Mathematics: What's the Weather?

Summary:  Over a two-week period, students compare the daily high and low temperatures of Beijing, Shanghai, and their local community. Students then summarize their results and use the data to evaluate how well the student delegates on the trade mission did packing for the trip.

Minnesota Academic Standards Information

Subject Area Focus: Mathematics

Educational Level: Teachers may adapt the activity for the various grade levels.

Primary, Intermediate, Middle

Middle (6-8) Level

Grades 6-8

Represent data and use various measures associated with data to draw conclusions and identify trends.

For the complete standard, see the Minnesota Academic Standards web site at http://education.state.mn.us/mde/Academic_Excellence/Academic_Standards/index.html

Intermediate (4-5) Level

Grade 4

Represent and interpret data in real-world and mathematical problems.

For the complete standard, see the Minnesota Academic Standards web site at http://education.state.mn.us/mde/Academic_Excellence/Academic_Standards/index.html

Grade 5

Represent data and use various measures associated with data to draw conclusions and identify trends.

Primary (K-3) Level

Grade 3

Represent and interpret data in real-world and mathematical problems.

For the complete standard, see the Minnesota Academic Standards web site at http://education.state.mn.us/mde/Academic_Excellence/Academic_Standards/index.html

LEARNING ACTIVITY

Directions

Objectives:

• Collect and organize raw data (temperatures).
• Use calculations to better understand the meaning of the data.
• Present the data in another way and make some conclusions about it.

Preparation: None

Time Required: Ongoing

Description

Introduction to Students

How do you know what clothes to pack when traveling far from home?  What do you think the weather in China will be like during the Minnesota China trade mission trip?  What types of clothes should the student delegates bring with them on the trip, given the anticipated weather?

Instructions

1. Have students gather information about weather in China and then make predictions about the weather in China during the Minnesota China Connection trip.
2. Have students list the types of clothes that they think the students should pack for their trip then compare their list with what the students really packed. 
3. Over the course of the trip, have students keep track of the high and low temperatures for Beijing, Shanghai, and your home community. Have students create a chart for their data using a spreadsheet.
4. After two weeks (or a shorter period), have students make summary statements about the weather during the trip, based on your collected data.  Some questions to consider:
    
• What were the highest temperatures in each city?
• What were the lowest temperatures in each city?
• What were the average temperatures for each city?
• What was the range of temperatures for each city? Which city had the greatest range of temperatures?
   
5. Graph your data to visually show any patterns.
6. How did the actual weather compare with your predictions? 
7. After two weeks (or a shorter period), make some summary statements about the weather during the trip, based on your collected data.  Some questions to consider:
    
   • Given what your data shows and what the student delegates discussed on the weblog, how did the students do on their packing? What other things should they have packed?  What items did they find they needed and did not have?
   • How do weather and climate affect a region, its people, its crops, people’s work and hobbies, or the ways cities and transportation systems are built?

Learning Resources:

USA Today Almanac: http://www.usatoday.com/weather/walm0.htm  Includes climate information about a variety of world cities, including Beijing and Shanghai. 

• CNN weather: http://edition.cnn.com/WEATHER/
• My-Cast: http://www.my-cast.com/index.jsp  Get up to date information on weather in the U.S.  Set up a personal account to get 9-hour, 2-day, and extended forecasts. Only available for U.S.
• EarthBrowser: http://www.earthbrowser.com/  Check out this fabulous interactive mapping tool. The tool provides current data on weather, volcanoes, clouds, and other information.. You can download a demo version and, if you like it, can purchase a copy for $20. (Site licenses are available).See the features page for a description: http://www.earthbrowser.com/features/

Printable Materials: None

Evidence of Learning: The following product(s) supply evidence of student learning.

• Data collections.
• Summary statements about data.
• Participation in classroom discussion.

Special Notes

Technology Integration:

Incorporate technology tools and resources in ways that enhance and support teaching and learning.

Have students collect, analyze and present their data using spreadsheet software.

Accommodations

Change the activity to accommodate students with different needs, knowledge and skills.

• Have students work as a class, in partners or small groups, to collect, record, and use data.
• Limit the data recording to two cities, rather than three.
• Provide organizational tools for students’ data collection (e.g., charts, folders) that make sense for the age and motor skills of the students.
• Preteach or work as a class on the use of an atlas, map, and newspaper.
• Preteach or work as a class on calculations (e.g., averages, range, graphing).
• Have students develop their own weather research question to track data on over the course of the trade mission.

Extensions

Extend students' learning with additional activities.

Entire List of Curriculum Activities