Printer-friendly version of schedule
March 2004 Activities and Schedule
Email art, observations and any questions to nkschubert@telecollaborate.net

Observations are posted on this web site the Monday following the deadline.

Week	Discuss	Observe	Create	Due Fridays	Email:
Feb.23 Week 1	Season change to expect; Seasons on a round world; Project goals.	Season's firsts that have already occurred in your area.	Introduction to your class, school, and community. Describe local landforms and climate.	Feb.27	Introduction; Season's firsts; Quest question; Picture (optional) (.jpg or .gif)
Mar.01 Week 2 Mar.08 Week 3 Mar.15 Week 4 Mar.22 Week 5	Review the weekly WWW journal. Compare other locations to your own.	Look for new signs of season. Record on the observation form.	Groups or individuals write about the new signs and draw a representative picture. Optional seasonal photograph.	Mar.05 Mar.12 Mar.19 Mar.26	Observation report; Season's firsts; Quest question (150 words max) (sample observation) Picture (optional) (.jpg or .gif)
Mar.18 Thurs. Week 4	Weather Data Day (details)	Observe and measure local weather conditions	Record Sunrise, Sunset, High Temperature and Conditions (data sheet).	Mar.19	Weather data
Mar.22 Week 5	Review final Internet report entries. Discuss what you've learned. (details)	New Season's firsts.	Summary/conclusions and final observation report.	Mar.29	Observation; Conclusions; Project   evaluation
Weekly Week 1-5	Review and compare Season Firsts. (details)	Look for new Season's Firsts.	Record date event first observed on bottom of observation form.	Fridays	Season's first event and date.
Weekly Week 1-5	Signs Quest answers optional. (details)	Discuss your observation.	Create Quest question on your weekly observation.	Fridays	Quest question and answer
Week	Discuss	Observe	Create	Due Fridays	Email:

Group Introduction - Week 1
Class introductions tell the other participants about your location. Include a description of your location: setting; terrain, special landforms. Describe the local climate. Also include interesting information about your group and your community in this format:

Group Introduction:
Locale:
Climate:
Community:
School/group/family: (optional)
Season's Firsts already underway:

Back to schedule

Weather Data Day - Week 3
Classes will check the weather conditions on this day either by direct measurement, or from the newspaper or other media source -- Sunrise, Sunset, High Temperature and Conditions -- and report the data with their weekly observation report. The data will be posted for further analysis in this format.

An online source for sunrise and -set is the Marine Weather Sunrise/Sunset calculator. The Weather Channel is a good source for temperature data. Your local newspaper web site is another good source.

Back to schedule

Final Analysis - Week 5
Discuss: Review the last ezine and discuss these questions -

Why do the seasons change?
Why are the changes different in different parts of the hemisphere?
Why do places close to the equator have less seasonal change? and places far from the more change?
Why do the Northern and Southern Hemisphere have opposite seasons?
Using a globe, compare and predict the season's change in different locations.

Creation:: Make a list of facts and concepts you've learned about the seasons. How did collaborating with other groups help you learn about the seasons? This activity can be done first individually or in small groups so that everyone has chance to contribute ideas. Then have everyone share an idea with the larger group. Pick the central or common ideas to include in the final report.

Back to schedule

Season's Firsts - weekly
Each week, students will watch for these autumn landmark events and record the date it is first observed. First dates can be submitted weekly with your group's journal entry. Firsts will be posted separately on our firsts of the season chart. This chart can be printed as a visual aid. Students can create graphs, maps and other visual displays of the data.

Back to schedule

Signs Quest - weekly
The weekly Signs Quest encourages and focuses students to explore group reports. Each week, after your students have created their report, create one question to ask other Signs participants. The answer should be found in your report for that week. The weekly report form includes a space for one question and answer. A new Quest, collaborately created by Signs participants is posted for each week's observations. The Signs Quest was introduced by veteran Signs collaborator Mary Van Dyke, instructor for the Atchison Gifted Program in Atchison, Kansas.

Back to schedule


Direct inquiries to nkschubert@telecollaborate.net
http://telecollaborate.net/education/ssf/