Introduction

Weather forecasts and weather monitoring is one of the ways that data is used in out everyday life; although we may not quite realise it.

This unit of learning is made up of a series of lessons; that first introduce learners to microclimates and gradually progress up to using a weather sensor to record weather data which is then used to develop data analysis skills.

Equipment – The Weather Sensor

This unit make use of a PASCO Wireless Weather Station. The Data Education for Schools Team has a limited number of these sensors and may be able to lend one to your school. The lessons can be adapted for use with any weather sensor that that records data over a period of time.

The PASCO Weather Sensor Guides are available to support use of this sensor in the classroom

Materials

The lessons within this unit make use of the following:

  • paper & pen/pencil
  • Pasco Weather Sensor (1 or 2 per class)
  • Thermometers (1 per small group)
  • device to access data (1 per small group)
  • Map or diagram of the school and school grounds
Data Science Curriculum

Learners would benefit from having an existing understanding of the PPDAC approach to using data to solve problems prior to completing this unit. In particular lesson 4 makes use of PPDAC to plan their use of the weather sensor.

Unit Structure
This Activity – What is a Variable