Weather Study is Crucial
When planning a unit thinking about ways to engage students in a Weather Unit from the beginning will help them be more successful in learning why it is essential to learn about weather and the associated tools and scientific inquiry that go with it. First and foremost, it helps us prepare for and respond to everyday types of weather like sunshine, wind, and precipitation, as well as natural disasters like hurricanes, tornadoes, and severe storms.
Accurate weather forecasting allows communities to evacuate or take necessary precautions, minimizing potential harm. Weather refers to the atmospheric conditions of a particular place at a given time. It encompasses a range of elements that can be studied, including temperature, precipitation, wind speed, humidity, and cloud cover
Activity Idea
I have a favorite low prep unit opener activity I like to use to demonstrate how weather affects us. Get some scrap paper (or regular paper I just always have a lot of scrap paper on hand). Hand each student a piece of paper (or two if desired). I assign things by table top groups. One group gets summer and then I would tell student A – draw something you would wear as a top in the summer, Student B would be told to draw something you would wear on your bottom half in the summer. Another student might get footwear. I would assign every student a clothing type item and season. Once completed I collect and mix them all up by type (tops with tops, footwear with footwear, etc).
I call for two or three volunteers to come to the front of the room. They close their eyes and pick some of the papers from each pile. The rest of the class decides what season and/or weather they are dressing for. The volunteers open their eyes and “model” their items. There is discussion on, if what they are wearing would fit the weather. Swim trunks, hiking boots, with a T-shirt would not fit well into a winter season where it is snowing. This activity can be adjusted for any length of time and even have a written assignment with it to expand it.
Vocabulary
Before delving deeper into the weather unit, knowing key vocabulary terms and weather related tools is important.
I like to create anchor charts to hang in the classroom with my students. I’ll use some terms and images I’ve already created but add in student feedback. One year we put the weather tool, rain gauge, next to the words and image of different forms of precipitation. It really helped that group of students relate the two terms.
I also have smaller anchor charts on hand to have them put in their science journals, like in the images below. They can refer back to their journals long after the full-size anchor charts are no longer displayed.
Cross-Curricular Practice: The Multifaceted Nature of Weather
Weather is not limited to the domain of science alone. It intersects with various subjects, making it an excellent topic for cross-curricular practice. There are many different hands-on weather projects students can participate in to mix subjects. A math connection is collecting weather data on a chart for several days. They can use weather apps or even the daily weather they see outside. Once the data is collected, data analysis occurs as students interpret what the data says. Students can also practice graphing temperature changes, calculating wind speeds, and analyzing rainfall patterns from different places and comparing the climates.
Weather patterns and climate change impact different regions of the world. Exploring these connections can deepen students’ understanding of geography, cultural variations, and how communities adapt to varying weather conditions.
One of the easiest cross-curricular methods is using reading texts and questions on the topic, in this case weather, to meet the standards in both subjects. I created a set of 5 passages with differentiated versions of each passage in three ways. I wanted all students to answer the same questions but have the passage on a level that they can understand it at. The topics include: Weather Vocabulary Basics, Weather Tools, Weather Map Symbols, Collecting Weather Data, and The Water Cycle and Weather. Super easy to just print and go or to assign virtually through Google Classroom™.
Weather is such a fun unit to teach. There are many ways to engage students in a weather unit with hands-on learning and reinforce weather in various ways!
You can check out other ways to engage students with math card games or with digital learning platforms like boom learning.
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