Activity 1:

The dog days of Summer, those sticky, hot Summer days... We love them, don't we? Its actually a combination of high temperatures and humidity that make us feel miserable in the summer heat. Go to http://nytimes.com/weather. Find the five day forecast. That's for New York City. Now, let's go to Select Other Locations. Choose one capital city from each region of the United States, excluding the Northeast. We already have it with New York City. We are going to be especially concerned with temperature and humifity. Construct two bar graphs: one for temperature and one for humidity. What cities are the hottest, coolest, least humid?

Activity 2:

Some of us prefer Summer over Winter, others do not, but I bet you would like Winter in the Southwest. Many people flock to this region of the United States just for the mild winter weather. They're called "snowbirds". Why would this be a good name for these tourists? You will need to collect a number of mas to track this weather pattern. Refer to a political and topographical map of the Southwest: Arizona, New Mexico, Texas and Oklahoma. By comparing the two, choose a city in each of the following: low desert, high desert, Colorado Plateau, mountains, plain, Gulf Coast, and canyon. Refer to the list of cities on the New york Times web site. Mark your cities on a topographical map. Make some predictions about what cities you think would have the warmest, coldest, driest, and the wettest Winter. Go to http://nytimes.com/weather , and click the Southwest and access the five day forecasts from your chosen cities. Compare and contrast the cities and landforms. Make sure to confirm and revise your inital predictions. Your can extend this study to include different cities in different landforms throughout the United States.

Activity 3:

Time to break out the umbrellas. We're going to check on precipitation through the continental United States. Actually, precipitation means more than just rain, doesn't it? It also includes mist, hail, sleet and snow. What do you think the wettest and driest states will be? Which states do you think will have the greatest diversity of rainfall? Be prepaired to graph your results. Choose one state in each region of the United States, and go to http://www.wrcc.dri.edu/pcpn/us_prepic.gif This is a map of the average rate of precipitation per year over a thirty year period, 1961 - 1990. This lengthy period of time will allow us to get a more accurate range of data, because it will take into account changes on climate. Construct a bar graph that will represent the annual average rainfall for the states you selected. Don't forget to confirm and revise your predictions.

Activity 4:

Tornado Alley is something to be feared, but it's not in your neighborhood. It's actually a part of an annual weather pattern that occurs through out the Midwest and Southwest, including the hot spots of Oklahoma and Texas. Have you seen movies or vieo clips of twisters? Well, let's learn some facts. Click and explore the folloing web sites, in this order www.nssl.noaa.gov/headlines/dszpics.html -- http://whyflies.org/013tornado/ http://outreach.ocs.ou.edu/ Click to enlarge any photos you find. Are you able to expain the basics of a tornado? How are they formed? What is the Fujita Scale? Using the web sites as a reference, create a fold-out safty guide to protect yourself from the destructive forces of a tornado. you may want to divide it in parts, like At School, At Home... you can also make your own tornado, but its destructive force will be minimal. Take two large water bottles, the thin kid. Fill one with water and add a little glitter. this will allow you to see the funnel that much better. Attach the two bottles together at their openings. Twirl it around as the water filters from one bottle into the bottem bottle. this will create a funnel or whirlpool much like a tornado.

Activity 5:

How's your memory? The game we're going to make will put it to the test. How many different types of weather can you think of? How many different typesof landforms can you think of? Make a list of each. Find a bunch of old magazines, National Geographic, and other news magazines will work well, or you can print out photos that you find on the internet. Cut out picturesof different types of weather and landforms. Make sure you have two of each, because to idea is to match them later. Glue the pictures onto notecards. Now, you're ready to play. Spread out your cards face down. Turn over one card, then, turn over a second, looking for its match. The object of the game is to find as many pairs as possible. Good Luck!