About This Lesson
Weather Tools
The Engineering Design Challenge:
Help improve on or invent a weather tool that meteorologists can use to forecast the weather!
Materials:
- LEGO WeDo/Resource Kits
- Computer
- LEGO design planning sheet
Engineering Concepts:
Students will use their schema about weather tools to develop their own weather tool that they think students think would be beneficial to meteorologists. This weather tool can either be a revision of an already existing tool (weather vane, thermometer, etc.) or they can invent their own. Students will plan their weather tool, create it, and revise it. They will also practice working with partners.
Integrated Concepts:
This lesson can be integrated with science and writing. This lesson aligns with the 2nd grade weather unit as the students learn about how meteorologists use weather tools to help them predict the weather. At the end of the build, students can then use persuasive writing to defend why they believe meteorologists should use this tool.
Activity/Description:
The objective of this activity is to work with a partner to plan, create, and revise a weather tool that would be suitable for measuring weather elements. Students will activate prior knowledge in the beginning of their lesson as they discuss how weather tools work. Then talk about how meteorologist use weather tools when predicting the weather. As a class, watch the Discovery Education video linked to the Smartfile. Use a lotus to brainstorm ideas about the elements that good weather tools need to have. Introduce the building challenge and let them know that the challenge will be revising or inventing a weather tool that would be beneficial for meteorologists to use when predicting the weather. Once you have given students the challenge, let them plan their design using the attached planning sheet. Make sure that students are incorporating some of the elements that we brainstormed good weather tool have when planning their tool. Students should be given ample time to build, and encouraged to redesign and test again. After everyone has successfully completed the challenge, have the students share with the class, and complete the science journal.
