OpenSciEd Unit 6.3 · Lesson 10 · 10.A
Look for: Students should specifically point out a rela…
From Teacher Edition
Facilitation guidance from the lesson plan — what to notice in student thinking and how to respond while teaching.
Building towards
10.A Modify a model—based on evidence—to build a storm system by changing the input variables, such as temperature and humidity, and measuring changes in the output, the size of storm formation.
What to look / listen for
- Students should specifically point out a relationship between storm development and the magnitude of the temperature difference between the air at the ground and higher in the atmosphere.
- High levels of humidity are also related to storm development.
- When combined, these two variables are related to stronger storms. However, additional factors need to be considered in storm development.
What to do
If students struggle with their explanation, encourage them to think about one relationship at a time by asking questions such as, What were ground temperatures like with strong storms? Weak storms? As students work through one variable at a time, they can piece together how each one is related to a stronger or weaker storm. Prompt them to look back at Data Table for Making a Thunderstorm for help tracking these relationships.