1. DE Science Elementary “5-Minute Prep” For Weather and Climate Weather > The Atmosphere

2. The Atmosphere – The Big Ideas Air is a mixture of gases that surrounds the Earth. The atmosphere consists of layers of air that surround the Earth. The weight of the atmosphere exerts air pressure. Air pressure decreases as elevation increases. The atmosphere provides protection from harmful solar radiation and maintains the proper and healthy conditions for life on Earth.

3. The Atmosphere- Prior Knowledge Learning about the atmosphere is an advanced concept, and students will probably not have much background knowledge. It is likely that students have learned some basics about weather in their early elementary years. It will help students if they try the Fundamental to gain some background knowledge about what the air is made of and about water in the air.

4. The Atmosphere – Common Misconceptions The oxygen we breathe does not come from plants. –Reality: Green plants produce oxygen as a part of photosynthesis. Plants combine water and carbon dioxide to produce simple sugar and oxygen. Air is not the same everywhere and air and oxygen are the same thing. –Reality: The air is made up of several gases, including oxygen, nitrogen, carbon dioxide, and water. The atmosphere is made up solely of air. –Reality: There are particles present in the atmosphere but their small size prevents us from seeing them.

5. The Atmosphere – Using DE Science Content When you close this presentation, you can review the following recommended resources for The Atmosphere. Video: Earth’s Atmosphere Exploration: The Atmosphere Reading Passage: Let’s Give a Big Cheer E Book: The Good News and the Bad News Use the PowerPoint version of this presentation for hyperlinks to these resources or you can get to them through the browser or search feature.

6. The Atmosphere- Instructional Ideas Use the Exploration with the whole class so students can discover more about the atmosphere. First, they will create a circle graph to show the mixture of gases in the atmosphere. Then, they will click and explore the four layers of the atmosphere. As they explore the layers, have students complete a graphic organizer to show the features of each layer. Provide students with a list of definitions for the 7 key glossary terms for this unit. Students can then go to the interactive glossary to match the definitions to the terms. As students read the E Book: The Good News and The Bad News, ask students to keep a t-chart as an active reading strategy. On one side of the t-chart students will record the good news about the atmosphere and the other side students will record the bad news.

7. State standards: If you wish to review your state standards regarding the atmosphere, click here to get to the curriculum standards search feature of DES. http://discoveryeducation.com/forward/curriculum.cfm You can click on any standard to see what resources are available to teach it. Additional Information: For additional content, check the Extend section within the concept.