How Can Temperature Be Interpreted? -...

How Can Temperature BeInterpreted?

We have been recording temperatures each day for a month aspart of our weather unit. Now you will use the temperature datafor 5 days to construct a bar graph. Working in the technologylab with Kid Pix[reg], you will input the temperatures werecorded to make your graph. After your graph is made, usethe data to write at least 2 observations about the temperaturethat show your interpretation.

1 of 11How Can Temperature Be Interpreted?

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How Can Temperature Be Interpreted?

Suggested Grade Span

K–2

Task

We have been recording temperatures each day for a month as part of our weather unit. Nowyou will use the temperature data for 5 days to construct a bar graph. Working in the technologylab with Kid Pix[reg], you will input the temperatures we recorded to make your graph. Afteryour graph is made, use the data to write at least 2 observations about the temperature thatshow your interpretation.

Big Ideas and Unifying Concepts

Change and constancyPatternsScaleSystems

Physical Science Concept

Transfer and transformation of energy

Earth and Space Science Concept

Earth systems

Design Technology Concept

Use of tools

Mathematics Concepts

Data collection, organization and analysisGraphs, tables and representationsMeasurement

Time Required for the Task

Approximately 45 minutes.



Context

This assessment task was designed for my second graders to demonstrate how they mightconstruct a bar graph from temperature data and then draw accurate written conclusions. Someof the temperatures used were gathered during a month-long weather unit.

What the Task Accomplishes

This task combined the use of scientific knowledge about temperature and weather conditionsgathered during the unit. This task was designed to provide an opportunity to connectmathematical skills, scientific data collecting and problem solving using technology. Studentscan begin to see how a meteorologist constructs weather information for daily and weeklyforecasts, based on data gathering using different tools. By interpreting temperature data,children can observe how the weather can change on a daily basis and begin to see how thisinformation can determine what clothing they decide to wear each day or what choices theymake for recreation.

How the Student Will Investigate

The students will each have a data sheet with five days of the week and five differenttemperatures. Each child was asked to use his/her mathematical knowledge of multiples of 10,of days of the week and of Kid Pix[reg] to create a bar graph for the different temperatures.After the completion of the graph, the students were asked to write at least two scientificconnections about the temperature data.

Interdisciplinary Links and Extensions

ScienceDuring the unit, students can use their own temperature data for several weeks to constructadditional connections with temperature patterns. Students could illustrate what type of outerclothing was needed each day for school based on the study of temperature for two weeks.Students can predict and describe how temperature changes affect a mammal’s fur (e.g.,beginning to grow a winter coat) and habits or the habits of an amphibian, migratory bird and/ordeciduous or evergreen tree.

Social StudiesConnect the science unit with study of different climates in the United States or climates aroundthe world. Explore and compare how different regions have temperatures similar to or differentfrom yours. Investigate how plant and animal life differ in similar and different temperatureranges and climates. Investigate related Internet web sites (e.g., National Geographic) to buildclassroom knowledge and skills about climates and regions.

Literacy/ArtRead Weather Forecasting, by Gail Gibbons, and The Weather and Us, by Ann Merk, tointroduce and develop an understanding all the different components of weather and how itaffects us daily. Spring Weather, by John Mason, will provide connections for times of year the



weather is frequently changing. A weather study provides a rich opportunity for reading andwriting poetry. Some of the selections we have used include Weather: Poems for All Seasons,by Lee Bennett Hopkins, Sing to the Sun: Poems and Pictures, by Ashley Bryan and Talking tothe Rain: A Read-to-Me Book of Poems, by X. J. Kennedy and Dorothy M. Kennedy.

MathematicsUse different graphing formats to present temperature data. My students took additional dataand constructed pie graphs in the technology lab the following week. Ask students to designthermometer recording sheets by divisions of a) just tens, b) tens and fives, then c) tens andtwos. Decide which recording sheets provide more accurate, precise temperature information.Send teams of students to take temperature readings inside different areas of the school andoutside on different days (such as sunny, rainy, etc.) or at different times of day and discusshow the temperature readings are affected by changes in the weather during the day and night.

Teaching Tips and Guiding Questions

Children need an opportunity to respond to open-ended questions before, during and especiallyafter the investigations to better develop scientific reasoning. When there are a variety of toolsto manipulate and data to record, open-ended questions help strengthen understanding asstudents think their way through the task.

Here are some possible questions:

• What temperatures are the same? What temperatures are different? What patterns do yousee in the temperature and weather conditions of each day?

• How does the temperature affect what you might wear each day?• How do the seasonal changes in temperature affect animals or plants?• How does the temperature affect how people grow food, construct their homes or use tools

to survive?• How would you design a home for yourself, based on the temperature patterns I have

provided?• What adaptations would help you survive in the tundra, rain forest, desert, forest, meadow

or wetland if you were a plant, animal or person? How would temperature affect your foodgathering? your shelter?

• How would you pack for an extended vacation, based on the weather patterns in thenewspaper?

• Which weather tools are used by meteorologists in predicting certain types of dangerousweather patterns?

Concepts to be Assessed

(Unifying concepts/big ideas and science concepts to be assessed using the ScienceExemplars Rubric under the criterion: Science Concepts and Related Content)

Physical Science – Transfer and Transformation of Energy: Students observe and describehow heat energy affects temperature readings.



Earth Science – Earth Systems: Students identify and record weather patterns in a particularseason (spring).

Design Technology – Use of Tools: Students observe and understand how tools can measureand provide information on weather, wind velocity, temperature and rain, and how information isshared. Students understand that tools can extend our capabilities.

Scientific Method: Students determine the patterns and/or which kinds of change arehappening by making a graph or table of measurements (change and constancy).

Mathematics: Students collect, organize and analyze data and use graphs, tables andrepresentations appropriately. Students use precise measurements.

Skills to be Developed

(Science process skills to be assessed using the Science Exemplars Rubric under the criteria:Scientific Procedures and Reasoning Strategies, and Scientific Communication Using Data)

Scientific Method: Observing, hypothesizing, recording and organizing data, comparing,inferring, drawing conclusions, challenging misconceptions, raising new questions andcommunicating findings.

Other Science Standards and Concepts Addressed

Scientific Method: Students describe, predict, investigate and explain phenomena.

Scientific Theory: Students look for evidence that explains why things happen and modifyexplanations when new observations are made.

Physical Science – Transfer and Transformation of Energy: Students observe that heat is aform of energy and can be absorbed or reflected by the objects it strike. Students understandthat heat can be measured.

Earth Science – Earth Systems: Students identify patterns in temperature in the seasons anddescribe how it affects people, plants and animals in different ecosystems.

Scientific Tools: Students use computers to organize, analyze and interpret data.

Communication: Students use verbal and nonverbal skills to express themselves effectively.

Suggested Materials

Provide each student with an ordered list of temperatures, selected to give a range that can bedescribed and compared. Spend a few minutes discussing which temperatures the studentsrecognize from temperature readings done outside the school during the study of weather.



Make sure students have had previous opportunities in math or science in constructing andreading bar and pie graphs.

Ask the students to construct a bar graph, using the days of the week and temperaturesprovided for each day. Next, ask the students to write at least two scientific conclusions aboutthe temperature data to match their graphing results. Most children completed the task duringour technology block in the lab, but a few needed more time the following week to finish theirwritten conclusions.

An alternative to using Kid Pix[reg] and/or computers is to have students color in bar graphs ongraph paper and then write their conclusions.

Possible Solutions

Each child should be able to construct a readable bar graph for each day of the week andinclude markings by tens as a reference point from 10 to about 70 degrees. Spacing betweentens on the graph should be somewhat equal. Temperatures between the tens should berecorded within a reasonable range. The written conclusions should reflect a beginningscientific understanding of higher and lower temperatures with matching warmer and colderweather. Some generalizations may also be made (e.g., “Fridays were the hottest days.”).

Task-Specific Assessment Notes

NoviceThis student’s graph is complete. The graphing format demonstrates some understanding ofwhat was asked in the task, with the degrees by tens and the days of the week. Intervals on thegraph are appropriate and estimates reasonable for shading temperatures between numbers. Itis difficult to tell exactly where the lines for 10, 20, etc., are. This student’s solution is limited inproviding evidence of scientific reasoning, in that the student only writes one conclusion basedon the data. The interpretation provided is accurate; however, no reference is made totemperatures in the interpretation.

ApprenticeThis student’s graph is complete and is very clear. The graphing format demonstratesunderstanding of what was asked in the task, with the degrees by tens and the days of theweek. Each 10-degree interval is marked by a line. Intervals on the graph are appropriate andestimates reasonable for shading temperatures between numbers. The student makesgeneralized statements about which days are the hottest and coldest – evidence of beginningscientific reasoning about the weather study. The student does not refer to temperatures in theconclusions.

Practitioner(Due to lack of fine motor skills, this student spent a lot of time constructing the graph, so anadult helped with some dictation of ideas from the child at the end. This enabled the child tocomplete the task and feel successful using scientific reasoning and conclusions formed fromthe temperature data.) The graphing format demonstrates understanding of what was asked in



the task with the degrees by tens and the days of the week. While the first two 10-degree marksare not equally spaced, the later ones are each located near a line. Estimates are reasonablefor shading temperatures between numbers. The student makes two generalized statementsabout which day is the hottest and which the coldest. The student also includes specifictemperatures in the conclusions – evidence of using data to cite scientific reasoning about theweather study.

ExpertThis student’s solution is complete and accurate and includes some added details. Thegraphing format demonstrates understanding of what was asked in the task, with the degreesby tens and the days of the week. The student included actual temperatures for each day,giving greater clarity and precision in interpretation. Intervals are evenly spaced and estimatesare reasonable for shading temperatures between numbers. The student makes statementsabout which day is the hottest and which temperature is the lowest. The student includesspecific temperatures in the conclusions – evidence of using data to cite scientific reasoningabout the weather study.



Novice



Apprentice



Practitioner



Expert



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