A Defined Learning Experience From Anthony Johnson, 5th Grade Science Teacher Isenberg Elementary School.
At the end of the school year, kids just get antsy. They are really stressed out from all the practice drills for end-of-year testing. We have more behavioral incidents and kids just don’t want to come to school. I wanted to find something that would get the kids excited about coming to school those last few weeks. A weather unit was already part of my plans so I decided to use the Defined Learning Weather Reporter performance task. I integrated a few of my other weather projects, like launching a weather balloon, into the Defined Learning lesson.
The kids went all out with the project. Kids who couldn’t have cared less about school were suddenly doing weather forecasting in their backyard and sending videos and emails to each other at night. Even parents noticed how excited the kids were and how much less stressed they were.
Description: As a weather reporter, you will be helping to educate your school community about the weather and how to prepare. Your school has decided to make weather updates and weather education a new part of the curriculum for students. Your goal will be to educate the school community about weather and safety procedures. You will be working as a team of weather reporters who will be reporting the daily weather and researching different types of bad weather that can affect your area. You will help design and organize storm drills that will help prepare your school community to be ready if severe weather were to occur during the school day. It is important to know the weather because it could affect your school day and any after-school activities.
Defined Learning video from Anthony Johnson on Vimeo.