Scientist You Should Know
Al Roker, friends. Born in 1954. His BA is in communications. He’s a “weather presenter,” and a “television personality,” but he’s also a weathercaster. Distinct from a meteorologist. I wonder what Mr. Roker actually has to do to do his job well. The remote forecasts, interviews, and reading those weather maps have surely taught him a lot. I’m calling him a “scientist,” and a “science educator.”
Introducing the topic
Holy smokes, kids love to talk about severe weather. Not only that, it’s important for them to know why they have to take precautions! My littlest learner cousin needed a crash course so that he would cooperate with staying in the basement during a tornado warning. So, let’s do it. Telling kids the truth is always the right decision. Then we tell them how we’re keeping them safe (if we need to do that).
There are an endless number of these videos, so I’m just posting my favorites from my favorite sources:
Here are some more Indigenous knowledge articles. If you can find more primary sources for these ideas, please share them in the comments:
Experiencing the Science
I’m interested in trying this also. Especially if you have learners who identify as gamers:
This demo is easy and it involves glitter, so…always choose glitter.
https://coolscienceexperimentshq.com/tornado-in-a-bottle/
This is a demo I would be unlikely to undertake because finding dry ice makes me feel overwhelmed. Also, a wooden board? What? If you’re into it, you should definitely try this situation?
https://scied.ucar.edu/activity/make-tornado
You can also apparently purchase a “teaching tornado.” Maybe if you live in Kansas and learners are just super motivated to spend lots and lots of time…
Response and Analysis
Multisensory
If a thunderstorm is “coming in,” head out to the porch. Feel the temperature change and the wind. Keep your weather radio handy to be sure you’re not out in a Tornado warning, but go ahead and safely go outside. Count between lightning flashes and thunder claps. It’s a thing. It’s related to the speed of sound vs. the speed of light.
https://www.livescience.com/37734-how-far-away-is-lightning-distance.html
Creative
Spin art is an obvious connection. Can you make a spiral shape? Make sure to talk about what happens at the center vs. the edges. That makes it scientific. You can measure stuff in the spin art also. What happens if you just put paint in the middle?
https://www.hgtv.com/design/make-and-celebrate/handmade/how-to-make-spin-art-with-a-salad-spinner
Verbal
Donating to some disaster relief efforts is always a great idea. Or sending supplies if something is recent or local. I try to focus on “mutual aid” organizations and talk about neighbors helping neighbors.
Reading about or watching videos of firsthand accounts from survivors can be an interesting scientific “qualitative data” experience. What do tornadoes sound like? What does the eye of a hurricane feel like? The I Survived… series has at least one storm book (for early-ish readers).
This National Geographic lesson is pretty verbal. I’m placing it here, but it could also be under “analytical.”
https://www.nationalgeographic.org/activity/weather-interconnections/
Wow in the World is a podcast I deeply love because of the way it treats scientific discoveries: Talking about human researchers, their hypotheses and experiments and data… [chef’s kiss]
The article they reference in this case is about a satellite that presumably can see the lightning storm, but the article doesn’t mention anything about Catatumbo Bay. So, let’s find an article that does!
Analytical
Build some structures. Huge amounts of Civil Engineering have gone into keeping structures safe. Is it the same for hurricanes and tornadoes? Does it matter where you live?
https://www.teachengineering.org/lessons/view/cub_weather_lesson05
Let’s talk some more about simulations.