One of our fifth grade culminating activities is creating a weather map and use it to predict the weather for a specific area.
We started by designing our map keys. I projected the national weather map on the board from the Internet using weather.com and cnn.com. (CNN lists specific cities) I had the children choose at least 5 cities and record the city and temperatures. (I would recommend taking a screen shot for future use during the lesson) It took them more than one period to record and shade the maps. We talked about the temperature changing during the day, so we also added the time.
The next step was to add symbols to their maps using their key. We shaded the maps using the legend. The children could create their own but were encouraged to use images from real maps. They had to include a Title and compass rose.
The final step was to write a weather report using the data on the map. They had to predict the weather for the next three days. We live in New England, our weather blows in from Chicago.
My science block is 45 minutes and this assignment took most students 4-5 periods. I thought it would take only 2, so plan accordingly. My students love coloring but needed a lesson on shading.
Here is another option from a colleague.
She had her students create a chart for three days instead of writing it out.
(The chart is not in my unit)
You can purchase it on TPT or design your own.
