Incorporate a weather activity into your March lessons to
test the famous
March saying. Brainstorm with students what aspects of
weather determine
its ferocity or calmness.
After listing things like temperature extremes and precipitation types
and wind speeds, draw a calendar grid on the chalkboard or large sheet
of paper, then each day, make notes regarding the weather
variables. Review
from week to week, then do a final observation at the end of
the month.
Students can make graphs, vote each day a "lion"
day or "lamb"
day (using stickers or coloring with markers), write a short
story about
March including weather elements, have a meteorologist visit
the classroom,
or correspond with other classrooms via the internet to compare weather
information with them. Save your calendar for next year, and
you can make
comparisons from year to year.
Weather Resources:
You might visit The
Weather Dude to stock up on his books and CDs, but his website is
also fantastic all by itself. Learn all about different
weather conditions
and seasons.
NOAA - National
Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration has sections devoted to
kids and teachers. Their Cool Sites for Everyone
includes links
to past
weather. In case you didn't track your area's weather
activity last
March, they did.
Tracking March weather may open the door to some research
on global
climate change, too.
Also
in March...
St. Patrick's Day, Wednesday, March 17, is a time of parades
and celebration
here in the U.S. In addition to touring the sites below,
consider exploring
with your class how you might celebrate everyone's heritage in
your class. We are moving into a paradox where people are more aware of
other people and how small our planet really is, compared to
the increased
nationalism and xenophobia we are seeing in our own country
and abroad.
St. Patrick's Day and Irish Resources:
A Wee
Bit of Fun - History of St. Patrick's Day; tells why people wear
green, explains what a leprehaun is and defines Blarney Stone.
Have your students dedicate some time to studying the origin of the
flag of Ireland, and they'll quickly uncover lessons in history and
many
different Irish flags.
All Aboutshamrocks
- Encourage your class to compare notes on wonderous
greens. Three leaves,
or four? What exactly is clover?
Who
Did Patrick's Homework? by Carol Moore is a charming short
story about a boy name Patrick who despised homework, but
got some help
from an elf.
Who
were the Celts? This page details the history of the
Celtic people
and how they became the occupants of Ireland and Scotland.
