This project empowers students to explore the physical properties of fluids, such as pressure and fluid dynamics, to analyze and predict local weather patterns, aligning with Next Generation Science Standards. By engaging with community partners and utilizing real-world data, students deepen their understanding of climate change impacts. Through hands-on experiences, reflection, critique, and creative presentations, students connect scientific concepts to societal issues, actively contributing informed solutions to their communities.
Learning goals
Students will develop a deep understanding of fluid dynamics and atmospheric pressure, utilizing these principles to forecast local weather patterns and assess climate change impacts. They will analyze geoscience data and global climate models to create evidence-based predictions, aligning with Next Generation Science Standards HS-ESS3-5 and integrating physics knowledge. Through collaborative research and community engagement, students will refine their communication and civic skills, presenting findings and proposing solutions. The project encourages critical thinking and creativity, culminating in digital maps and interactive presentations that showcase their insights and contributions to climate awareness.
Standards
[Next Generation Science Standards] HS-ESS3-5 - Analyze geoscience data and the results from global climate models to make an evidence-based forecast of the current rate of global or regional climate change and associated future impacts to Earth systems.
Competencies
Productive Collaborator - Engages with others to achieve a common goal through building positive relationships, actively listening, showing empathy, and making individual contributions to a larger group.
Critical Thinker - Thinks deeply and makes informed decisions to create solutions or new understanding supported by relevant and reliable evidence.
Empowered Learner - Demonstrates mastery and application of academic competencies. Develops the skills and dispositions to persist through difficulties and plan for a future of self-improvement.
Creative Contributer - Interprets experiences, imagines and plays with new possibilities with curiosity, and creates approaches that are novel, useful, and valued by the world around them.
Effective Communicator - Engages diverse audiences respectfully by exchanging ideas and information responsibly, listening actively, speaking and writing clearly, and using print and digital media appropriately.
Engaged Citizen - Shows respect and empathy across differences, embraces diversity of opinion, seeks cultural understanding, participates in the democratic process to challenge the status quo, and makes a positive impact on their community and the world.
Products
Throughout the project, students will create digital portfolios that document their learning journey, reflections, and weather prediction models using real-time data, integrating physics concepts related to fluid dynamics and pressure. By the end, they will develop an interactive digital map visualizing local weather patterns and climate change impacts, complete with QR links to their projects. Additionally, students will generate a poster of the specific weather event studied, incorporating scientific content and knowledge standards, and present it during the 'SuperWeather Event TV Announcement' exhibition, showcasing their findings and proposed solutions.
Launch
Kick off the project with an interactive 'Climate Impact Symposium,' where students engage with stations showcasing simulations and hands-on activities about climate change effects. Integrate physics knowledge by incorporating demonstrations of fluid dynamics principles and their impact on atmospheric pressure and weather patterns. Encourage students to reflect on their initial understanding and set specific goals for their digital portfolios, fostering a deeper inquiry into weather prediction and climate change implications.
Exhibition
Students will host a 'SuperWeather Event TV Announcement' at the school, showcasing skits or short films that illustrate the impact of climate change on local weather patterns, integrating physics concepts such as pressure and fluid dynamics. The event will include a Q&A session with invited experts from the local meteorological service, allowing students to engage in dialogue and receive feedback. Attendees will explore interactive digital maps created by students, visualizing local weather patterns and climate change impacts, with QR links to individual projects. This exhibition will serve as a platform for students to present their findings and solutions, fostering community awareness and dialogue on climate challenges.
