Precipitation Towers: Modeling Weather Data
Provided by: NASA|Published on: November 17, 2023
Grades: K, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
Type: Lesson Plans
Subjects: Earth and Space Sciences, Mathematics
Authors: NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Region: North America, USA - Northeast, USA - West, USA - South, USA - Midwest, United States, Global, Oregon, Oregon Coast, New York, New York City, California, Florida, Georgia, Arizona, Idaho, Iowa, Maryland
Languages: English
This resource has been reviewed by SubjectToClimate's climate scientists and verified for scientific accuracy and up-to-date information. Learn about our review process →
This resource has been reviewed by SubjectToClimate's climate scientists and verified for scientific accuracy and up-to-date information. Learn about our review process →
Synopsis
- In this lesson, students will examine precipitation data in various American cities, how storms move around the world, and the negative impacts of extreme precipitation.
- Students will engage in a classroom activity that involves stacking cubes and pattern recognition, videos that delve into the implications of extreme precipitation, and an assessment that gauges their comprehension of the lesson's material.
Teaching Materials
Positives
- This lesson does not require an extensive amount of materials.
- This lesson provides many opportunities for extension, such as describing large frontal storm formation, the drought classification system, and the importance of precise precipitation data.
Additional Prerequisites
- This lesson has a "background" section about precipitation for educators to deepen their understanding.
- Students should understand precipitation, how to use models to represent data, and how to analyze and compare bar graphs.
Differentiation
- This lesson can fit within a larger unit on how climate change impacts precipitation/seasonal patterns.
- Some elements of this lesson are better suited for older students, such as researching precipitation data.
- Students can look at and graph the precipitation data of their community, independently or as a whole class, and compare the data to that of other cities.
- Classes can choose one city and graph the annual average precipitation data and look for trends.
- This lesson can support a classroom discussion about seasonal weather patterns that students have noticed in their community.
This resource is from the CLEAN collection. “The CLEAN collection is hand-picked and rigorously reviewed for scientific accuracy and classroom effectiveness.”
Teaching Tips
Standards
Resource Type and Format
Scientist Reviewed
This resource has been reviewed by SubjectToClimate's climate scientists and verified for scientific accuracy and up-to-date information. Our review process ensures that every resource in our library reflects the current state of climate science.
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