Some Middle School Weather Studies

Eric Sloane's Weather Book
by Eric Sloane

This book was included in the revised lesson plans for Level 4 (eighth grade) science at Mater Amabilis, which are a great improvement over the older plans. I bought it for Second Daughter to use a couple of years ago, when the revised plans were new.

First Son did a weather study using a different book by the same author, Eric Sloane, called Look at the Sky and Tell the Weather. You can find my original post on that book and the Sabbath Mood Homeschool plans here, but overall, the Weather Book is a better fit for an introduction to the study of weather. It's more straightforward and better organized.

Two years ago, I decided not to buy the suggested weather kit for Second Daughter. (First Daughter had already finished Level 4 and ended up missing out on studying weather officially in Levels 4-6.) Now the kit seems to be difficult to find. It's no longer listed on the company's website, so perhaps they have decided to stop making it.

For Second Son, therefore, I'm going to go back to the Sabbath Mood Homeschool plans I used with First Son, just for the activities. I also already own most of the supplies for them, so I should be able to pull together a set of lesson plans that don't take too much of an additional investment. If I were looking at Level 4 for my oldest child or didn't already have the Sabbath Mood plans, I would be very tempted by the Home Science Tools weather experiment kit. It looks more expensive than the Sabbath Mood plans at first, but when you factor in all the equipment you need, you might end up at a similar price point. The activities would be different, but I think they'd meet the needs of a Level 4 student. Plus, the Home Science Tools kit is more open-and-go than the Sabbath Mood activities.

I have received nothing in exchange for this post. Links to Amazon and Bookshop are affiliate links. Links to Sabbath Mood Homeschool and Home Science Tools are not affiliate links.

Literary Weather: 18 Miles

18 Miles: The Epic Drama of Our Atmosphere and Its Weather

by Christopher Dewdney

This far-ranging book begins with the creation of the earth, the weather that might have ranged in the early millennia of earth's existence, and the development of life in the primordial landscape. He then covers the atmosphere, clouds, rain, storms, hurricanes, wind, weather forecasting, seasons, ice ages, climate change, and dramatic weather's role in human history.

Mr. Dewdney is a poet and his finesse with words shows on every page. He incorporates quotes and references to poems, stories, and novels throughout the book. He even quotes from my favorite Lucy Maud Montgomery novel, The Blue Castle.

It's a book best for more mature readers, though I think you could adjust on the fly if you wanted to read it aloud to multiple ages. There are, for example, descriptions of people dying due to lightning strikes or hypothermia, which young children may find upsetting.

I'm still considering options for high school science, but this is now at the top of my list for a spine on meteorology. I think, paired with some labs of measuring weather indicators and working with forecasting ideas, it could be a good term (twelve weeks) of earth sciences.

Mr. Dewdney is not a Christian, but he is generally pleasant when describing Christian beliefs. This mainly is an issue in the first chapter when he discusses the beginning of life on earth.

I have received nothing in exchange for this post. Links to Bookshop are affiliate links.

Continental Drift and Weather: Ending in Ice

Ending in Ice: The Revolutionary Idea and Tragic Expedition of Alfred Wegener
by Roger M. McCoy

This book explores the life and legacy of Alfred Wegener, the scientist who first provided extensive multi-disciplinary evidence for the movement of continents. He was mistaken in many of his arguments, but his ideas are now recognized more formally in the theory of plate tectonics.

The first chapter of the book is a brief biography of Wegener. Then there are a couple of chapters outlining his revolutionary ideas about the movement of continents. The author shares many ideas here about how new scientific ideas are accepted (or not) and why, a topic that is continued in the last few chapters of the book.

Then there are eight chapters detailing Wegner's expedition to Greenland and his disappearance. These chapters are a thorough and fascinating window into Arctic (and Antarctic) expeditions between the World Wars. Dramatic advances in mechanical engineering and aeronautics have since eliminated many of the most dangerous aspects of arctic research.

The last two chapters discuss Wegener's contributions to science from his research as a meteorologist and for geology and earth sciences through his ideas about continental drift. The last chapter covers a lot of technical information on plate tectonics in a readable way.

One of the aspects of the proofs of the continental drift theory the author pointed out was the transition from science by an individual (Galileo, Newton, Curie) to that of vast organizations and governments. The evidence that led to the understanding of continents moving over time was only possible because governments invested in extensive ocean floor mapping during and after World War II. No single individual could have undertaken such a task. 

The author explored reasons why Wegener's theories were initially refuted. One of the main problems was that his ideas about how continents moved were recognized as incredibly weak. Scientists therefore, erroneously as we now know, discounted his entire theory of continental drift. This is a good reminder to us all that one point of weak evidence does not negate an overall idea. It is best to consider all the evidence, setting aside that which is weak, but giving full consideration to that which remains.

I appreciate books that describe the history of scientific ideas in a way that shows how scientists communicate and assess each other's work. Scientists are people, people who have disagreements and make mistakes. Science is also a discipline in which people offer best guesses based on the current information. Over time and with the accumulation of new information, theories coalesce. This is an important lesson in a world that expects answers at the swipe of a touchscreen or the posing of a question aloud to a computer.

This book would be an excellent choice for a supplemental reading book on North American geography. It combines a relatively recent understanding of plate tectonics, an interesting story about climate research in Greenland, and a biography of a fascinating scientist. It does feel a little like a book inside a book rather than a coherent whole, but that's a small complaint.

I have received nothing in exchange for this post. I borrowed the book from my library. Links to Amazon are affiliate links.

Winds and Weather and a Bit on Sabbath Mood Homeschool: Look at the Sky and Tell the Weather

Look at the Sky and Tell the Weather

by Eric Sloane

This is the textbook for Sabbath Mood Homeschool's Form 3-4 Weather. It is written for grades 7-9 and is scheduled for the third term of ninth grade in the high school integrated science plan. The idea of studying a bit of biology, chemistry, physics, and earth sciences each year appealed to me. I thought it would bring a bit more interest to science as we'd be moving on to another discipline before becoming overwhelmed. I also thought it might be interesting to have more opportunities for noticing the inter-relationships of the different disciplines. The divisions are sometimes arbitrary as there is, of course, much physics in chemistry and much chemistry in biology, and so on.

Sabbath Mood's courses were appealing to me because of the focus on a living book rather than a dry textbook of definitions and practice problems. I thought this kind of approach would be more likely to immerse my son in the kind of study that made biology, chemistry, and physics a part of his daily life rather than an artificial study of "ideal" and therefore illusive environments.

Overall, I think I still like the idea of Sabbath Mood Homeschool and the integrated science. I have not yet decided whether I'm satisfied with the level of First Son's learning and whether that has more to do with his lackadaisical attitude than the coursework. Certainly the lab work for both chemistry and physics was informative and challenging. The mathematical aspects were missing, almost entirely, though I'm not sure how much of a problem that would be for First Son in college. I took every science class my high school offered (three semesters each of biology, chemistry, and physics) and basically felt like I knew exactly nothing once I sat down on the second day of my science courses in college. Yet I still managed to graduate with a degree in biology.

This particular book, Look at the Sky and Tell the Weather, is a delight. The author's voice shines clearly through along with his love of weather. His illustrations are enjoyable and, when appropriate, informative. The "main character" of the book is cP, the air mass that flows from the Canadian Rockies.

In her voyage from Canada, sweeping down through the middle United States, eastward to New England, and finally out over the Atlantic Ocean. As each person breathes her in and exhales her out, she will have become a part of their existence; not just a matter of rain or shine, but a backdrop to their living moments.

While there is a substantial amount of information about weather in the text, it's certainly not a full year's worth of meteorology. Nor is it intended to be; it's one-third of a credit of earth sciences. Even so, I think I'd prefer something a little more substantial and have my eyes on a few options for my younger children. This lovely book will be a supplemental reading book, I think.

There is a description of a young man who parachutes out of a plane and waits too long to open his parachute. It's not graphic, but may be distressing to a young reader.

The activities provided by Sabbath Mood seemed good and thorough enough. Many of them were weather observations made on homemade instruments, which could foster a life-long interest in weather-watching.

I believe that the sky was created for pure beholding; that one of man's greatest joys can be simply looking at the sky.

I have received nothing in exchange for this post which contains only my honest opinions. Links to Sabbath Mood Homeschool are not affiliate links, but links to Amazon are affiliate links.

Hurricane without Warning: Isaac's Storm

Isaac's Storm: A Man, a Time, and the Deadliest Hurricane in History

by Erik Larson

As I mentioned in a previous post, this year, for First Son's ninth grade science, I decided to use Sabbath Mood Homeschool's study guides. First Son is spending one term studying Chemistry, one term studying Physics, one term studying Weather, and a whole year studying Biology (but only the equivalent of a term as it's only once a week). The study guide for weather, like the others, contains a list of suggestions for independent reading during the term related to the science. Isaac's Storm was the book I selected for our term on Weather. I was able to request a copy from another member at PaperBackSwap.com.

(Side note: I seriously considered having First Son read Warnings, which I read many years ago, or another book on tornadoes, which would be appropriate for Kansas. Another good Kansas option might be The Worst Hard Time, which is a fantastic book, but I couldn't remember how much actual "weather" is described in it. In the end, I picked Isaac's Storm, partly because the reviews looked good enough that I wanted to read it and partly because I prefer to own our assigned books and this was the easiest one to get in hard copy. For First Daughter in a few years, I'll probably put them all on a list and let her choose one...and she'll probably read all of them.)

This book describes the hurricane that devastated Galveston, TX, in 1900. Told from the viewpoint, mostly, of Isaac Cline, the resident meteorologist, it also includes descriptions of the storm as it moves through space, escalating in strength. In 1900, there were no satellites to track hurricanes from space so the author relied on ships' logs and current knowledge of hurricanes. Moving over the open sea, it was completely hidden from everyone on shore until it struck with unprecedented force.

The author visited Galveston and spent hours poring over surviving photographs, augmenting the story with vivid descriptions of the bustling city before the storm. Besides Cline's experiences, interviews and written memoirs of a few others weave through the book, providing eyewitness accounts of the storm from different vantage points.

The Galveston hurricane was horrifyingly deadly. There are no pictures in the book (though some exist) but the descriptions of the death and destruction will be difficult for sensitive readers.

It's a masterful account and a compelling complement to our Weather study.

I received nothing in exchange for this post. This review contains my own opinions. Links above to Amazon and PaperBackSwap are affiliate links.

Book Review: Close to the Wind (supplement to Mater Amabilis Level 1A Weather)

Close to the Wind: The Beaufort Scale by Peter Malone

Earlier this week, our assignment for second grade Weather centered on the Beaufort Scale. (We're following the Mater Amabilis Level 1A schedule of lessons.) I happened to know about Peter Malone's book and was delighted to have a way to incorporate it into our studies. I read it aloud to second daughter, talking about wind and waves and ocean travels in the early 1800s.

This book conveys a lot of information about Beaufort, the scale he designed, and life at sea during his time. Along the way there are many interesting tidbits of information. The illustrations are excellent, including one at the end showing all the masts and sails with descriptions and names for each of them.

At the end of the book (a certain sign of a good one), Second Daughter wanted to learn more. She wanted to see the wind and waves in action. So of course I did what any American homeschooling mom with a bit of time to spare would do and we pulled up YouTube. This video is an excellent representation of the progression of the scale. Second Daughter, however, preferred this one. It's a little more entertaining but still informative.

The real treasure for me, though, is this recording of Sir Ian McKellan reciting the scale. (It would be even better without the laughter.) Can't you just imagine someone daring him to read something mundane and make it dramatic?

Back to the book...It's an excellent addition to any study of weather and recommended for a wide variety of ages.