Self-Made Experiments Illustrate the Power of Weather

By 6th grade, weather, climate, and sustainability permeate all parts of a Lowell curriculum. Students meet characters, civilizations, and changemakers from around the world as they begin to make connections between individual actions and a global effect. Many of these lessons come to life in Adrienne’s science lab.

 

In a recent unit on weather and climate, 6th graders designed several of their own experiments. One experiment tested how water heats up and cools down as compared to sand. Another looked at the behavior of fresh versus salt water and different temperatures to see how density plays a role in deep water ocean currents. In a third experiment, students analyzed uneven surface temperatures to collect evidence for the huge amounts of thermal energy moved around by the ocean.

 

“In science, 6th graders have learned about how systems like weather and climate impact their world. In social studies and language arts they examine the role people play in affecting their world—for better and for worse. This interdisciplinary approach helps prepare them for the complex reality that communities face when dealing with the effects of climate change,” says Adrienne.

 

Much of the year’s science studies lead up to the 6th-grade capstone trip, which will visit Tangier Island in the Chesapeake Bay in 2022. As a community surrounded by and reliant on oceanic resources, the visit to Tangier Island will help to illustrate to students the potential power of the weather they have measured and modeled in the lab.

 

“By this point, our students are seeing climate stories everywhere in the news and in the novels they read in language arts—they know what the challenges are and they’re looking for action,” says Adrienne. “With these experiments, we’re getting to the basics of the science behind those stories. When they’re done, they can say, ‘Here’s how it worked in the classroom. Now how do we apply this to what we see around us?’”