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Show Fifth Graders Turn to Weather Forecasting Budding weather forecasters are being groomed at Panguitch Elementary as Michael ConneH's fifth grade students learn the ins and outs of operating a complete weather reporting station from their classroom. For the past two weeks, the enthusiastic 10 and 11-year-olds have been ardently studying, gathering equipment and conducting experiments as part of Connell's effort to make the study of weather come alive for his students. The group of 34 youngsters will spend approximately three weeks in their Mike Connell has set "p a working weather station (or Sth gruders. Young forecasters Gene Roundy, James weather stuaies, and during those weeks will actually function as a weather station linked to the weather reporting network for Salt Lake City television station KUTV. They will make at least weekly, and possibly daily reports to the television weather team. Films, lectures, worksheets and experiments have been part of the introduction to the study and weather equipment which has long been stored at the school has been rediscovered and made functional once again for the students to use. Other more up-to-date Matthews and Carta Gilmore look forward to their turns at collecting valuable weather data. equipment has been ordered for the class project which Connell has expanded upon as part of his students' regular science unit course of study which includes learning about clouds and weather. Equipment now on hand includes a maximum-minimum thermometer, an aneroid barometer, wind gust speed indicator and an anemometer, a device for measuring the force or velocity of the wind. The students also have a sling psychrometer which measures the water content of the atmosphere. The device consists of two similar thermometers with the bulb of one kept wet. Because of the cooling that results from evaporation, the wet-bulb thermometer registers a lower temperature than the dry-bulb thermometer with the difference between the two readings constituting a measure of the dryness of the air. Additional weather instruments on hand include a rain gauge, snow gauge, a wind vane and an indoor-outdoor thermometer. Connell hopes to have each student qualify on at least four of the instruments by the end of the class course on weather and with enthusiasm running so high, he is convinced that many will master all the equipment. A weather reporting board will be posted outside the fifth grade classroom beginning next week and students and teachers throughout the school can look forward to daily accurate weather reports as well as some forecasting 24 hours in advance. Excitement over the weather station has become almost epidemic throughout the school and other students are eager to see the results of their fifth grade peers. Even custodian Pat Dix helped out by clinging onto the roof to drill holes through the classroom skylight for installation of the wind gust device. |