Field Trips

Weather & Water 5th Grade Program

Grade 5
$675 for up to 40 students (includes curriculum notebook, 7 hours of professional development, and a 2.5 - hour field trip at the Ocean Institute)

Field Trip: 2.5 hours at the Ocean Institute offered February - April 2010 Professional Development Day: December 8, 2009

Imagine being able to teach 5th grade earth science standards with everything you need to be successful. Does that sound too good to be true? The Ocean Institute's Weather & Water 5th Grade Program promotes inquiry-based science learning through an engaging nine-week classroom science unit and a field trip to the Ocean Institute. This program has been recognized by the National Science Teachers Association and the Association of Science - Technology Centers as an exemplary science program in its monograph, Exemplary Science in Informal Education Settings: Standards-Based Success Stories.

This Program Includes the Following

• Comprehensive nine-week classroom unit that addresses all of the weather and water cycle Earth Science standards. The curriculum includes direct instruction, student investigation, homework, and GATE lesson plans; overhead transparency masters; student Science Notebook pages; student and teacher background information; weekly assessments; and a Science Kit Materials List. (Please note: The equipment and supplies on the Science Kit Materials List are necessary in order to implement the lessons in the classroom. The materials are not available from the Ocean Institute and must be purchased separately. Schools are responsible for ordering the necessary Science Kit materials and assembling the Science Kits.)
• Seven hours of Teacher Professional Development to provide training on how to conduct all of the direct instruction and student investigation lessons and how to use Science Notebooks as an assessment tool.
• Field Trip to the Ocean Institute that is specially designed to reinforce the concepts that are addressed in the classroom. During the Weather & Water 5th Grade Program field trip, students conduct three weather-related investigations. During the water cycle investigation, student teams investigate the role of temperature on the evaporation of water. During the wind investigation, student teams investigate the relationship between air temperature and air movement. During the weather forecasting investigation, student teams choose a pressure system, determine the speed and direction in which the system is moving, and predict where the system is on the day of their field trip.