Making Sense of Our Surroundings
This curriculum introduces students to basic concepts of data literacy through the lens of weather, and climate change.
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- Making Sense of Our Surroundings
Age:
Approximate Total Time: 4-5 hours
Summary:
In this hands-on mini-unit, students explore how data helps us understand the natural world. Using their senses to observe weather and environmental patterns, learners collect, organize, and visualize data to uncover trends in nature. Through activities that connect local observations to global climate data, students practice the whole data pipeline—defining, collecting, analyzing, and interpreting information—while learning to distinguish correlation from causation. The unit builds foundational data and AI literacy skills by showing how everyday observations contribute to larger conversations about climate change and sustainability.
Lessons:
Lesson 1: Observation – Use sensory data to record patterns in weather and nature.
Lesson 2: Comparing and Revisiting – Plan and standardize data collection as a group.
Lesson 3: Observation (Round 2) – Collect new data collaboratively.
Lesson 4: Data Visualization – Graph and interpret findings using paper or digital tools.
Lesson 5: Data Interpretation – Tell stories about data and explore correlation vs. causation.
Lesson 6: Connecting Nature to Climate – Compare classroom data to real climate data and reflect on global trends.