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WHERE
DOES WATER FALL? WHO ON EARTH HAS WATER?
*
Introduction:
There is nothing fair or equitable
about the way fresh water is distributed on Earth. Some places,
like Portland, Oregon, are awash in rain for much of the year,
while other areas, such as the Arabian Peninsula, get almost
none. Kuwait gets almost all of its drinking water from salt
water, an expensive process.
This activity will explore where
water falls on Earth, and gives students an opportunity to predict
the weather of their "neighbor" schools.
Materials:
Have a rich assortment of precipitation
and water storage maps, either from the library or bookmarked
web sites (see below), for the students to explore.
Classroom Management:
You can either work with the whole
class in a discussion, or assign teams to different Neighbor
Schools to make weather predictions for them.
Activity Steps:
Step
1. Investigate: Where on Earth does water fall? How does its distribution vary around
the globe? What people on earth have the least amount of water?
The most? Which "neighbor schools" have the greatest
supply of fresh water? The least? Look
at water maps and charts in the library or on the web.
World
Water Distribution
http://danpatch.ecn.purdue.edu/~epados/ground/src/supply2.htmh
Step 2. Where is water falling right
now?
New technologies enable
web viewers to actually see the sky of cities and rural areas
around the world. Satellites gather data about large areas of
the world at a glance, and small video "eyes" send
continuous pictures out onto the Internet.
YAHOO!
Weather http://weather.yahoo.com/images.html
features weather in particular areas of the world (bottom of
the page). Look up the countries of your Neighbor Schools.
Maps
and Webcams
http://www.allianceit.net/~kenconk/links.html
See live
cameras of world weather
http://www.weatherimages.org/weathercams.html#world
For example, look at Tokyo, Japan,
GLOBE
offers good precipitation
maps in its visualization section, especially those generated
by satellite data. http://www.globe.gov/fsl/welcome.html
Step 3. Predict whether it will rain in the next few days
over your neighbor schools.
One hint: Which way does weather
move? Review prevailing winds.
Click
to enlarge
Go to the world map, and study
the direction of wind (and weather). Send a message to one or
more Neighbor Schools letting them know your prediction!
Step 4. Read and respond to
mail
If your class receives
a mailed prediction, be sure to respond within a day or two,
confirming the prediction.
Extensions:
Research the major wind streams
(e.g. Jet Stream) and consider how it impacts the flow of weather.
*photo by Barbara
Tinker
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