1. Teacher Name: Lucy Marske

2. E-mail address: lcymrsk@sioux-center.k12.ia.us

3. School Name: Sioux Center Middle School

4. City or Town:Sioux Center

5. State:Iowa

6. Country:U.S.A

7. Class Name (if you are submitting other forms for other classes - i.e. 3rd period Science)Marske

8. Grade Level (pick one):Middle (Grades 6-8)

9. Number of students who worked on the plan:21

10. Your plan - describe in as much detail as possible each instrument you have included in your plan. Be sure to include information on why you selected this instrument, how each one will be built, and how you would test its accuracy if you actually were to build it (maximum words: 500)

Wind speed is important because if it is blowing hard there might be a storm. We are using the Beaufort Scale to tell how hard the wind is blowing. We found the Beaufort Scale in a book called How the Weather Works on p. 58. We got this scale because it's easy to read. We will watch smoke stacks to see how the wind blows the smoke and we will do this at 4:00 pm. We can check airport, TV, and radio and books to see if we are right. Air Pressure helps you forecast the weather.

Our instrument is the barometer. We'll make a line gragh to show our data because line graphs show changes over time. Drew will ask if he can borrow a barometer from his grandfather because it will save alot of hastle. We'll measure the air pressure inside and outside before and after school because we can get very accurate information. To check the accuracy of readings we will compare to the news weather report.

Sky watching is important. You can see if clouds are coming or moving. This might mean a storm is coming. We will use our eyes and a cloud chart. We got the chart from a book, Readers' Digest How the Weather Works by Michael Allaby. We will watch outside in the middle of our football field at 11:45 am which is our free time. This is a good place and time to do it. We will know we are correct because we trust the information in the book.

Humidity is important because it not only determines what kind of weather we may have, but also regulated our comfort. We'll use a hygrometer because it is used to measure humidity. A student will bring us one and we'll borrow it. We'll take measurements in front of school at 8:00 am and 3:15 pm because that's before and after school. We'll check if our hygrometer is right by watching the weather report about humidity and listen to the radio.

Temperature is important so we know how warm or cold it is. We will use a digital thermometer because it is the most accurate. We will take the thermometer to the practice football field and measure it at 20cm high and 40 cm high at 8:15, noon, and 3:10.

Precipitation is important. We will use a rain guage. We will make a rain guage with a peanut butter jar and we will find a standard way to measure the rain with using a ruler on the side of the jar. We found the directions to make one at http://www.hollister.goleta.k12_atch/instruments/raingauge.html

To measure we will measure the precipitation before school, after lunch, and after school.

Wind direction is important because we know what way to wind is coming from. If it comes from the north it will be cold if it comes from the south and west it will be warm, if it comes from the east we'll know that a storm is coming. We will put out our finger, lick it, and put it in the wind to determine direction. We will also use an anemometer.We found the directions to make one in a book Everyday Weather and How it Works p. 155 - 157.

11. How do you know that the cost of the materials to build all of your instruments will be under $100.00 (maximum words: 200)?

It cost about $.10 for a copy of the scale, the cost of copying. It cost $23 for the barometer from the Wards Geology catalog on p. 132. It cost nothing for the cloud chart or using our eyes. The hygrometer cost $23.50. The digital thermometer costs $35.50. The other thermometer is about $2.00. We think the materials for the anemometer will cost $3.10. Our rain gauge will cost about $1.00 because our materials are inexpensive.