In Morris County, four educators from three Washington Township schools established Weather Wizards with a $4,000 pioneer grant from A.W.S. Convergence Technologies, and a $9,705 grant from NJEA Frederick L. Hipp Foundation for Excellence in Education. The teachers, Susan Ort, Denise Scairpon, Rebecca Kwiatkoski, and David Morris work collaboratively in the preparation and implementation of the project.
Two weather stations are erected on two school sites. Preschool, first-, and fourth-grade students work on this project which includes monitoring and gathering data from both stations, recording changes, and analyzing the affect of the weather on their lives. By contrasting data gathered at both stations, children learn how easily weather can fluctuate within a small area. Comparisons are also made with data collected from other schools throughout the country with the possibility of studying data from a hurricane or blizzard. Ultimately, the data is used to make future weather predictions.
The older students create their own weather instruments and share them with the younger children. The data collected using the student-created instruments is compared with readings gathered using professional equipment. Students brainstorm reasons for the variations in results.
The weather stations and readings are incorporated into the math curriculum for each grade level, introducing the children to math and problem solving in real life.
Undergraduate students studying meteorology at Rutgers University visit the schools to share their expertise. Weather data gathered by the students are reported into the college’s system. Students are given access to weather data gathered throughout the state.
At Weather Wizards Day in June, students display their weather instruments, and present a PowerPoint presentation to parents, faculty, and invited guests.
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