This field trip opportunity takes us to the St. Louis Science Center! Students will be engaged in a live science (weather) demonstration given by Ira and Judy Gall. After enjoying the demonstration, students can explore the rest of the science center and all it has to offer. Other opportunities to learn about weather include an erosion table and tornado formation exhibit. I chose this as a field trip because the Science Center has so much to offer. It's definitely an opportunity to expand upon what we have learned in the classroom.

This is a quick and easy science experiment on what happens when it rains. This would be a good experiment to do after a lesson or two on rain or clouds. It shows how the "clouds" (shaving cream) get heavy with water and causes "rain" (blue food coloring) to fall. I would use this in my classroom because it's cheap, quick, and easy. Shaving cream is always a big hit in the elementary classroom!!

This website was designed by meteorologist Crystal Wicker. She designed it with kids in mind, but it's also an excellent resource for teachers. It answers questions about tornadoes, lightening, clouds, volcanoes, and much more. It also provides games, flashcards, jokes, photos, and experiments. I chose this site because I think it is a great, quick reference for early elementary teachers. It would also be and asset for a middle elementary student doing research. I would use this in my classroom as a resource to questions being asked by my students, or questions I need answered. I would also pull some of the weather experiments and use them when applicable.

This app was designed by a six year old boy and his meteorologist dad. It includes real weather conditions, forecasts, and weather fun facts. It also includes math and science with S.T.E.M. in mind for parents and teachers. I chose this app for a number of reasons. First, it allows the student to choose his hometown weather or somewhere else to track. The avatar, that the student is also able to choose, dresses according to the weather, and as a little added twist, the student can "change" the weather his avatar experience. It also has a lot of educational material and opportunities for graphing and plotting weekly or monthly weather conditions. I would definitely use this in my classroom during my calendar time. Although it costs $1.99, I feel it would be a fun alternative to the typical everyday weather discussion.

This video/song on YouTube is about the different choices in weather. It explores sunny, cloudy, rainy, windy, and snowy. Set to the tune of Twinkle, Twinkle I believe it would capture the attention of students and be a song they could sing daily. I could play this video during our calendar time as a fun way to introduce the weather each morning. I selected it because it provides a different way of learning, it's colorful, and catchy. It also includes some words with the music. These words could easily be integrated into my word wall.

This unit on weather includes three days worth of lesson plans. Each day corresponds with a specific book about weather. One of the books it includes is "Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs". Assuming most children saw the movie, I would ask questions to access what they may already know about weather and if the movie is comparable to the weather we experience. These lessons also include weather observation and opportunities to write about their observations. I chose these lessons because they include extensions, assignments, and assessments. I can see myself using this in the classroom with my students because I feel that using literature makes a lesson stronger. It draws the kids in, and enables me to ask questions to access prior knowledge.

This website is an interactive website that looks at climate through videos, games and articles. It focuses on how climate and weather affect land, water, and animals. I chose this website because there were a lot of cool pictures and activities I thought would be fun for my students. It also has a section that helps educators build lesson plans that align with NGSS, which I think is a valuable asset. It stated that it was geared toward upper elementary, but while looking through it I felt any student, Kindergarten and up, would benefit.

This website includes lesson plans and activities to use in conjunction with Weather Channel's classroom program "Elementary Weather". Specifically, it includes weather concepts, scientific method, climate, weather terms, and the water cycle. It gives five lessons with background information, objectives, procedures, outcomes, prep time, materials, and standards. I chose this resource for a number of reasons. It's cross-curricular in at least one other area, provides handouts, has extension and modification plans, includes hands-on lessons, assessment tools, and a long-term project. I see myself using this in the classroom because there are many different directions each lesson can take. Modifications and extensions are important in our districts to meet the needs of diverse learners. I put a $ in the tags in case purchase of the videos is necessary.