Weather
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Like Latitudes:
Objective: Students will learn how latitude affects weather patterns.
Resources: Teacher: World globe.Students: paper and
pencil.
Teacher Preparation: This lesson can follow an introductory lesson
on latitude and longitude.
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Procedure:
- Have students locate on the globe the latitude for where they live.
- Using the globe, have them find other countries, either north or south, with the same latitude.
- Have students research another country's weather, using encyclopedias.
- Students write a paper describing similarities and differences between their own weather and the other country's weather from the same latitude.
Variations/Options: Using the Internet, students could contact
other students to discuss weather.
Kites
March is also the time to start thinking about kites, and you're probably thinking they're something you'd like to make, but don't know how. In addition to seeing the sites below, remember that kite clubs abound, and that a big business has popped up in the last few years for high-performance, fairly pricey stunt kites. These clubs or businesses may be willing to put on a demonstration for your school or class.
- 20 Kids - 20 Kites - 20 Minutes gives a list of materials, directions and diagram for constructing a kite in the classroom.
- Darla Olson Kites Activity is another example of an activity allowing students to construct a kite using a paper bag and tissue paper streamers.
- Tetrahedral Kite Using Straws is more challenging to make than the other two examples. It is constructed of drinking straws, lightweight multi-filament nylon, hat elastic and shopping bags. (Note from Lee: After seeing examples of this kite constructed by Alexander Graham Bell, as a high school student I built tetrahedral kites using drinking straws, string, and actually stapled newspaper around the straws to cover it. My version was heavy to say the least, but flew very well in strong Kansas winds, and also was a good learning experience about the integrity of the triangle.)