3 Remote-Friendly Lesson Plans
- May 03, 2020
3 remote-friendly lesson plans you can use to engage students with science during COVID-19Â
Jump straight to the weather lessons, or 👇 scroll down to keep reading more about them first👇
Engaging Lesson Plans for Remote Teachers
Teaching science is difficult, especially when you and your students aren’t together in the classroom.
As we practice social distancing to protect ourselves from the COVID-19, school communities have had to get creative in how they teach, engage, and guide students. Since lessons must continue, we’ve decided to offer our three best lesson plans to all teachers for Teacher Appreciation Week 2020.
Engage science #students with these remote #lessonplans Share on XWeather-Related Lesson Plans
These three science lesson plans are all weather based. Why? The weather is one of the easiest STEM or STEAM topics to engage students with. No matter what’s going on in the world, the weather goes on. You probably talk to your students about the weather every week.
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Think about it: When was the last time you didn’t talk to your students about the weather?
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Even though schools are closed, Mother Nature continues to operate at full capacity. Just throughout quarantine, we’ve monitored thunderstorms, tornadoes, and snowstorms moving across the United States.
No matter what, weather is relevant. That’s why weather-related lessons are so good at engaging students.
Remote-Friendly Lesson Plans You Can Use This Week
These lessons plans were submitted by teachers across the country during our 2019 Teacher Appreciation Week Lesson Plan Contest. Each lesson clearly states
- The age level it’s intended for
- The materials needed
- Instructions
Scroll through and see if there are any lessons you want to try out with the list below. If you do use a lesson plan, let us know how it went on social media!
1. Make Your Own Wind Vane
This lesson was submitted by Jackie Dierickx from Ellwood City Area School District in Ellwood City, Pennsylvania. It is intended for students in Grade 1.
About This Lesson
The first lesson on our list is a hands-on way to teach littles about a natural phenomenon. They will learn about wind direction and how to tell which way the wind is blowing. They will draw conclusions after their investigations.
Materials
- Paper plate
- Marker
- Pencil
- Paper cups
- Construction paper
- Hot glue
- Straw
- Compass
- Weather journal
- Rocks
- Paperclip
- Eraser
Instructions
It will probably be best to have parents help out with this assignment, depending on the age of your students.
First students need to build their weather vane with the materials above. Have them place their vane outside and observe the wind direction for a few days and have students compare online. You can even have students make a prediction for the next few days and draw conclusions about their findings.
Learn how to build the weather vane and more detailed instructions by viewing the full lesson plan.
2. Graphing Weather Data
This lesson for middle school students was submitted by Brooke Calderon and Marie Lichte from Collister Elementary School in Boise, Idaho.
About This Lesson
The second remote-friendly lesson plan on our list is all about graphing weather data. This plan is designed to engage students in mathematical thinking and evidence-based reasoning through the analysis of graphing data.
Materials
- School weather station (or other weather source)
- Large paper for graphing
- Markers
- Technology
Instructions
For this lesson you’ll need a school weather station or a technology that connects students with a nearby weather station. Assign each student a different weather parameter to graph like temperature, wind speed, wind direction, etc.
Have students research historical weather data for your location and record that information in a spreadsheet and gather current weather data for a set period. Then compare!
Get more detailed instructions by viewing the full lesson plan.
3. Become a Meteorologist
This lesson was submitted by Jamie Christian from Heritage Hall Middle School in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. It is intended for middle school students.
About This Lesson
Last on our list of remote-friendly lesson plans is “Become a Meteorologist.” For this lesson, students will write and produce their own 2-3 minute weather forecast as a team. Depending on your students’ internet access, they might have to work alone on these projects while learning remotely.
Materials
- Pen and paper
- Poster board
- Craft supplies
- Props
- Video camera
- Computer/Laptop
Instructions
For this lesson you can let students get creative as “meteorologists” and “producers” of their own weather segment! Students can choose a map or their station, region, or country and give a 5-day forecast or a 7-day forecast.
They should prepare maps that include areas of high and low pressure, at least two fronts, an area with precipitation, temperatures (both highs and lows) and appropriately placed graphics.
This is a great interdisciplinary lesson that pulls together science through meteorology, creativity, and literature through writing scripts. Have students take a video and share with the class!
Learn more about this lesson by viewing the entire lesson plan.Â
Happy Teacher Appreciation Week!
This year more than ever, we’d like to extend a very sincere “Happy Teacher Appreciation Week!” to all of you who have so bravely taken on remote instruction head on. It can be stressful and difficult at times, so don’t forget to give yourself a break!
We hope your students, parents, and administrators recognize all the hard work you’re doing and that these lesson plans help you out in these stressful times of remote instruction!
BONUS TOOL
While not a lesson plan, our U.S. Lightning Map shows all of the cloud-to-ground lightning strikes that happened in the U.S. during 2019. Share this interactive resource with students and get creative! You can focus on your own state, compare and contrast, graph… the possibilities are endless!
