THE GLOBAL SUN TEMPERATURE PROJECT

PROJECT OVERVIEW

The Global Sun Temperature project is a science based collaboration project which uses other content areas and allows students to work with other students around the globe to determine how their daily temperature and sunlight is affected by their nearness to the equator. Students from many different areas around the world will be collecting data during the same period of time in May and sharing this data with all other students participating. The project also allows students to discuss their findings with experts online. The project also uses a discussion board where students will discuss topics related to the project. All the students' work will be published on the project web site.

While participating in the project, the students must find their global position (latitude and longitude) on the earth. They will measure their area temperature throughout the day for one week and record their results. The students will also determine the minutes of daylight in each day for that one week period. At the end of the week, after all the data has been collected, the students will calculate averages, display data in graphs, and analyze their data. They will then analyze the data from the other students around the world, analyze that data, and draw conclusions based on their results. This project will allow students to interact and learn about other cultures of students from around the world and learn about other geographic locations and environments.

BENEFITS AND LIMITATIONS

The benefits of this program allow students to interact with other students from around the globe while learning core 5th grade objectives. The students already participate in a Solar Energy Unit in science which requires them to complete the activities also involved in the Sun Temperature Project. These objectives are covered in the following Maryland Learning Outcomes. The students will demonstrate and explain that the rotation of planet Earth produces the night and day cycle. (MLO 2.5); describe the observable effect of energy (i.e., heating and cooling) on the properties of materials. (MLO 4.3); recognize/develop well-designed procedures to identify the independent and dependent variables, the need for control when testing a factor, the importance of multiple trials, the selection of appropriate materials/equipment, and the development of clear, logical directions within an investigation; use appropriate instruments (e.g., metric scales, meter sticks …) and metric units when making measurements and collecting data. (MLO 1.5.1) They can take what they have learned and share it with others. In turn they will receive information they could not gather from other students around the globe.

There are no limitations to this project because it can be done in a classroom with only one computer. All students can gain access to the computer to record their results. It is not a project that needs all students on a computer at one time.