JetStream Learning Lessons

The following is a collection of the lesson plans in JetStream.

The Atmosphere

  1. AM in the PM - Demonstrate that AM radio signals can travel many 100s of miles at night.
  2. Heavy Air - Show that air has weight.
  3. A Pressing Engagement - Demonstrate the effect of the weight of air over our heads.
  4. Going with the Flow - The students will discover that the faster air moves, the lower the pressure becomes within that flow of air.
  5. Crunch Time - Demonstrate the effect of heat on pressure.
  6. The "Wet" Barometer - Make your own barometer.
  7. The "Dry" Barometer - Make your own aneroid barometer.
  8. Melts in your Bag, not in your Hand - Show the transfer of heat through radiation.
  9. Canned Heat - Show light and dark colored objects absorb the Sun's radiation at different rates.
  10. Leaf it to Me - Observe the effect of transpiration as water is moved from the ground to the atmosphere.
  11. Sweatin' to the Coldies - Demonstrate the change of state from water vapor to liquid.
  12. The Rain Man - Demonstrate the concept of precipitation.
  13. Water, Water Everywhere - Discover the different water ratios in the Earth's total water supply.
  14. What-a-Cycle - Learn the many different routes water can take in its path through the water cycle.
  15. Water Cycle Paper Craft - Learn how the water cycle works using 3D paper craft activity.

The Ocean

  1. A Funny Taste - The students will taste the different salinities of various bodies of water around the Earth.
  2. We all Scream for Ice Cream - The students will make homemade ice cream, but the "freezing times" will vary using different amounts of salt to lower the freezing point of water.
  3. Salt 'n Lighter - Demonstrate that fresh eggs are less dense than salt water and will float in it, but will sink in freshwater.
  4. Diet Light - Demonstrate that regular sodas sink due to the density of sugar while sugar-free diet sodas float.
  5. How it is Currently Done - Students will make their own ocean currents using straws and black pepper.
  6. That Sinking Feeling - Demonstrates how salinity and temperature affect density of water.
  7. Moonlight Serenade - Students, acting as the Earth, will see differences in light and dark sides of their "moon" they hold.

Global Circulations

  1. The Shadow Knows I - The students will discover the change in seasons by the elevation of the Sun.
  2. The Shadow Knows II - Calculate the circumference of the Earth.
  3. Toasty Wind - Demonstrate that convection is the original source for our wind.
  4. Atmospheric Collisions - Demonstrate how rain drops grow by coalescence.
  5. Its the "Rain", Man - The students will discover rainfall amounts are rarely uniform, indicating that rainfall varies from location to location.

Clouds

  1. Smoking Clouds - The students will observe how the addition of a smoke particle nuclei aids in the production of a cloud.
  2. Head in the Clouds - The students will become better observers of the sky as they will see different types of clouds over several days.
  3. A 'Hole' Lot of Clouds - Another way students become better observers of the sky as they will see different types of clouds over several days.

Upper Air Charts

  1. Pie in the Sky - View the upper atmosphere in three dimensions.

Synoptic Meteorology

  1. Drawing Conclusions - Determining the location of cold and warm fronts on a map plotted with weather observations.

Thunderstorms

  1. How much water is in that cloud? - Demonstrate the high water capacity of clouds.
  2. Updrafts in Action - Demonstrate the ability of the wind to suspend rain and hail in clouds.

Lightning

  1. The Rumblin' Road - Determine the distance to a lightning strike.

Tropical Weather

  1. Quadraphonic Wind - Show the extent of winds in quadrants around a hurricane.