The Kindergarten Elementary Framework for Science and Integrated Subjects, Wild Weather, uses severe storms as a phenomena for exploring natural and man-made hazards and staying safe in those conditions.  It is part of Elementary Framework for Science and Integrated Subjects project, a statewide Clime Time collaboration among ESD 123, ESD 105, North Central ESD, and the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction. Development of the resources is in response to a need for research- based science lessons for elementary teachers that are integrated with English language arts, mathematics and other subjects such as social studies. The template for Elementary Science and Integrated Subjects  can serve as an organized, coherent and research-based roadmap for teachers in the development of their own NGSS aligned science lessons.  Lessons can also be useful for classrooms that have no adopted curriculum as well as to serve as enhancements for  current science curriculum. The EFSIS project brings together grade level teams of teachers to develop lessons or suites of lessons that are 1) pnenomena based, focused on grade level Performance Expectations, and 2) leverage ELA and Mathematics Washington State Learning Standards.

In this lesson, students will learn about how volcanoes and mountains affect weather. Includes video links, discussion, demonstration, and an additional activity.

NGSS: K-ESS3-2

Time: 50 minutes

Materials: umbrella and sponge.

This sequence of instruction was developed in the Growing Elementary Science Prjoject to help elementary teachers who were working remotely.  We developed a short storyline that ties together a few sessions to help explore a specific concept.  We tried to include some activities that honored and included the student’s family and experience, and some that included the potential for ELA learning goals.
The book “Storm is Coming!” introduces students to the idea of severe weather. Students observe a time-lapse video of a hail storm.  Students interview a family member about a memorable weather event and what that person did to prepare and stay safe.  Students explore the implications of all of their interviews.  Students make plans for how they can prepare for future weather events, including an Engineering Design exercise. 
It is part of ClimeTime - a collaboration among all nine Educational Service Districts (ESDs) in Washington and many Community Partners to provide programs for science teacher training around Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) and climate science, thanks to grant money made available to the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) by Governor Inslee. 

Los incendios forestales están ocurriendo a un ritmo creciente en el estado de Washington. Los estudiantes a menudo tienen preguntas sobre los hábitats forestales, la seguridad y la prevención de incendios forestales. En este caso, los estudiantes aprenderán sobre las formas nativas de conocer a través de la narración oral, los árboles como parte de los hábitats locales para ellos y la prevención de incendios forestales. Los estudiantes participarán en lecciones integradas de ciencia y literatura para desarrollar su comprensión de cómo los incendios forestales están conectados al clima, y para comunicar soluciones para prevenir incendios forestales iniciados por humanos.

Wildfires are occurring at an increasing rate in Washington state. Students often have questions regarding forest habitats, safety and the prevention of wildfires. In this storyline students will learn about native ways of knowing through oral storytelling, trees as part of habitats local to them, and wildfire prevention. Students will participate in integrated science and literacy lessons to build their understanding of how wildfires are connected to weather and to communicate solutions to prevent  human initiated wildfires. 

PhD Science Grade Levels K–2 is available as downloadable PDFs. The OER consists of Teacher Editions and student Science Logbooks for every module.

With PhD Science®, students explore science concepts through authentic phenomena and events—not fabricated versions—so students build concrete knowledge and solve real-world problems. Students drive the learning by asking questions, gathering evidence, developing models, and constructing explanations to demonstrate the new knowledge they’ve acquired. The coherent design of the curriculum across lessons, modules, and grade levels helps students use the concepts they’ve learned to build a deep understanding of science and set a firm foundation they’ll build on for years to come.

Cross-curricular connections are a core component within PhD Science. As an example, every module incorporates authentic texts and fine art to build knowledge and create additional accessible entry points to the topic of study.

Three-dimensional teaching and learning are at the heart of the curriculum. As students uncover Disciplinary Core Ideas by engaging in Science and Engineering Practices and applying the lens of Cross-Cutting Concepts, they move from reading about science to doing science.

Great Minds® is the creator of Eureka Math®, Wit & Wisdom®, Alexandria Plan™, and PhD Science®.
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Copyright © 2021 Great Minds PBC. Except where otherwise noted, this PK-2 PhD Science® content is published under Great Minds OER License #1. Use limited to Non-Commercial educational purposes.
COMMERCIAL REPRODUCTION PROHIBITED.

See OER license details here:
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Throughout the module, students study the anchor phenomenon, the cliff dwellings at Mesa Verde, and build an answer to the Essential Question: How did the cliff dwellings at Mesa Verde protect people from the weather? As students learn about each new concept, they develop and refine a model that represents a cliff dwelling and use that model to explore how cliff dwellings protected people from the weather. At the end of the module, students use their knowledge of weather to explain the anchor phenomenon, and they apply their learning to a new context in an End-of-Module Assessment. Through these experiences, students begin to establish an enduring understanding of weather and its effects. Specifically, students develop an understanding of the parts of weather, the effects weather has on people and their surroundings, and the ways people prepare for severe weather.

With PhD Science®, students explore science concepts through authentic phenomena and events—not fabricated versions—so students build concrete knowledge and solve real-world problems. Students drive the learning by asking questions, gathering evidence, developing models, and constructing explanations to demonstrate the new knowledge they’ve acquired. The coherent design of the curriculum across lessons, modules, and grade levels helps students use the concepts they’ve learned to build a deep understanding of science and set a firm foundation they’ll build on for years to come.

Cross-curricular connections are a core component within PhD Science. As an example, every module incorporates authentic texts and fine art to build knowledge and create additional accessible entry points to the topic of study.

Three-dimensional teaching and learning are at the heart of the curriculum. As students uncover Disciplinary Core Ideas by engaging in Science and Engineering Practices and applying the lens of Cross-Cutting Concepts, they move from reading about science to doing science.

© 2020–2022 Great Minds PBC. Except where otherwise noted, this content is published under Great Minds OER License 1 (greatminds.org/gm_oer_1). Use limited to noncommercial educational purposes. COMMERCIAL REPRODUCTION PROHIBITED.

This is the first lesson introducing weather. Students will start with a KWL, discusing what they know, want to know, and learned later. Then, they will be given a weather journal where they will record the temperature and type of weather everyday, as well as include information they learned each day.They will watch an SciShow Kids video on observing weather and then go outside to do their own observing. Students will then share with their classmates what they noticed. 

This lesson is to help students understand weather, how it changes, and how weather influences what we wear as it changes.

Developed in partnership with the Jamerson Center for Engineering and Mathematics and ESD112 STEM Initiatives, this unit explores NGSS Performance Expectations for Kindergarten Weather and Climate, including an engineering design performance task.