60 TEACHING SCIENCE IN THE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

 THE INFLUENCE OF CHANGING WEATHER
 GRADE TWO

 Pre-planning by the teacher is an important step in the
attainment of the major purposes of science instruction. As
he plans ahead and as the work unfolds, he will anticipate op-
portunities for developing scientific attitude, using the scientific
method, building confidence in man's ability to control his en-
vironment for better living, increasing the child's understanding
of his environment so that he can react intelligently to it, and
extending the child's interests.
 In the unit on weather changes, the actual content serves
largely the major purpose of helping children understand their
environment so that they can react intelligently to it. The
way of work, however, serves the other major purposes of
science instruction.

A. Understandings to be developed.
 1. Changes in weather affect the way we live:
 a. control the choice of clothing necessary for comfort
 b. make necessary the protection of foods and food
 sources
 1. refrigeration
 2. storage of food for winter
 c. affect travel by air, land, water
 d. control the use of light and heat
 2. Changes in weather influence other parts of our environ-
 ment:
 a. make it necessary for plants and animals to store
 foods, adapt to changes (or) and migrate
 b. alter shape and condition of earth surface
 c. cause destruction of natural resources through
 floods, hurricanes and storms
 3. Some changes in weather are helpful; some are harmful:
 a. destroy crops and other plant life (such changes as
 floods, hurricanes, frost, hail, drought, or fog are
 destructive
 b. supply water for living things
 c. effect all forms of travel
 4. Some scientific instruments help us understand and de-
 scribe weather changes, as:
 a. measure of temperature
 b. direction and speed of wind