Rationale
This unit will be taught to four sixth grade general science classes at Betsy Ross Arts Magnet School in New Haven, CT., which is an inner-city school district. Betsy Ross is a true magnet school that attracts students from a variety of surrounding suburbs in Connecticut due to the strong arts program; therefore, we have a diverse population of students. Science is departmentalized at Betsy Ross and each class period is fifty-two minutes long. The sixth grade curriculum has four science standards that must be taught throughout the year and these are: Ecosystems, Simple Machines, How Human Activities Affect Our Waters, and Weather.
The subject of weather is the unit that I will develop my curriculum unit on. I teach about air pressure, seasonal changes, global warming, the water cycle, etc. What I intend to accomplish in this unit is to explain these weather topics in a language of chemistry, not necessarily for my students, but for other teachers that may have to teach weather on an elementary level and want to know the true science behind it. For years, I have been made aware that many elementary teachers are somewhat intimidated by science and avoid teaching it to their students. My attempt is to take the "scary" out of chemical equations and make it more comfortable for me to teach and have confidence and to hope that others will benefit from this information, as well.
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