Unit Plan 23 (Grade 6 Science): Heat Transfer & Atmosphere Circulation
Global winds and ocean currents form from unequal heating and Earth’s rotation—students model circulation patterns to explain weather and climate connections.
Focus: Develop and use models to show how unequal heating of Earth’s surface and Earth’s rotation create global wind patterns and ocean currents that influence weather and climate.
Grade Level: 6
Subject Area: Science (Earth & Space Science — Weather, Climate & Earth Systems)
Total Unit Duration: 5 sessions (one week), 50–60 minutes per session
I. Introduction
In this unit, students zoom out from local weather to the global engine that drives winds and currents. They investigate how unequal heating of land and water creates convection and how Earth’s rotation bends moving air and water into global circulation patterns. Using hands-on models, diagrams, and maps of wind belts and ocean currents, students connect these patterns to weather and regional climates, building toward an integrated circulation model, aligned with MS-ESS2-6.
Essential Questions
- How does unequal heating of Earth’s surface create moving air and water?
- What roles do convection and Earth’s rotation play in creating global wind belts and ocean currents?
- How do global circulation patterns influence weather and regional climates (e.g., coastal vs. inland, warm vs. cold currents)?
- How can models (diagrams, physical setups, maps) help us visualize processes we cannot see directly?
- Why is understanding atmospheric and oceanic circulation important for predicting weather, climate, and climate change impacts?
II. Objectives and Standards
Learning Objectives — Students will be able to:
- Describe how unequal heating of Earth’s surface by the Sun leads to differences in temperature and air density that drive convection currents in the atmosphere and oceans.
- Develop and use models of convection (e.g., in air and water) to show warm material rising, cool material sinking, and circulation forming.
- Explain in simple terms how Earth’s rotation affects moving air and water, helping form global wind belts and large-scale currents.
- Use world maps to identify major wind belts (e.g., trade winds, westerlies) and ocean currents, and connect them to regional weather and climate patterns.
- Create an integrated Heat Transfer & Circulation Model (diagram or physical/2D model) that connects unequal heating and rotation to global atmospheric and oceanic circulation and climate effects, aligned with MS-ESS2-6.
Standards Alignment — 6th Grade (NGSS-based custom)
- MS-ESS2-6 — Develop and use a model to describe how unequal heating and Earth’s rotation cause patterns of atmospheric and oceanic circulation that influence weather and climate.
- In this unit: students build convection models, interpret global wind and current maps, and construct a final circulation model connecting uneven heating and rotation to global patterns and climate.
Success Criteria — Student Language
- I can explain how unequal heating makes some air/water warm and rise and other air/water cool and sink.
- I can use a model (diagram or simple setup) to show a convection current.
- I can point out global wind belts and ocean currents on a map and say how they move.
- I can describe how Earth’s rotation helps create patterns in winds and currents.
- I can create a model that connects unequal heating + rotation → global circulation patterns → regional weather/climate.