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The Arizona STEM Acceleration Project

Weather Patterns: Rain Gauge

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Weather Patterns:

Rain Gauges

A 4th grade STEM lesson

Natasha Banales

December 17, 2023

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Notes for teachers

Context: This project should be implemented at the end of your weather and climate patterns unit.

List of Materials

Science journal – 1 per student
Engineering Process handout – located in student journals
Paper and pencil – as needed, per student supplies
Gallon water bottle – 1 per group
Roll of packing tape – 1 per group
Meter of string – 1 per group
Ruler – minimum one per group
Sharpie – minimum one per group
Cutting tool – minimum one per group
Precipitation by date spreadsheet

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Standards

4.E1U1.8 Collect, analyze, and interpret data to explain weather and climate patterns.
STANDARD 2.0 CREATE ENGINEERING SOLUTIONS BY APPLYING A STRUCTURED PROBLEM-SOLVING/DECISION-MAKING PROCESS

2.1 Identify the problem
2.2 Develop a problem statement based on facts, research, and experience
2.3 Explore possible issues or options to the problem
2.4 Select the best solution within the constraints and criteria
2.5 Develop a prototype or model to test the selected solution
2.6 Implement the solution
2.7 Evaluate the solution, and revise or repeat if necessary (i.e., Are there other solutions, better solutions, or cheaper solutions? etc.)
2.8 Document and report all results

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Objective(s):

Students will demonstrate an ability to collect, analyze, and interpret data to explain weather and climate patterns by building and using rain gauges to collect weather data to compare against historical records to identify patterns.

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Agenda

Lesson 1: Engage, Explore 1, Explain 1 (50 minutes)

Lesson 2: Explore 2, Explain 2 (45 minutes)

Lesson 3: Extend (5 minutes each day to collect data for four weeks and 50 minutes for data analysis)

Lesson 4: Evaluate (3 - 50 minute sessions)

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Engage

Complete the Weather Predictors probe and be prepared to share your response.

Engage:

· Distribute Weather Predictors formative probe to students.

· Read the probe aloud or as a class.

· Have students record their answer on the probe independently.

· Once students are finished answering the question, prompt students to share their answers via class discussion.

o Encourage students to explore each option, the strengths and weaknesses of each, careful not to encourage or discourage any particular ideas.

o Ask students to explain how each option could be monitored and recorded. Why is it important to record data from these methods?

· Set the stage for the learning progression:

o Review aspects of weather and how such are monitored, such as temperature/thermometers, wind speed and direction/anemometers, humidity/hygrometer, air pressure/barometers, etc. using a think-pair-share or callout and record method.

§ What sort of data do we collect and record about weather? Why is it important to collect? Why is it important that the data be accurate?

· Students should have already been introduced to these concepts and tools prior in lessons on weather and climate.

o Get students thinking about the local climate.

§ Ask students to describe our local climate. Do we have any unique weather patterns? (Monsoon) Do you think we can measure aspects of weather ourselves? Which aspects of weather might we measure? Can we do so accurately? How?

Introduce the engineering challenge of creating a rain gauge to measure local precipitation during the end of the monsoon season/quarter one of school.

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Explore 1

With your groups:

Brainstorm solutions to the problem
Agree on one solution and get teacher approval

· Separate students into groups via preferred grouping strategy.

· Quickly review the Engineering Process as a class.

· Complete the first step of the process, Identify the Problem, as a class. Call and response should suffice. Record on the board.

o The problem: build a functional rain gauge from the provided materials, and other materials available to them in the room with approval from the teacher, to accurately measure precipitation at the school.

o Students should have been introduced to the Engineering Process prior.

· Provide each group with supplied building materials.

· Have students use their knowledge of the Engineering Process and established group work routines and processes to begin designing a rain gauge.

o Students may record Brainstorming results as a group.

o Each student must record Plan and Design results for the final idea in their individual journals.

· Circulate around the room to monitor progress and facilitate group work as needed.

Once groups have settled on a final idea, they can signal the teacher for approval to move on to building.

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Explain 1

Be prepared to present and explain your final rain gauge design by answering these questions in your science journal:

o What does it do?

o Why is each component included?

o What are the materials are needed to build it?

o What are the steps to build it?

o What data will it collect? How will it be read/collected?

o Why will it be accurate?

o What potential flaws are there in the design or build process?

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Explore 2

Today is construction day!

With your group, build your rain gauge based on your approved design and with the materials provided.

Once your rain gauge is complete, discuss an appropriate location to place your rain gauge on campus and then ask permission to place your rain gauge.

Possible materials for each group:

Gallon water bottle – 1 per group
Roll of packing tape – 1 per group
Meter of string – 1 per group
Ruler – minimum one per group
Sharpie – minimum one per group
Cutting tool – minimum one per group

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Explain 2

Be prepared to discuss the location of your rain gauge and why your group chose to place it there.

Answer these questions in your science journal in order to be prepared for the class discussion.

Is anything obstructing rainfall?
Will they be able to easily access the gauge to collect data?
Will the gauge remain in place for the duration of the testing?
What other factors could influence the expected results?

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Extend: Data Collection

Create this table in your science journal.
Collect data from your rain gauge each day and record in your journal.
Be sure to note any alterations or changes that you would like to make in the future.
Don’t forget to empty your rain gauge each day.

Date	Amount of Rainfall Collected (cm)	Observations

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Extend: Data Analysis

Enter your group’s data into this Google Sheet: Precipitation by Date
Analyze the class data and answer the following questions in your science journal:

How does your data compare to other groups? To the average?
What trends do we notice about gauges that were successful? Those that weren’t?

Let’s compare to national data:

National Weather Service

Did you record more rain? Less? More days of rains? Fewer days of rain? Why do you think this might be?
How much rain was recorded this year compared to past years? Has the average amount of rain changed over the past decade? Number of rainy days? Why do you think this might be?

The Old Farmer's Almanac - Weather, Gardening, Full Moon, Best Days, Astronomy, News

How accurate were the predictions of the almanac? Why do you think this is? How could this information be used by farmers and others? What could happen if our predictions were wrong?

· After the end of the collection period, compile the results by date for the entire class.

o Have someone from each group add their data to the Precipitation by Date spreadsheet.

o Calculate an average by day, per day, and total for the month.

· Share the compiled data with the class and facilitate a discussion of the results.

o How does your data compare to other groups? To the average?

o What trends do we notice about gauges that were successful? Those that weren’t?

· Access the National Weather Service website

o Students should compare their results to the official records for each day, average, and month. Record in journals.

§ Did you record more rain? Less? More days of rains? Fewer days of rain? Why do you think this might be?

o Students should compare their results and the official records for the month to past years. Record in journals.

§ How much rain was recorded this year compared to past years? Has the average amount of rain changed over the past decade? Number of rainy days? Why do you think this might be?

· Access the Almanac site

o Students should compare their collected data and the official measurements from the National Weather Service to the predictions of the almanac. Record observations in journal.

How accurate were the predictions of the almanac? Why do you think this is? How could this information be used by farmers and others? What could happen if our predictions were wrong?

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Evaluate

For the next three class periods, your group will be creating a Google Slides to present your findings to the class. Be sure to consider the following questions when creating your presentation:

What data do scientists collect to monitor weather and climate?
What are some of the challenges scientists face in measuring weather and climate? How can scientists overcome those challenges?
What do you notice about weather data from year to year?
What do you notice about weather data over a longer period of time?
How accurate are we at predicting future weather based observable data?
Why do accurate predictions of weather matter?

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Differentiation

Be mindful when grouping the students for this unit and ensure that abilities are mixed.

Teacher facilitation and support will need to be provided at the teacher’s discretion.

For any writing accommodations, dictation can be accepted or a print out can be provided.

Remediation

Extension/Enrichment

To complete the Engineering Process and extend the lesson to a yearlong experiment, students should use the information gained from this experiment to design a new and improved rain gauge (Reflect and Improve) using the same format as the original lesson that can be used for the rest of the year. This can be done collectively as a class, with each group presenting what they learned and ideas for improvement (Communicate) to create a collective “best practice” version for the class.