Materials
none
Instructions
l Place a thermometer outside the classroom so that the children can see it
easily.
l Prepare two charts for recording the daily temperature, one for the last month
of a season and one for the first month of the following season.
l On a sheet of poster board, make the x- and y-axes of a graph. Put dates
along the x-axis and degrees of temperature along the y-axis. Leave the graph
itself blank.
What To Do
1. With the children, discuss the purpose of a thermometer and how to use it.
Talk about how temperatures change as the seasons change. Ask the children
to describe different temperatures they have experienced at different times of
the year.
2. Each day for approximately two months, invite one child to check the outdoor
temperature and then record it on the monthly chart. Record the temperature
each day for as long as it takes to observe a significant increase or decrease in
the daily temperature.
3. At the end of the record-keeping period, show the children the blank graph,
explaining what the different lines on the graph indicate.
4. Work with the children to fill in the graph. Talk with the children about what
they can learn from looking at the graph.
Assessment
To assess the children's learning, consider the following:
l Can the children explain the purpose of a thermometer?
l Are the children able to mark the temperature charts?
l Do the children understand how to fill in the graph?
