advertisement

WebGuide An Internet based lesson A lesson built around a single Internet Site Subject: Grade level(s): Lesson Title: Driving question for study: Concept or objective of lesson. Why do the hottest and coldest times of the day happen when they do? Internet Site Title: The name of the webpage that the students will be using. You can usually find this on the topmost part of the webpage. Telecommunication Operation Center Internet Site URL: The address of the site you are using found in the location bar. http://weather.noaa.gov/weather/current/KMEM.html Author: Put your name here and make your name an E-mail link. Site Description: Give enough information that your students know what to expect when they follow the link given to them above. If you need to caution them about pop-up windows or banners, or direct them to a specific part of the web page, do it in this section. If they know what to look for when they follow the link it will cut down on questions you have to answer in class. This site gives current weather conditions and a 24 hour summary of temperature, dew point, pressure, wind and weather. Time at this site is given as Eastern Standard Time, so one hour must be deducted from each of the times given. For example, change 10:00 AM to 9:00 AM. You will be using data from the 24 hour summary which is located in the bottom half of the web page. This site allows you to get weather data for many US cities. A follow up lesson will use data from another city, but you will not follow any other links during this lesson.

advertisement

Site Purpose: Tell your students exactly why you have chosen this site and how it incorporates itself into the concept being studied. The better that they understand why they were directed to the site, the more effective your lesson will be.

In our study of temperature we notice high points and low points in daily temperatures. Why do the hottest and coldest times of the day happen when they do? You are going to this website to get data to put into a spreadsheet to find the answer to this question. You will only collect data for time and temperature. The simplest way to do this is to write the numbers down on paper and later enter them into a spreadsheet.

Lesson Introduction: Set group size limits or establish roles at the start of this lesson. List here any classroom management details that will help this lesson run smoothly.

What causes our stresses? What makes them livable? Can we eliminate any of our stress? You will work with a partner of your choosing. Your task for today will be to use the lists and resources available to you and come to an agreement on the three things that most cause you and your partner stress, and then the three management techniques that you think will be most helpful to your classmates in dealing with their stress. One of you should be responsible for the things that cause you to stress, and the other will be responsible for the ways to deal with stress. Do not be distracted by other groups working around you on other topics related to stress. Work in a positive manner with your partner.

 Lesson Description: Give complete instructions to students regarding how the work is to be done. If an additional Internet site will be required for the completion of this lesson, include it in your instructions here.

Set up a journal page and make your guess about the following: (1) What hour of day is the hottest? (2) What time of the day is the coldest? After making your guess, visit the weather data site and record the temperature for each of the last 24 hours. Write the numbers down in your journal before entering them into the spreadsheet. If you want to copy the data and paste into Excel, you will encounter several difficulties. To see how to deal with these problems, download a sample spreadsheet. You may be able to look at the numbers you wrote in your journal and see a pattern. But, if you put your data into Excel and create a column chart, the pattern will be much easier to find.

Instructions for using Excel to produce your chart of temperature data

Enter the data into a spreadsheet
Put the times into column 1
Enter the temperatures in column 2, use numbers only, do not try to enter a degree sign or Fahrenheit.
Highlight the times and temperatures only. Do not use entire columns or entire rows, just the data you entered.
Select the Chart Wizard button
A column chart is the default choice, so click on the Next button at the bottom of the window.
At step 2 there is nothing to change, so click on the Next button at the bottom of the window.
In the chart title section of step 3 enter "24 hours of temperature data."
Label the X and Y axes as time and temperature, then select the Next button at the bottom of the window.
On step 4, click in the top circle to place the chart as a new sheet.
Select the Finish button at the bottom of the window.
Look carefully at your chart. Go back to your journal page and record the time of the highest temperature and the time of the lowest temperature. Compare those numbers to your guesses. On your journal page suggest possible reasons why the hottest and coldest times of the day happen when they do.

Final Product or Task: Tell students what they will produce as a final product. If you expect them to use a specific application or tool spell that out for them. For example; "You will use an Excel spreadsheet to calculate the speed with which a line of thunderstorms moved across a given state. Your results and to be reported with a one-page Word document on which you have inserted an image from the Internet."

Print your "24 hours of temperature data" chart. Report the results of your inquiry on a one page MS Word document which you will turn in with your Excel chart. Your report must include:
your original guesses about the hottest and coldest time,
the actual hottest and coldest times,
your speculation as to why hottest and coldest times happen when they do.

Conclusion: Associate this lesson with work that has gone before, or is to follow. Challenge your students to go further with this topic. If appropriate, list another Internet site.

Stresses affect you and I each day--(Only you know quicker when my stress levels go up.) Use this site to learn how to control your surroundings and the things that punch your buttons. Use the associated links to learn more about how stress affects your total health, and your whole well-being. With a little effort on your part, you may find that I can become a bearable person in whose class you can come to learn and enjoy without the usual stresses that everyday school life is bound to bring.