For our first unit, we explored severe weather through drama. I keep forgetting how competitive fourth graders are! Originally, my lesson plan for the lesson on precipitation was very different and much more simple than the edited version that I have posted here. We ended up having so much free time that I sort of improvised (based on an earlier version of the lesson plan), but it ended up making the lesson even better! The students LOVED when we would do "speed tests" and do things as quickly as possible.
There is one student in the class that didn't want to participate in the lessons. I'm trying to watch him closely and observe how he learns. Perhaps he didn't/doesn't accept me as a teacher yet. Perhaps he is too self-conscious to participate in drama exercises.
During the News Broadcast lesson, I intended on the students not having their scenes scripted, but I think it is actually much better for them TO script it. I think it would help the students to feel more comfortable, as I noticed when several groups began to write scripts for themselves without any prior instruction. Looking back on this lesson, I wish that I would have made the example video exactly the same as what I wanted the students to do. I would provide a copy for viewing on this blog, but to preserve the security of my students' surroundings I have decided not to upload it.
There is one student in the class that didn't want to participate in the lessons. I'm trying to watch him closely and observe how he learns. Perhaps he didn't/doesn't accept me as a teacher yet. Perhaps he is too self-conscious to participate in drama exercises.
During the News Broadcast lesson, I intended on the students not having their scenes scripted, but I think it is actually much better for them TO script it. I think it would help the students to feel more comfortable, as I noticed when several groups began to write scripts for themselves without any prior instruction. Looking back on this lesson, I wish that I would have made the example video exactly the same as what I wanted the students to do. I would provide a copy for viewing on this blog, but to preserve the security of my students' surroundings I have decided not to upload it.
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SEVERE WEATHER UNIT
LESSON 1: PRECIPITATION (30 Minutes)
4TH GRADE
STANDARDS:
Science
Standard 2
Students will understand that the elements of weather can be observed, measured, and recorded to make predictions and determine simple weather patterns.
Objective 1
Observe, measure, and record the basic elements of weather.
- Identify basic cloud types (i.e., cumulus, cirrus, stratus clouds).
Objective 2
Interpret recorded weather data for simple patterns.
- Observe and record effects of air temperature on precipitation (e.g., below freezing results in snow, above freezing results in rain).
Drama
Standard 4.T.PERFORM.4:
Communicate meaning using the body through space, shape, energy and gesture.
OBJECTIVE: Students will use their bodies to communicate meaning and will understand the effects of air temperature on precipitation by portraying a water droplet and embodying its experience through various steps and intensities of the water cycle.
MATERIALS: Whiteboard, markers
Step 1: Hook
Draw a big thermometer on the whiteboard and fill it in at 32 degrees Fahrenheit. Invite the class to say this rhyme with you and repeat it a few times: “Below 32 degrees, it’s going to freeze!” Invite the students to be a river and join you in a game of “Follow the Leader”. Flow around the room for a moment, playing with what happens when the river flows really quickly and really slowly.
Step 2: Review
Tell the students that it’s winter time and the weather is below freezing, and color in the thermometer on the whiteboard to reflect this. Ask them to repeat the rhyme you learned at the beginning of class for a memory refresher and have everyone in the river “freeze” in place. Change the thermometer to reflect warmer weather and suggest that the river is slowly starting to “melt”. Have the students show what they think this could look like in their bodies. Once the river is completely “melted,” tell them that it’s really hot outside and remind them that water evaporates when it gets warm! Invite them to imagine and show in their bodies what it might look like when water evaporates.
Step 3: Practice
Invite the students to “float” around the room as if they are an evaporated water droplet. When you say “Cumulus!” have the students huddle up with two or three students that are near them. When you say “Cirrus” have them strike a strange pose with their arms and legs stretched out and random angles. When you say “Stratus” have the students lie down on the floor like a pancake Stratus cloud! When the students gather into Cumulus clouds (or one big group Cumulus cloud), have the students either become snowflakes, rain, or evaporated water vapor by coloring in the thermometer on the whiteboard to reflect certain temperatures. When the temperature is above freezing tell the students that the water droplets are getting too heavy up in the sky so there is going to be a rainstorm! Have everyone start stomping their feet as if they are rain drops splattering on the ground. When you fill in the thermometer below freezing, tell the students that it is snowing and invite them to “float” or “glide” down to the floor. Repeat this process of becoming clouds, precipitation, and water vapor for a few rounds. For fun, do “speed rounds” and switch between cloud types really quickly.
Step 4: Assessment
Now, as the students gather into clouds, fill in temperatures on the whiteboard thermometer and see if they understand which kinds of precipitation they would become in which temperatures by again becoming precipitation falling from clouds.
Step 5: "Got It Memorized?"
Invite the students to sit on the carpet in front of you. Draw Cumulus, Cirrus, and Stratus clouds on the whiteboard and invite students to label them or name them as a class. For fun, make it a speed memory game and point at cloud types really quickly as the class shouts out the names. Add the whiteboard thermometer to the game and have a student that knows the freezing temperature write it on the whiteboard. When you point at the thermometer in the continued speed memory game, have the students repeat this rhyme as a class: “Below 32 degrees, it’s going to freeze!”
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LESSON 2: STORMS (30 minutes)
4TH GRADE
STANDARDS:
Science
Standard 2
Objective 1
Observe, measure, and record the basic elements of weather.
- Compare the components of severe weather phenomena to normal weather conditions (e.g., thunderstorm with lightning and high winds compared to rainstorm with rain showers and breezes).
Drama
Standard 4.T.CONNECT.1:
Identify similarities between story elements and personal experiences in dramatic play or guided drama experiences.
OBJECTIVE: Students will use their personal experiences with or prior knowledge of severe weather to compare weather conditions by creating tableaus in groups.
MATERIALS: Flashlight, camera
Step 1: Hook
Pretend that there is a thunderstorm and turn the lights off as if there has been a power outage. Shine a flashlight on yourself. Tell the students that today we will be learning about storms and other forms of severe weather, and tell them that we will start by talking about thunderstorms. Ask the students to raise their hand if they have ever experienced a thunderstorm. Tell the students a story about an experience you had with a thunderstorm:
Once when I was about 16 years old, I was preparing to make a batch of cookies when suddenly a thunderstorm began outside. Before too long we experienced a power outage and along with losing all lighting in the house, the oven also wasn’t working. My family decided to eat the cookie dough raw. We lit up candles and played funny games until the power came back on. Although I am afraid of thunder, it remains one of my most fond memories to this day.
Step 2: Transition
Turn the lights back on and invite the students to share an experience with a thunderstorm with a neighbor while you write this list of storms/severe weather on the whiteboard:
Hurricane
Blizzard
Tornado
Flood
Drought
Have the students turn to a neighbor and share what the weather is like today and how it is different from a thunderstorm. How is a thunderstorm different than just a rainstorm? Answers may include there is lightning and thunder, a thunderstorm may be really windy or have really heavy rain, etc. Have the students stand up and as a class, go through each of the storms one by one, discussing with the students how it is different from today’s weather, and what each kind of storm might look like, sound like, or feel like. After you discuss the storm, invite them to show in their bodies what it might look like to experience this kind of severe weather. You may cut out a couple of options if the lesson is running long.
Step 3: Group Practice
The table groups are now teams. In their table groups they will select a team writer. Have the writer write each person at the table group’s name on a sheet of paper. As a team, they will select a form of severe weather from the list on the whiteboard and have the team writer write it also on the sheet of paper. Have the teams discuss what happens during that kind of storm. What does it look like? What does it sound like? What does it feel like?
Step 4: Assessment
After selecting and writing about a storm, the students will create a tableau with their other teammates to show a picture of how a group might respond to this kind of severe weather. If the storm that they selected is a tornado, for example, they might have people holding on to each other or a nearby structure to keep from blowing away. Take a picture of their tableau to use in lesson 3’s “News Broadcast”. If there is time, gather the students together to show each other the poses that they created.
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LESSON 3: NEWS BROADCAST (60 minutes)
4TH GRADE
STANDARDS:
Science
Standard 2
Objective 3
Evaluate weather predictions based upon observational data.
b. Describe how weather and forecasts affect people’s lives.
Drama
Standard 4.T.CREATE.3:
Write or record simple dramas that include the five Ws of who, what, where, when and why.
OBJECTIVE: Students will describe how weather affects people’s lives and will create simple dramas that include the five Ws by creating their own news broadcast that features a group of people experiencing a storm.
MATERIALS: Video recording device, example news broadcast video, projector and connecting cables, instruction papers (one for every table group)
Step 1: Hook
Invite the students to sit on the carpet in front of you. Tell them that there is breaking news and we will be watching a video that explains all about the news.
Step 2: Introduction
Show the children the example video. As the students are watching the video, place an instruction form at each table group.
Within the video, there should be a news anchor (Drama Specialist) introducing a blizzard in the area. This will introduce WHAT is happening, WHEN, and WHERE. The video will change to show someone (Classroom Teacher) who is “experiencing” the blizzard and will tell (through chattering teeth, etc.) WHO is being affected by the storm, WHY the storm is a problem or is dangerous, and WHAT the people are doing to stay safe. There is a lot of room for creativity here, so use your imagination and have fun with it!
Next the news anchor will talk about a tornado that is in another area. The video will change to another person (Miss Greenwood as a different character) who will “interview” someone who is “experiencing” the tornado and show “footage” of people or things being blown away by the storm, once again repeating the process of the 5 Ws as mentioned above.
The video will then go back to the news anchor who will explain the criteria for what the students are going to do:
In their table groups, the students will select a storm and a location from the following categories:
STORMS (WHAT):
Thunderstorm
Blizzard
Tornado
LOCATIONS (WHERE):
Park
Beach
Football game
Once they have selected a storm (WHAT) and a location (WHERE), they will select roles to create their own news broadcast. The students will write a script for their broadcast following the outline of the 5 Ws (which the students will decide upon in their groups): WHO, WHAT, WHEN, WHERE, and WHY. The roles within each table group include: News Anchor x2, Reporter x1, Citizens. Numbers may be adjusted as needed. The two News Anchors will tell WHAT is happening, WHEN, and WHERE (the pre-decided location). The Reporter will tell WHO is being affected by the storm and WHY it is dangerous. The Interviewer will “interview” the Citizens, who will tell WHAT they are doing to stay safe. Are they at the park and are hiding under a bridge to avoid strong winds, rain, or lightning? Are they safe to stand in the middle of the storm at the baseball game because they are superheroes? Etc. Then, the Anchors will close the broadcast. In their groups, have the students fill in the blanks on the News Broadcast Outline sheet to tell who is going to play what role as well as the details of the WHO, WHAT, WHEN, WHERE, and WHY of the broadcast and write a script for a news broadcast based on the outline. Provide the students with a copy of the Script Example and the Script Example Breakdown for their reference.
Step 3: Guided Practice
Walk around and guide students in the task as needed.
Step 4: Assessment
After about 15 minutes, invite one table group at a time to perform their broadcast for the class. Record the broadcasts for the blog!
LESSON SUPPLEMENTS:
News Broadcast Outline
NEWS ANCHORS
1.
2.
WHAT (circle one):
Blizzard
Tornado
Thunderstorm
WHERE (circle one, but feel free to add details!):
Park
Beach
Football game
WHEN (circle one):
Yesterday
This morning
This evening
REPORTER:
1.
WHO is being affected:
WHY is the storm dangerous:
CITIZENS:
1.
2.
WHAT are you doing to stay safe?
SCRIPT EXAMPLE
ANCHOR 1: “Hello and welcome to Sunshine City News. We’re your hosts, Lisa Mona--
ANCHOR 2: And Fred Fillmore. This evening there were reports of a thunderstorm at a football game in Houston, Texas.
ANCHOR 1: Let’s head over to Reporter Sally Jensen to get a closer look.
REPORTER: This dangerous storm is affecting football fans from across the country! Many people came from out of state to enjoy this competitive game, only to have their plans interrupted by severe downpour and winds of up to 35 miles per hour. The football stadium was struck by lightning and has caught on fire! I have with me two citizens who have been affected by this terrible storm. Please tell us, what are you doing to stay safe?
CITIZEN 1: We called 911 to bring the firefighters and are trying to remain calm!
CITIZEN 2: We are trying to stay indoors or in low places so that there’s no chance that we will be struck by lightning.
REPORTER: Well you heard it, folks. They are doing what they can do stay safe from this severe weather.
ANCHOR 1: Thank you, Sally. Stay safe out there, everyone.
ANCHOR 2: Thank you for joining us this evening on Sunshine City News.
SCRIPT EXAMPLE BREAKDOWN
(You don’t have to follow this example exactly, but hopefully it can give you some ideas of where to start!)
ANCHOR 1: “Hello and welcome to ___________________ News. We’re your hosts, (name of ANCHOR 1)--
ANCHOR 2: And (name of ANCHOR 2). (WHEN) there were reports of a (WHAT) at a/the (WHERE).
ANCHOR 1: Let’s head over to Reporter (name of REPORTER) to get a closer look.
REPORTER: This dangerous storm is affecting (WHO). (WHY is it dangerous). I have with me two citizens who have been affected by this terrible storm. Please tell us, what are you doing to stay safe?
CITIZEN 1: (WHAT are you doing to stay safe).
CITIZEN 2: (WHAT else are you doing to stay safe).
REPORTER: Well you heard it, folks. They are doing what they can do stay safe from this severe weather.
ANCHOR 1: Thank you, Sally. Stay safe out there, everyone.
ANCHOR 2: Thank you for joining us this evening on ___________________ News.
