A Constructivist Learning Activity.

QUESTION :"Does the Groundhog Make a Good Weatherman?"

Students will e-mail temperatures and other weather data from their location to the group list. Participants will keep track of the weather for the six weeks from February 2, to March 20, 2001. They will graph their work and see how many days above or below 40' there were for their locations. They will then draw conclusions about the results. That answer will then be compared to the Groundhog's shadow prediction. They will then decide if the groundhog made a good weatherman. The answers will be posted on this site.

"If the groundhog sees his shadow on February 2nd, there will be six more weeks of winter.

If the groundhog has no shadow on February 2nd, spring is on the way."

School Locations

Groundhog Day Shadow Chart

School Locations

Group One - Shadows

Group Two - No Shadows

1. Maitland , Florida		No shadow.
2.Jackson, Ohio	Saw a shadow.
3.Quakertown, Pennsylvania	Saw a shadow.
4.Collins, Mississippi		No shadow.
5.Evanston, Illinois	Saw a shadow.
6.La Salle, Illinois	Saw a shadow.
7.Marietta, Georgia		No shadow.
8.La Cross, Wisconsin
9.Jasper, Indiana	Saw a shadow.
10.Poughkeepsie, New York		No shadow.
11.Chatham, New Jersey
12.Grand Island, Nebraska	Saw a shadow.

*******Late Addition to our Group : Kekava , Latvia ,Europe We sent a thermometer with both scales to help them participate.There were none with both scales in their country.They found us through SchoolWorld Intenational Education web site.

Conclusion from the shadow observation :

CONCLUSIONS : How did your prediction work out ?

1. Maitland, Florida	Correct Prediction. Early spring.
2. Jackson, Ohio	Correct Prediction. More Winter.
3. Quakertown, Pennsylvania	Correct Prediction. More Winter.
4. Collins, Mississippi	Correct Prediction. Early Spring.
5. Evanston, Illinois	Correct Prediction. More Winter
6. La Salle, Illinois	Correct Prediction. More Winter.
7. Marietta, Georgia	Correct Prediction. Early Spring.
8. La Cross, Wisconsin	More Winter
9. Jasper, Indiana	Correct Prediction . More Winter.
10. Poughkeepsie, New York	NOT correct. More Winter
11. Chatham, New Jersey	More Winter
12. Grand Island, Nebraska	Correct Prediction. More winter weather.

*******Kekava Latvia : More Winter.

Home school: Jefferson Elementary, Betty Foster, Grand Island Public Schools, Grand Island, NE.

Link to Lesson Plans