News - WestEd/UC Berkeley
LOOK UP - Here Comes the Clouds!
April Johnstone's 2nd grade students captured a few clouds and our hearts recently. As a GLOBE teacher at Skyridge Elementary in Auburn California, Ms. Johnstone engaged her 2nd grade students in STEM learning by studying clouds and taking air temperature readings throughout the year.
These STEM-ready second graders took weekly cloud and air temperature readings and kept their data in their personal science journal. Not only did students identify cloud types, they learned GLOBE cloud symbols, created a cloudscape in their classroom, read the Having Fun with Clouds book as a class and drew the cloud triangle in their journals. Weekly, as a class, they entered their cloud measurements using the GLOBE Observer app. Skyridge Elementary has 815 GLOBE measurement data entries (over 400 of which entered this year).
Recently with digital learning in place, Ms. Johnstone guided the students in creating cloud mobiles as a final project. Prior to the on-line video call, students were guided as to what materials they needed to bring to the "classroom." The session began when students were instructed to look out their windows or go in their backyards and make a cloud observation and record it in their journal. Students then were called upon to identify what they saw: cloud percentage, types, sky color, contrails and sky clarity. Students responded to Ms. Johsntone's prompts and she used the cloud observer app to enter their responses and send the data the GLOBE database.
Next Ms. Johnstone led her students in creating cloud mobiles. Students needed to identify their cloud types starting with the highest elevation and ending with clouds closest to the ground level. Each student created and presented their own artistic interpretation at the end of the 20-minute exercise.
"This is a great example of how art meets science meets digital learning." commented Tracy Ostrom, GLOBE Partner who supports Ms. Johnstone's GLOBE program through GLOBE Mission EARTH and participated in the video call.
News origin: WestEd/UC Berkeley