Phenology and Weatherguide Calendar

The students will go outside and observe in 3 parts (Head to sky, knees to head, and knees and below). Then the next time we go out they will describe the objects they wrote down last time. As a class we will graph the phenology during morning meeting.

This activity will be completed both indoors and outdoors. Allow around 20 minutes for outside observation and 15-20 to discuss in class and graph. This activity can be used for any grade (K-4) with whole group. Students will need a plain piece of paper (folded in 3), a pencil and clipboard for outside observation. During morning meeting they will share their observations and teacher will hang them in phenology center, next to phenology calendar.

Teachers: You will need a Kare 11 Weatherguide calendar for this activity. The teacher must also be aware of what phenology is. To start: Draw a map of the school and property around it on a big sheet of butcher paper. This can be done as a whole group. Hang this near the morning meeting area. The weatherguide calendar should be hung near this as well. Make sure the students know what the weatherguide calendar is. Show the students the features of the calendar and read through them at the beginning of the month. After the activity/phenology is completed read through the phenology listed on the calendar and compare. For the outside portion of this activity the students will need a piece of plain paper (folded in 3's), a pencil and a clipboard. Before going outside fold the paper in 3's, explain that they will be observing something 1. From their head to sky 2. Knees to head 3. Knees and below. They will write down their observations in these 3 parts of the paper. The first time going out they will just OBSERVE in these 3 parts. Find something that fits in these 3 areas. The next time they go out they will go back to the 3 things they found before and describe the objects they picked. In morning meeting put all of the students observations up and discuss what they observed. If they have a phenology note mark it on the property map and date it (ex. First frost observed by _________, September 29.) Keep the property map up all year and go back to it often.

Make sure students have done observations outside before this lesson to get them comfortable with the journaling aspect. Introduce the word phenology before getting started as well.

Assessment will be done by observing students outside as well as inside during activity. The 3 fold paper activity will also be looked at for assessment.

I: History and Nature of Science. B. Scientific Inquiry. The students will raise questions about the natural world. 1. The student will observe and describe common objects using simple tools. III: Earth and Space Science B. The student will observe weather changes. 1. The student will describe daily and seasonal changes in weather.