CIWRO offers advising, mentoring, and research opportunities to undergraduate and graduate students through OU and consortium faculty and staff. Find out more about the Summer Student Research Colloquium and Peter Lamb Postdoctoral Fellowship, as well as a growing PK-12 and public outreach program.
CIWRO's Traveling Trunk Program is part of our elementary outreach to provide opportunities to educate, empower, and inspire students to learn more about the weather around them and consider career pathways in meteorology and related fields. These pre-assembled kits complete with lesson plans and supplies are available for loan for teachers and have been called "Weather in a Box" by educators who have used the materials with to enhance classroom learning.
The early childhood Cloud Trunk is comprised of lessons designed to spark curiosity about clouds and rain through a guided inquiry lens. Students in grades PK-2 are encouraged to learn through play, wonderment, and meaning-making. Weather impacts everyone in a community, and clouds (or the absence of clouds) are Earth science phenomena that are part of students' daily live
Lessons can stand alone but are meant to complement each other for a comprehensive approach that incorporates multiple subject areas. These lessons are perfect for classrooms divided into stations or centers. You may wish to teach one or two lessons, or try them all! However, we suggest you start the unit by allowing students to go outside and gaze at the sky. Record what they notice, and allow them to answer their own questions through investigative prompts in the lessons.
Basic weather concepts repeated throughout the lessons include:
The upper elementary Cloud Trunk is full of compelling questions and hands-on experiments to help students investigate clouds and their impact on their world through guided inquiry. Students begin by reviewing the basics of the water cycle and scaffolding that knowledge into a better understanding of the atmosphere, including transpiration, evaporation, condensation, crystallization and precipitation.
The trunk includes two lesson plan units designed to be implemented in three to four class periods each. Teachers may wish to shorten the unit or use the suggested extension activities to provide an even more robust learning experience.
Basic weather concepts repeated throughout the lessons include:
CIWRO's Tornado Trunks are the latest installment in our elementary outreach to provide opportunities to educate, empower, and inspire students to learn more about the weather around them and consider career pathways in meteorology and related fields.
The early childhood Tornado Trunk is comprised of lessons that use a guided inquiry lens to explore spiral objects found in nature or basic physics like spinning compared to rolling. Students in grades PK-2 are encouraged to learn through play, wonderment, and meaning-making. Weather impacts everyone in a community, and tornadoes are Earth science phenomena that occur in all 50 states.
Lessons can stand alone but are meant to complement each other for a comprehensive approach that incorporates multiple subject areas. These lessons are perfect for classrooms divided into stations or centers. You may wish to teach one or two lessons, or try them all!
Basic weather concepts repeated throughout the lessons include:
The upper elementary Tornado Trunk collects tools for hands-on experiments to understand the four ingredients need for tornadoes to form. Through guided inquiry, students investigate properties of the atmosphere such as moisture, instability, lift and wind shear.
The trunk includes five lesson plans designed to be implemented in five class periods .
Basic weather concepts repeated throughout the lessons include:
In partnership with the Tulsa Regional STEM Alliance, CIWRO has created "Weathering the Storm: Exploring STEM Careers in Severe Weather," a new free 9- to 18-week meteorology course that can be used as a career exploration elective, club/afterschool setting, or as enrichment within a STEM classroom.
The engaging curriculum introduces middle school students to meteorology through modules covering weather, wind, clouds and precipitation, storms, tornadoes and hurricanes, and forecasting. Each module integrates STEM concepts, community impact, citizen science, and professional spotlights.
Based on the EEL DR C model encouraging constructivist teaching methods.
Focused on engaging underrepresented groups in meteorology careers and builds confidence in STEM.
Aligns with Science, Mathematics, and Computer Science standards to complement on-level expectations.
Weathering the Storm curriculum is undergoing its pilot year in 2024-2025. To request access to the curriculum for Summer 2025 and beyond, email annette.price@ou.edu. The curriculum is free, but we do ask teachers to fill out a short survey with their feedback so we can continue to make improvements.
CIWRO scientists love to go to schools to share with students what interests propelled them into their careers and what they do every day to find creative solutions to the world's severe weather problems. Our researchers focus on hands-on activities to help students dive into the science to find their own solutions too.
To request a visit to your classroom, email annette.price@ou.edu. We travel across the state of Oklahoma or anywhere via Zoom, as our scientists' schedules permit.
During the pandemic in 2020, CIWRO scientists created educational videos for children learning at home. These videos are still applicable today. Download the lesson plans under each video link.
OU CIWRO Researcher Nathan Dahl puts a spin on the weather! Learn about how the Earth's spin impacts weather systems, pressure systems, cyclones, and much more! Nathan's research supports NOAA's Storm Prediction System based at the National Weather Center in Oklahoma.
Find the handouts and supply list at https://bit.ly/WhirlingWx.
Make "Clouds in the Kitchen" with OU CIWRO Director Greg McFarquhar! Learn how do clouds form and where rain comes from with this fun series of interactive experiments.
Learn how these different weather phenomena occur, why they are different as well as the hazards they present. The lesson also shows how to draw a scientific sketch of hail formation for older students.
"Cook up a Storm" with OU CIWRO Researcher Pat Hyland! During this CIWRO Science Class, we'll discuss all the necessary ingredients for severe weather and just how powerful air can be. You'll also learn how to prepare for when severe weather strikes. Gather your materials for this no-bake lesson on how the atmosphere cooks up storms.
Learn from NOAA scientists about the latest tools and research around atmospheric science in these short educational videos. Many of the projects here are a result of partnerships within CIWRO.
NSSL's Bite-Sized Science video series focuses on specific activities and projects from the NOAA Weather Partners in Norman, OK.
Learn how real-life tornado science differs from what you see in the film "Twisters." Plus, get an inside look at the latest NOAA projects, a virtual backstage tour of NOAA's role as consultants to the movie's producers, and more.
What is a wall cloud? What's the difference between a watch and a warning? Is it ever “too cold to snow”? Learn all about thunderstorms, tornadoes, hail, lightning, floods, damaging winds and severe winter weather.
Learn about wind, lightning, jet streams and more in these weather videos that use simple explanations and illustrations.
