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Sheet
for the Units and Self-Assessment
for Cultural Standards in Practice.
Winds
And
Weather
by Jonas Ramoth and Sidney Stephens
Section III - Connecting Globally
Once students have become grounded in observing and understanding local weather
patterns in terms of cultural and scientific knowledge, and once they begin
to realize through these studies that what happens locally is connected to what
happens globally, the stage is well set for expanding learning activities to
focus on those global connections and their implications for life and behavior
at home. Such connections are especially important in Alaska and other high
latitude areas where global warming is expected to be of a greater magnitude. GLOBE Investigations
The GLOBE Program (Global Learning and Observations to Benefit the Environment)
is a hands-on science and education program that unites students, teachers and
scientists from around the world in study and research about the dynamics of
the Earth's environment particularly as related to global climate change. In
this program, students take careful measurements of the environment at their
school and share the data with scientists and with GLOBE students in other countries
through the Internet.* Because one of the goals of GLOBE is
to provide educational activities for students and uniform data for scientists,
the GLOBE Learning Activities and Protocols clearly lay out the precise student
measurement procedures and data quality techniques. Calibration of equipment,
control of variables, and standardization of measurement are critical aspects
of the activities. As such, they provide many opportunities for students to
observe, measure, collect, record and analyze data and thus address key science
standards. They also present a clear example of how Western science is done
and, by comparison, illuminate the similarities and differences between Traditional
Ecological Knowledge and Western science. It is for these reasons that extending
local weather observations to include the Atmosphere/Climate protocols of GLOBE
is suggested.
A listing of relevant GLOBE protocols and learning activities follows. All
of these can be fully accessed at their site: http://www.globe.gov.
Atmosphere Investigation
|
Seasons Investigation
|
Protocols:
- Cloud Type
- Cloud Cover'
- Rainfall
- Solid Precipitation
- Precipitation pH
- Maximum, Minimum and Current Temperatures
|
Protocols:
- Integrates protocols from other investigations |
Learning Activities:
- Observing, Describing and Identifying Clouds
- Estimating Cloud Cover: A Simulation
- Studying the Instrument Shelter
- Building a Thermometer
- Land, water and Air
- Cloud Watch
|
Learning Activities:
- What Can We Learn About Our Seasons?
- What are Some Factors that Affect Seasonal Patterns?
- How do Regional Temperature Patterns Vary Among Different Regions
of the World?
- What Can We Learn by Sharing Local Seasonal Markers with Other Schools
Around the World?
|
Community Memories II
Summary This lesson is a sequel to Community
Memories I evening, differing from it only by the addition of the GLOBE studies
as well as any new
work on local studies. Again, the purposes would be to display and discuss
student work, get input from community members and gather new information
from the stories
and experiences shared by others. It should take place once the students feel
well grounded with their GLOBE studies and have sufficient information to
share. Materials
« GLOBE activities and data
« Personal weather journals for each student
« Class weather log
« Any posters, stories, poems, paintings etc. that students
have created
(see Apply section from previous lesson and Interdisciplinary Suggestions in
Appendix)
« Food
« Invitations/flyers
________________________________________________________ Procedure
1. Talk with students about the idea of hosting a community weather night both
as a way of giving back to the community some of what they have learned and
of further tapping the weather knowledge of the community by listening to stories
shared by others.
2. Help them select the place and time for this event, decide on a format/agenda,
create invitations, organize the food and so forth. There are obviously lots
of options here, but one way to envision it would be much like a poster session
at a conference in which students create a display of their work and then discuss
it with visitors as the visitors move around the room. Following this general
review, students and community members alike could gather in a central spot
and be invited to share their memories and knowledge about weather. This would
be a good time to publicly thank the Traditional Forecaster and anyone else
who has worked with your group. Videotaping such a session would make it easily
accessible later.
3. Be sure to follow-up the next day in class with a discussion of the community
weather stories. It is likely that new information will have been shared and
students might want to incorporate that into their work.
* It should be noted, however, that since readers of this unit
are not trained GLOBE teachers, access to the data entry and retrieval portion
of the GLOBE internet site is not possible. It is possible, however, to use
and adapt the GLOBE lessons for local purposes and thus involve students in
an inquiry-based learning experience that will broaden and deepen their understanding
of global weather phenomena.
Standards
Section I - Observing Locally
Section II - Understanding Wind
Section III - Connecting
Globally
Appendix A - Selawik Weather Information from
Jonas Ramoth
Appendix B - Assessment
Appendix C - Weather Resource
List
Appendix D - Interdisciplinary Integration
Handbook
for Culturally Responsive Science Curriculum by Sidney Stephens
Excerpt: "The information and insights contained in this document will be
of interest to anyone involved in bringing local knowledge to bear in school
curriculum. Drawing upon the efforts of many people over a period of several
years, Sidney Stephens has managed to distill and synthesize the critical ingredients
for making the teaching of science relevant and meaningful in culturally adaptable
ways." |