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Knowledge and Skills Statement

Earth and space. The student knows that interactions between Earth, ocean, and weather systems impact climate.

The further explanation is designed to be a resource for educators that helps them better understand the topic their students are learning. Further explanations may be written at a more complex level than would be expected for students at the grade level.

In elementary grades, students measure, record, and graph weather information, describe how the Sun and ocean interact to generate and affect weather, and describe and illustrate the water cycle.  Students are formally introduced to the hydrosphere and atmosphere in grade 6.

When the hydrosphere and atmosphere interact, the Sun's energy is transferred between them. This energy flow heats the ocean, causing the water cycle, high- and low-pressure systems, clouds, wind, and temperature changes.  Combined, these effects produce regional weather and determine climate.  While weather maps are no longer explicitly mentioned in the TEKS, they are models that can be used to talk about and demonstrate patterns in the cycling of matter (water) and energy flow. The following models might be used to describe the Sun’s energy as a component of the interactions between the hydrosphere and atmosphere.

Cloud Types

An image showing images of cumulonimbus, cumulus, cirrus, stratus, and nimbostratus clouds and their typical altitudes.

Valentin de Bruyn / Coton This illustration has been created for Coton, the cloud identification guide for mobile., Cloud types en, CC BY-SA 3.0
 
Water Cycle
Water flows out of the ocean, across the land, and back into the ocean, driven by energy from the sun. The percentage of Earth’s water at each location is shown. Of the 1,388,930,000 km3 water on Earth, 96.5% is within or above the ocean, the atmosphere holds 0.0009%, 1.8602% is frozen, 0.0534% is fresh water in and aboveground, 1.5804% is inaccessible in the soil and ground, and 5.8% of Earth’s water is precipitating.
LangeLeslie and Anna Wright, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons
 
Weather Map
A weather map of the USA and Canada showing the forecast for Tuesday, November 7, 2006. High- and low-pressure air masses and fronts are labeled, and geographic areas are marked with the type of probable precipitation.
NOAA, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons 
 
Climate Map
Köppen–Geiger climate classification map at 1-km resolution for Texas (United States) for 1991–2020. Texas contains temperate regions (no dry season, hot summer) throughout the eastern half of the state, hot and cold arid steppes in the Rio Grande Valley, Permian Basin, and Panhandle, and hot and cold arid deserts in the Trans-Pecos region.
Icy98, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons 

 

Glossary terms and definitions are consistent across kindergarten through high school in the TEKS Guide. The definitions are intended to give educators a common understanding of the terms regardless of what grade level they teach. Glossary definitions are not intended for use with students.

the system of gases that surrounds Earth

the weather conditions prevailing in an area over multiple decades

a measurable quantity that describes how much change can occur within a system

the system on Earth that contains all of the liquid and frozen water on Earth's surface as well as groundwater below the surface and water vapor in the atmosphere

the various patterns of movement of water and air driven by interactions among the geosphere (land), hydrosphere (water), and atmosphere (air), with inputs of energy from the sun

patterns of weather that take place in the troposphere, caused by the motion of warm and cool air around Earth

Research

Vermette, Stephen. “Five Guiding Principles of Meteorology.” Science Scope 26, no. 2 (2002): 36–37. https://www.proquest.com/docview/226000958?pq-origsite=gscholar&fromopenview=true&sourcetype=Scholarly%20Journals

Summary:  "Five Guiding Principles of Meteorology" provides information on the basic processes of meteorology, including hot air rising, rising air expands and cools, rising air lowers surface pressure, air traveling from high pressure to low pressure, and cool air holding less moisture than warm air. Activities to assist students in understanding these guiding principles are incorporated.

Research

Hoenigman, Rhonda, and David Crowder. “Clever with Weather.” Science Scope 34, no. 6 (February 2011): 46–51. https://www.jstor.org/stable/i40124527

Summary:  "Clever with Weather" provides a correlating activity between local weather conditions and larger global patterns.  Students work to collect weather data, including temperature, wind speed, wind direction, relative humidity, and barometric pressure at various locations around a school.  Data is collected over several days and analyzed.