Weather+Systems

= Title: Weather Systems in "The Day After Tomorrow" =

**Authors:** Sherry Altman and Bonnie Quackenbush **Grade Level:** Earth Science, Climate, Any Level **Time:** 1 class period

//For additional free online lessons integrating media literacy and critical thinking into the curriculum, go to www.projectlooksharp.org.//

**Summary:** This one period lesson begins with background information on weather systems. Students then analyze a brief clip (1:38) from the film “The Day After Tomorrow”. The teacher probes for student knowledge about low and high pressure systems, cyclones, and anti-cyclones. Follow-up discussion and use of information about mistakes in films from the additional website helps students explore intentions of feature films, the use of purposeful factual errors in film, the credibility of popular films as information sources about climate change, and how films influence public opinion.

**Objectives:**
 * Students will learn about low and high pressure systems.
 * Students will question credibility and accuracy in films with scientific content and recognize that filmmakers may make factual errors purposely.
 * Students will feel empowered to question media messages.

**Materials:**
 * [|“The Day After Tomorrow” movie clip >]
 * the clip is only 1 minute and 38 seconds long
 * Many other examples may be used throughout the whole movie
 * Many other documents and websites are linked to throughout the lesson plan

**Vocabulary:** Low Pressure Systems - Cyclones - High Pressure Systems - Anti-Cyclones

**Lesson Steps:** During a unit on weather (temperature, air pressure, wind, storms, etc.):

1. Teach about Low and High Pressure Systems Low Pressure Systems High Pressure Systems
 * Winds blow in and to the left
 * All low pressure systems are lower pressure on the inside
 * Low pressure means air rises
 * Rising air cools and condensates, making clouds, precipitation
 * Names include: depression, tornado, cyclone, hurricane
 * Winds blow out and to the right
 * High pressure is found in the middle of the high pressure system
 * High pressure means air sinks
 * Sinking air hits the ground and spreads out or dissipates
 * Therefore, there are clear skies, no clouds, no rain

2. [|Show short clip from "The Day after Tomorrow"]

3. Lead the students through a decoding of the film clip.
 * Begin by asking students to identify any inaccuracies in the film clip (high pressure is a means to clear weather, not disastrous storms, as film shows).
 * Continue with a discussion about the purpose of this film (entertainment), and whether it was successful.
 * Discuss who created the film (Ronald Emmerich) and why he may have made this film (see link to an interview with Mr. Emmerich below).
 * Ask the students what they know about consequences of climate change, and where they get their information. (most say “television”). Ask the students to give examples of content they thought was inaccurate, or exaggerated.
 * Raise the question of where to go to find out the accuracy of science presented in a movie, or in this case, to learn more about global warming.

NOTE: The discussion is modeled on // Project Look Sharp’s // [|lesson on the film **Twister**] described in the Teacher Guide.

**Additional Resources/Background Information:**

Teachers should consider delving deeper into the accuracies and inaccuracies of the film “The Day After Tomorrow” (or other films) using the following resources:

[|Internet Movie Database "Day After Tomorrow" Page]: Use to show a good resource for information on any film director, and for "goofs" identified in a film.

[|The Day after Tomorrow: An interview with Ronald Emmerich]: Use to show what Mr. Emmerich says about why he made the film.

[|The Science and Fiction of "The Day after Tomorrow"]: A well-balanced short video news report (before the film was released) showing several points of view on the film and global warming. We used this in the classroom to do a tiny bit of media decoding, i.e., showing the bias of each person interviewed.

[|Good/bad science - Day After Tomorrow]: Web-page created by a former science teacher with excellent scientific explanations, lesson extensions, and more web resources.

[|The Science and Entertainment Exchange]: The organization ..."provides entertainment industry professionals with access to top scientists and engineers to help bring the reality of cutting-edge science to creative and engaging storylines. ... "The portrayal of science – its practitioners, its methods, its effects – has often posed a challenge to the entertainment community. ... science’s many complexities have confounded even the most talented writer, director, or producer, time and again pitting creative license against scientific authenticity and clarity."

[|National Academy of Science Announces Initiative to Connect Entertainment Industry With Top Experts]: "As science and technology have become staples of American television, the bar has been raised for better and more accurate science."

[|The Day after Tomorrow: Could it really happen?]: Great scientific facts from a meteorologist PhD.

[|"Day after Tomorrow" Ice Age "Impossible," Researcher Says]

[|Meteorology and Climate Movie Worksheets]: A GREAT website for finding feature films related to curriculum topics, with accompanying teacher-submitted worksheets.

[|Media Construction of Global Warming]: This is Project Look Sharp’s free online kit for teaching climate science through media decoding.

[|Project Look Sharp’s “Key Questions To Ask When Analyzing Media Messages”]: A useful document for critically analyzing media messages.

//This lesson was produced during 2010-2011// //as part of a collaboration between Project Look Sharp at Ithaca College and four NY State BOCES School Library Systems. The initiative brought together pairs of secondary science teachers and school librarians to develop models for integrating critical thinking and media literacy into secondary science content. The project was supported by federal LSTA funds awarded to the NY State Library by the Federal Institute of Museum and Library Services.// //To view additional lessons from this series go to: www.projectlooksharp.org.//