explanation of the difference between weather and climate.

MS-PS1-4, MS-ESS2-4, MS-ESS2-5, MS-ESS2-6, MS-ESS3-5

What is the difference between weather and climate?

Weather and climate are different.

Students look back on the entire Weather and Water Course to review the Weather and Water big ideas they’ve recorded along the way, and in particular to review the distinction between weather and climate. Embedded Assessment: Science notebook entry Benchmark Assessment: Posttest

Science Notebook Entry: Answer the focus question

Unit Project/Lab Performance Assessment

See page 500 of the Teachers Investigation Guide for project suggestions, along with Investigation 10, Extensions at http://www.fossweb.com/resources-by-investigation?folioID=D2993536&parentID=D2998569.

What it Looks Like in the Classroom

During this unit, students will answer the question “What factors interact and influence weather and climate?” beginning with the cycling of water in Earth’s systems. Models will be created and emphasis will be on the ways water changes its state as it moves through the multiple pathways of the hydrologic cycle. Students will model the continuous movement of water from land, ocean, and atmosphere via transpiration, evaporation, condensation and crystallization, and precipitation. Students will focus on the global movement of water and its changes in form that are driven by sunlight as it heats the Earth’s surface water.

The motions and complex interactions of air masses result in changes in weather conditions. The patterns of the changes and the movement of water in the atmosphere, determined by winds, landforms, and ocean temperatures and currents, are major determinants of local weather patterns. Students will collect data from weather maps, diagrams, visualizations, and laboratory experiments to explain how the movements of air masses from regions of high pressure to regions of low pressure cause weather at a fixed location. For example, students can observe the movement of colored water that simulates the movement of hot and cold air masses. Students can observe the cooler water flowing in the direction of the warmer area and equate this with wind being created from the uneven heating of the Earth. Students will compare data collected from sources such as simulations, video, or experiments to identify the patterns of change in the movement of water in the atmosphere that are used to make weather predictions, understanding that any predictions are reported within probability ranges. Students will also make predictions about the conditions that result in sudden changes in weather.

Students will use models, diagrams, maps, and globes to understand atmospheric and ocean circulation patterns. Since the ocean exerts a major influence on weather and climate by absorbing energy from the sun, releasing it over time, and globally redistributing it through ocean currents, the ocean will be studied as a system with

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interactions such as inputs, outputs, processes, energy, and matter. Students will model how the unequal heating and rotation of the Earth cause patterns of atmospheric and oceanic circulation that determine regional climates. They will describe how the unequal heating of the global ocean produces convection currents. By examining maps, globes and digital representations of the movement of ocean currents, students will model the patterns by latitude, altitude, and geographic distribution. They will show that these patterns vary as a result of sunlight-driven latitudinal banding, the Coriolis effect, and resulting prevailing wines. Digital models like NOAA videos can be used to help students visualize how variations in density due to temperature and salinity drive a global pattern of interconnected ocean currents. This can be demonstrated in the classroom using models in which colored water with different temperatures or water with different densities is added to clear tubs of water. Students can observe that the warmer water is pushed upwards by the colder water. This same demonstration can be used with water that has different salinities. Using a turntable and drawing a straight line from the middle to the edge can model the Coriolis effect. If a turntable is not available, a Lazy Susan is a great substitute. The turntable or Lazy Susan can be painted with chalk paint, and the students can draw the line using chalk. Using chalk paint and chalk will enable the teacher to use them over and over. After the turntable is stopped, students will see that the motion of the turntable resulted in a curved line, and they will then be able to correlate how the rotation of Earth results in the movement of air. Students will continue their study of Earth’s systems and processes by investigating the impact of sudden events or gradual changes that accumulate over time and affect the stability of Earth’s surface temperature.

Students will cite specific textual evidence to support an argument about the role of human activity and natural processes in the gradual increase in global temperatures over the past century. Students can ask questions to clarify how human activities, such as the release of greenhouse gases from the burning of fossil fuels, play major roles in the rise in global temperatures. Students can also ask questions about how natural events, such as volcanic activity, also contribute to the rise in global temperature. Students can look at a variety of sources for evidence, such as tables, graphs, and maps of global and regional temperatures; atmospheric levels of gases, such as carbon dioxide and methane; and rates of human activities, to support an argument that global temperatures have risen over the past century. Students can use these data to write mathematical expressions that show relationships between these variables.

Students will examine a variety of changes that humans have made to Earth’s natural systems and determine whether these changes have positive impacts, negative impacts, or some combination of positive and negative impacts. As part of this study, students will collect evidence to support arguments they develop about the impact of the modifications to Earth’s systems. Students will consider how a variety of human actions can impact an ecosystem. Among the human actions considered will be human population growth and the consumption of resources from the ecosystem. Students will prepare a report on the system and describe how the system is impacted. Evidence must be recorded to support their arguments and must be presented in both an oral and a written format.

Students can cite specific textual evidence to develop an argument about the need to reduce the level of climate change due to human activity. The argument can include the need for reduction in human vulnerability to whatever climate change occurs as a result of natural events.

Research on Student Learning

Students of all ages (including college students and adults) have difficulty understanding what causes the seasons. Students may not be able to understand explanations of the seasons before they reasonably understand the relative size, motion, and distance of the sun and the earth. Many students before and after instruction in earth science think that winter is colder than summer because the earth is further from the sun in winter. This idea is often related to the belief that the earth orbits the sun in an elongated elliptical path. Other students, especially after instruction, think that the distance between the northern hemisphere and the sun changes because the earth leans toward the sun in the summer and away from the sun in winter. Students' ideas about how light travels and about the earth-sun relationship, including the shape of the earth's orbit, the period of the earth's revolution around the sun, and the period of the earth's rotation around its axis, may interfere with students' understanding of the seasons. For example, some students believe that the side of the sun not facing the earth experiences winter, indicating confusion between the daily rotation of the earth and its yearly revolution around the sun.

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Although upper elementary students may identify air as existing even in static situations and recognize that it takes space, recognizing that air has weight may be challenging even for high-school students. Students of all ages (including college students) may believe that air exerts force or pressure only when it is moving and only downwards. Only a few middle-school students use the idea of pressure differences between regions of the atmosphere to account for wind; instead they may account for winds in terms of visible moving objects or the movement of the earth. Before students understand that water is converted to an invisible form, they may initially believe that when water evaporates it ceases to exist, or that it changes location but remains a liquid, or that it is transformed into some other perceptible form (fog, steam, droplets, etc.). With special instruction, some students in 5th grade may be able to identify the air as the final location of evaporating water Students must accept air as a permanent substance before they can identify the air as the final location of evaporating water. For many students, difficulty understanding the existence of water vapor in the atmosphere persists in middle school years. Students can understand rainfall in terms of gravity once they attribute weight to little drops of water (typically in upper elementary grades), but the mechanism through which condensation occurs may not be understood until high school.

Students of all ages may confuse the ozone layer with the greenhouse effect, and may have a tendency to imagine that all environmentally friendly actions help to solve all environmental problems (for example, that the use of unleaded petrol reduces the risk of global warming). Students have difficulty linking relevant elements of knowledge when explaining the greenhouse effect and may confuse the natural greenhouse effect with the enhancement of that effect (NSDL, 2015).

Prior Learning

By the end of Grade 5, students understand that: • The expression “produce energy” typically refers to the conversion of stored energy into a desired form for practical use. • Energy and fuels that humans use are derived from natural sources, and their use affects the environment in multiple ways. Some resources are renewable over time,

and others are not. • A variety of hazards result from natural processes (e.g., earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanic eruptions). • Humans cannot eliminate the hazards but can take steps to reduce their impacts. • Populations live in a variety of habitats, and change in those habitats affects the organisms living there. • Human activities in agriculture, industry, and everyday life have had major effects on the land, vegetation, streams, ocean, air, and even outer space. But individuals

and communities are doing things to help protect Earth’s resources and environments. • Most of the Earth’s water is in the ocean, and much of the Earth’s fresh water is in glaciers or underground. • Climate describes patterns of typical weather conditions over different scales and variations. • Historical weather patterns can be analyzed. • Energy is present whenever there are moving objects, sound, light, or heat. When objects collide, energy can be transferred from one object to another, thereby

changing their motion. In such collisions, some energy is typically also transferred to the surrounding air; as a result, the air gets heated and sound is produced. • Light transfers energy from place to place.

Future Learning

Physical science Newton’s law of universal gravitation and Coulomb’s law provide the mathematical models to describe and predict the effects of gravitational and electrostatic forces

between distant objects.

Forces at a distance are explained by fields (gravitational, electric, and magnetic) permeating space that can transfer energy through space. Magnets or electric currents cause magnetic fields; electric charges or changing magnetic fields cause electric fields.

Attraction and repulsion between electric charges at the atomic scale explain the structure, properties, and transformations of matter, as well as the contact forces between material objects.

Conservation of energy means that the total change of energy in any system is always equal to the total energy transferred into or out of the system.

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Energy cannot be created or destroyed, but it can be transported from one place to another and transferred between systems.

Mathematical expressions, which quantify how the stored energy in a system depends on its configuration (e.g., relative positions of charged particles, compression of a spring) and how kinetic energy depends on mass and speed, allow the concept of conservation of energy to be used to predict and describe system behavior.

The availability of energy limits what can occur in any system.

Uncontrolled systems always evolve toward more stable states—that is, toward more uniform energy distribution (e.g., water flows downhill, objects hotter than their surrounding environment cool down).

Although energy cannot be destroyed, it can be converted to less useful forms—for example, to thermal energy in the surrounding environment.

Electromagnetic radiation (e.g., radio, microwaves, light) can be modeled as a wave of changing electric and magnetic fields or as particles called photons. The wave model is useful for explaining many features of electromagnetic radiation, and the particle model explains other features.

When light or longer wavelength electromagnetic radiation is absorbed in matter, it is generally converted into thermal energy (heat). Shorter wavelength electromagnetic radiation (ultraviolet, X-rays, gamma rays) can ionize atoms and cause damage to living cells. Photoelectric materials emit electrons when they absorb light of a high-enough frequency.

Earth and space science All Earth processes are the result of energy flowing and matter cycling within and among the planet’s systems. This energy is derived from the sun and Earth’s hot

interior. The energy that flows and matter that cycles produce chemical and physical changes in Earth’s materials and living organisms.

The planet’s systems interact over scales that range from microscopic to global in size, and they operate over fractions of a second to billions of years. These interactions have shaped Earth’s history and will determine its future.

Water continually cycles among land, ocean, and atmosphere via transpiration, evaporation, condensation and crystallization, and precipitation, as well as downhill flows on land.

The complex patterns of the changes and movement of water in the atmosphere, determined by winds, landforms, and ocean temperatures and currents, are major determinants of local weather patterns.

Global movements of water and its changes in form are propelled by sunlight and gravity. Variations in density due to variations in temperature and salinity drive a global pattern of interconnected ocean currents.

Water’s movements—both on the land and underground—cause weathering and erosion, which change the land’s surface features and create underground formations.

Weather and climate are influenced by interactions involving sunlight, the ocean, the atmosphere, ice, landforms, and living things. These interactions vary with latitude, altitude, and local and regional geography, all of which can affect oceanic and atmospheric flow patterns.

Because these patterns are so complex, weather can only be predicted probabilistically.

The ocean exerts a major influence on weather and climate by absorbing energy from the sun, releasing it over time, and globally redistributing it through ocean currents.

The solar system consists of the sun and a collection of objects, including planets, their moons, and asteroids that are held in orbit around the sun by its gravitational pull on them.

This model of the solar system can explain eclipses of the sun and the moon. Earth’s spin axis is fixed in direction over the short term but tilted relative to its orbit around the sun. The seasons are a result of that tilt and are caused by the differential intensity of sunlight on different areas of Earth across the year.

The solar system appears to have formed from a disk of dust and gas, drawn together by gravity.

The abundance of liquid water on Earth’s surface and its unique combination of physical and chemical properties are central to the planet’s dynamics. These physical and chemical properties include water’s exceptional capacity to absorb, store, and release large amounts of energy; transmit sunlight; expand upon freezing; dissolve and transport materials; and lower the viscosities and melting points of rocks.

Resource availability has guided the development of human society.

All forms of energy production and other resource extraction have associated economic, social, environmental, and geopolitical costs and risks as well as benefits. New

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technologies and social regulations can change the balance of these factors.

The foundation for Earth’s global climate systems is the electromagnetic radiation from the sun, along with its reflection, absorption, storage, and redistribution among the atmosphere, ocean, and land systems and this energy’s re-radiation into space. Gradual atmospheric changes were due to plants and other organisms that captured carbon dioxide and released oxygen.

Changes in the atmosphere due to human activity have increased carbon dioxide concentrations and thus affect climate.

Natural hazards and other geologic events have shaped the course of human history; they have significantly altered the sizes of human populations and have driven human migrations.

Though the magnitudes of human impacts are greater than they have ever been, so too are human abilities to model, predict, and manage current and future impacts.

Through computer simulations and other studies, important discoveries are still being made about how the ocean, the atmosphere, and the biosphere interact and are modified in response to human activities.

Electromagnetic radiation (e.g., radio, microwaves, light) can be modeled as a wave of changing electric and magnetic fields or as particles called photons. The wave model is useful for explaining many features of electromagnetic radiation, and the particle model explains other features.

When light or longer wavelength electromagnetic radiation is absorbed in matter, it is generally converted into thermal energy (heat). Shorter wavelength electromagnetic radiation (ultraviolet, X-rays, gamma rays) can ionize atoms and cause damage to living cells.

Photoelectric materials emit electrons when they absorb light of a high enough frequency.

The sustainability of human societies and the biodiversity that supports them require responsible management of natural resources.

Scientists and engineers can make major contributions by developing technologies that produce less pollution and waste and that preclude ecosystem degradation.

Interdisciplinary Connections

English Language Arts/Literacy Support the analysis of science and technical texts by citing specific textual evidence for how the motions and complex interactions of air masses result in changes in

weather conditions.

Compare and contrast the information gained from experiments, simulations, video, or multimedia sources with information that is gained from reading text about how the complex patterns of the changes and movement of water in the atmosphere, determined by winds, landforms, and ocean temperatures and currents are major determinants of local weather patterns.

Gather relevant information from multiple print and digital sources about how the complex patterns of the changes and movement of water in the atmosphere, determined by winds, landforms, and ocean temperatures and currents, are major determinants of local weather patterns; assess the credibility of each source; and quote or paraphrase the data and conclusions of others while avoiding plagiarism and providing basic bibliographic information for sources.

Include multimedia components and visual displays in presentations to clarify information about how unequal heating and rotation of the Earth cause patterns of atmospheric and oceanic circulation that determine regional climates.

Integrate quantitative or technical information about natural hazards and forecasting future catastrophic events that is expressed visually (e.g., in a flowchart, diagram, model, graph, or table). Use the integrated text and visual displays to analyze and interpret data on natural hazards to forecast future catastrophic events and inform the development of technologies to mitigate their effects.

Cite specific textual evidence to support an argument about the role of human activity and natural processes in the gradual increase in global temperatures over the past century.

Mathematics Reason abstractly and quantitatively by using data such as weather maps, diagrams, and visualizations or obtained through laboratory experiments to predict weather

within probabilities ranges.

Understand that positive and negative numbers are used together to describe quantities having opposite directions or values. Use positive and negative numbers to represent changes in atmospheric and oceanic temperatures, explaining the meaning of 0 in each situation.

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Students will clarify evidence of the factors that have caused the rise in global temperatures over the past century, reasoning abstractly (manipulating symbols abstractly) and quantitatively (while attending to the meaning of those symbols).

Use variables to represent numbers and write expressions for data found in tables, graphs, and maps of global and regional temperatures; atmospheric levels of gases such as carbon dioxide and methane’ and the rates of human activities. The variable can represent an unknown number or, depending on the purpose at hand, any number in a specified set.

Use variables to represent quantities found in tables, graphs, and maps of global and regional temperatures, atmospheric levels of gases such as carbon dioxide and methane, and the rates of human activities. Construct simple equations and inequalities to solve problems by reasoning about the quantities.

Appendix A: NGSS and Foundations for the Unit

Develop a model that predicts and describes changes in particle motion, temperature, and state of a pure substance when thermal energy is added or removed. [Clarification Statement: Emphasis is on qualitative molecular-level models of solids, liquids, and gases to show that adding or removing thermal energy increases or decreases kinetic energy of the particles until a change of state occurs. Examples of models could include drawings and diagrams. Examples of particles could include molecules or inert atoms. Examples of pure substances could include water, carbon dioxide, and helium.] (MS-PS1-4)

Plan an investigation to determine the relationships among the energy transferred, the type of matter, the mass, and the change in the average kinetic energy of the particles as measured by the temperature of the sample. [Clarification Statement: Examples of experiments could include comparing final water temperatures after different masses of ice melted in the same volume of water with the same initial temperature, the temperature change of samples of different materials with the same mass as they cool or heat in the environment, or the same material with different masses when a specific amount of energy is added.] [Assessment Boundary: Assessment does not include calculating the total amount of thermal energy transferred.] (MS-PS3-4)

Develop and use a model of the Earth-sun-moon system to describe the cyclic patterns of lunar phases, eclipses of the sun and moon, and seasons. [Clarification Statement: Examples of models can be physical, graphical, or conceptual.] (MS-ESS1-1)

Develop a model to describe the cycling of water through Earth's systems driven by energy from the sun and the force of gravity. [Clarification Statement: Emphasis is on the ways water changes its state as it moves through the multiple pathways of the hydrologic cycle. Examples of models can be conceptual or physical.] [Assessment Boundary: A quantitative understanding of the latent heats of vaporization and fusion is not assessed.] (MS-ESS2-4)

Collect data to provide evidence for how the motions and complex interactions of air masses results in changes in weather conditions. [Clarification Statement: Emphasis is on how air masses flow from regions of high pressure to low pressure, causing weather (defined by temperature, pressure, humidity, precipitation, and wind) at a fixed location to change over time, and how sudden changes in weather can result when different air masses collide. Emphasis is on how weather can be predicted within probabilistic ranges. Examples of data can be provided to students (such as weather maps, diagrams, and visualizations) or obtained through laboratory experiments (such as with condensation).] [Assessment Boundary: Assessment does not include recalling the names of cloud types or weather symbols used on weather maps or the reported diagrams from weather stations.] (MS-ESS2-5)

Develop and use a model to describe how unequal heating and rotation of the Earth cause patterns of atmospheric and oceanic circulation that determine regional climates. [Clarification Statement: Emphasis is on how patterns vary by latitude, altitude, and geographic land distribution. Emphasis of atmospheric circulation is on the sunlight-driven latitudinal banding, the Coriolis effect, and resulting prevailing winds; emphasis of ocean circulation is on the transfer of heat by the global ocean convection cycle, which is constrained by the Coriolis effect and the outlines of continents. Examples of models can be diagrams, maps and globes, or digital representations.] [Assessment Boundary: Assessment does not include the dynamics of the Coriolis effect.] (MS-ESS2-6)

Analyze and interpret data on natural hazards to forecast future catastrophic events and inform the development of technologies to mitigate their effects. [Clarification Statement: Emphasis is on how some natural hazards, such as volcanic eruptions and severe weather, are preceded by phenomena that allow for reliable predictions, but others, such as earthquakes, occur suddenly and with no notice, and thus are not yet predictable. Examples of natural hazards can be taken from interior

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processes (such as earthquakes and volcanic eruptions), surface processes (such as mass wasting and tsunamis), or severe weather events (such as hurricanes, tornadoes, and floods). Examples of data can include the locations, magnitudes, and frequencies of the natural hazards. Examples of technologies can be global (such as satellite systems to monitor hurricanes or forest fires) or local (such as building basements in tornado-prone regions or reservoirs to mitigate droughts).] (MS-ESS3-2)

Construct an argument supported by evidence for how increases in human population and per-capita consumption of natural resources impact Earth's systems. [Clarification Statement: Examples of evidence include grade-appropriate databases on human populations and the rates of consumption of food and natural resources (such as freshwater, mineral, and energy). Examples of impacts can include changes to the appearance, composition, and structure of Earth’s systems as well as the rates at which they change. The consequences of increases in human populations and consumption of natural resources are described by science, but science does not make the decisions for the actions society takes.] (MS-ESS3-4)

Ask questions to clarify evidence of the factors that have caused the rise in global temperatures over the past century. [Clarification Statement: Examples of factors include human activities (such as fossil fuel combustion, cement production, and agricultural activity) and natural processes (such as changes in incoming solar radiation or volcanic activity). Examples of evidence can include tables, graphs, and maps of global and regional temperatures, atmospheric levels of gases such as carbon dioxide and methane, and the rates of human activities. Emphasis is on the major role that human activities play in causing the rise in global temperatures.] (MS-ESS3-5)

The Student Learning Objectives above were developed using the following elements from the NRC document A Framework for K-12 Science Education:

Science and Engineering Practices Disciplinary Core Ideas Crosscutting Concepts

Engaging in Argument from Evidence Construct an oral and written argument

supported by empirical evidence and scientific reasoning to support or refute an explanation or a model for a phenomenon or a solution to a problem. (MS-ESS3-4)

Developing and Using Models Develop and use a model to describe

phenomena. (MS-ESS1-1),(MS-ESS1-2), (MS-PS1-4)

Planning and Carrying Out Investigations Plan an investigation individually and

collaboratively, and in the design: identify independent and dependent variables and controls, what tools are needed to do the gathering, how measurements will be recorded, and how many data are needed to support a claim. (MS-PS3-4)

PS1.A: Structure and Properties of Matter ● Gases and liquids are made of molecules or inert

atoms that are moving about relative to each other. (MS-PS1-4)

● In a liquid, the molecules are constantly in contact with others; in a gas, they are widely spaced except when they happen to collide. In a solid, atoms are closely spaced and may vibrate in position but do not change relative locations. (MS-PS1-4)

PS3.A: Definitions of Energy Temperature is a measure of the average kinetic

energy of particles of matter. The relationship between the temperature and the total energy of a system depends on the types, states, and amounts of matter present. (MS-PS3-4)

PS3.B: Conservation of Energy and Energy Transfer The amount of energy transfer needed to change

the temperature of a matter sample by a given amount depends on the nature of the matter, the size of the sample, and the environment. (MS-PS3-4)

ESS1.A: The Universe and Its Stars Patterns of the apparent motion of the sun, the

moon, and stars in the sky can be observed, described, predicted, and explained with models. (MS-ESS1-1)

Patterns Patterns can be used to identify cause-and-effect

relationships. (MS-ESS1-1)

Graphs, charts, and images can be used to identify patterns in data. (MS-ESS3-2)

Cause and Effect Cause and effect relationships may be used to

predict phenomena in natural or designed systems. (MS-ESS3-1),(MS-ESS3-4), (MS-PS1-4)

Stability and Change

Stability might be disturbed either by sudden events or gradual changes that accumulate over time. (MS-ESS3-5)

Scale, Proportion, and Quantity Proportional relationships (e.g. speed as the ratio of

distance traveled to time taken) among different types of quantities provide information about the magnitude of properties and processes. (MS-PS3-4)

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Connections to Engineering, Technology, And Applications of Science

Influence of Science, Engineering, and Technology on Society and the Natural World

All human activity draws on natural resources and

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ESS3.B: Natural Hazards Mapping the history of natural hazards in a

region, combined with an understanding of related geologic forces can help forecast the locations and likelihoods of future events. (MS-ESS3-2)

ESS3.C: Human Impacts on Earth Systems Typically as human populations and per-capita

consumption of natural resources increase, so do the negative impacts on Earth unless the activities and technologies involved are engineered otherwise. (MS-ESS3-4)

ESS3.D: Global Climate Change Human activities, such as the release of

greenhouse gases from burning fossil fuels, are major factors in the current rise in Earth’s mean surface temperature (global warming). Reducing the level of climate change and reducing human vulnerability to whatever climate changes do occur depend on the understanding of climate science, engineering capabilities, and other kinds of knowledge, such as understanding of human behavior and on applying that knowledge wisely in decisions and activities. (MS-ESS3-5)

●

has both short and long-term consequences, positive as well as negative, for the health of people and the natural environment. (MS-ESS3-1),(MS-ESS3-4)

The uses of technologies and any limitations on their use are driven by individual or societal needs, desires, and values; by the findings of scientific research; and by differences in such factors as climate, natural resources, and economic conditions. Thus technology use varies from region to region and over time. (MS-ESS3-2)

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Connections to Nature of Science Science Addresses Questions About the Natural and Material World

Scientific knowledge can describe the consequences of actions but does not necessarily prescribe the decisions that society takes. (MS-ESS3-4)

Scientific Knowledge Assumes an Order and Consistency in Natural Systems

Science assumes that objects and events in natural systems occur in consistent patterns that are understandable through measurement and observation. (MS-ESS1-1)

Vocabulary Investigation 1: What Is Weather? air air pressure atmosphere atmospheric pressure barometer blizzard compass downburst drought dust devil dust storm flash flood flood groundwater

thunder thunderstorm tornado typhoon water vapor wildfire wind meter Investigation 2: Where’s the Air? absorb air carbon dioxide exosphere greenhouse gas jet stream

variable gas weather factor Investigation 3: Air Pressure and Wind density kinetic energy matter Investigation 4: Convection convection convection cell fluid Investigation 5: Heat Transfer axis

horse latitude infrared jet stream kinetic energy land breeze prevailing wind radiant energy sea breeze trade wind Investigation 7: Water in the Air condensation nuclei cumuliform stratiform

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hail hurricane hygrometer lightning microburst planet rotation season severe weather step leaders straight-line wind thermometer

mass mesosphere methane nitrogen oxygen ozone permanent gas photosynthesis star stratosphere thermosphere troposphere

bimetallic strip equinox North Star orbit revolution solar energy solstice Investigation 6: Air Flow conduction doldrums Hadley cell

Investigation 8: Meteorology radiosonde Investigation 9: The Water Planet boundary current El Niño global warming Gulf Stream gyre ocean current rip current salinity

Suggested Field Trips

Liberty Science Center, American Museum of Natural History, Lamont Doherty Earth Observatory Open House