Theme of the Month: The
Weather
For better or worse, the weather is often a topic of artful conversation.
Because life occasionally mirrors art, it is appropriate to mention that one web
site we recently visited stated flatly that "Fifty-three percent of paintings
have weather in them or are weather related." Not letting such a bold statement
stand by itself, another quickly followed noting "Fifty-six percent of poems
refer to weather." The authors did not mention whose poems and paintings were
counted nor how many, but perhaps that's beside the point.
People usually want the weather to be something it isn't, or they are hoping
for certain weather conditions at some future date. Of course, there is always
that point in time when we've had enough of snow, or rain, or just haven't seen
the sun for weeks on end, and we're ready for a change--any kind of change.
At its most basic, the "weather" is what's happening in the atmosphere when
you walk outside and look up at the sky. If golf-ball sized hail is falling you
might wait until it stops before looking skyward, but you don't need us to tell
you that. When you do look outward and upward, what you see are conditions
shaped by a meteorological mix of air temperature, pressure and movement (the
wind) and the various amounts of water in the air at the time. Because nothing
changes as quickly and as often as the weather, what you see at the moment may be
different thirty minutes later.
We have listed right off the bat a number of general weather sites perfect
for supplementing a school's traditional K-12 weather curriculum material. If
educators are looking for something new and exciting that lets students navigate
between well-constructed text and graphics guaranteed to keep their interest, we
suggest combining the best of these links in order to provide the appropriate
resources that will give students a healthy overview of the subject matter.
As we've said before, the Internet is tailor-made for teaching subjects like
the weather. But the bottom line is that whether used as a primary teaching tool
or as a resource to augment existing curricula, there are so many excellent
Internet web pages available that educators can literally pick and choose among
the sites that fit their (and their students') needs.
Resources for Educators
NOTE: Always remember to check sites and site links to see if they are
appropriate for your students. Although some bill themselves as K-12, many are
best for students beyond the elementary years. Keep in mind, in addition, that
site addresses change often and that all of those we list may not continue to be
available.
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