Weather Instruments
By: Melissa Strates and Annaliese Hahnel
Description of GLEC: E.ES.01.31 Identify the tools that might be used to measure
temperature, precipitation, cloud cover, and wind.
Lesson Overview:
After completion of this lesson students will be able to:
 Measure and record temperature using a liquid-in-glass thermometer
 Measure and record precipitation using a rain gauge
 Measure and record wind direction using a weather vane
 Observe and record cloud cover using their eyes
 Measure and record the weather for one school week
 Compare class weather results to weather forecasts
Materials:
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(2) Liquid-in-glass thermometers, (1) rain gauge, (1) weather vane
(6) Cloud flashcards (1 Cumulus, 1 Stratus, 1 Cirrus, 1 Cloudy, 1 Partly
Cloudy, 1 Clear Sky)
(2) clear beakers, warm water, cold water
(2) droppers, (1) spray bottle
large fan, optional small fan
1 worksheet per group
Engage:
Before the lesson begins read Elmer Takes Off by David Mckee, to grab the students
attention. Inform students know that we are continuing our weather unit and ask a
volunteer to define weather. Have students pay attention during the story and to try
and see what type of weather is the focus of this story. Then begin to read the book
to the class. Once the book has be read ask the class these question:
–What types of weather they noticed in the story?
–How did Elmer end up flying?
–What other types of weather are you familiar with?
–What can we measure weather with?
Explore:
Students will be introduced to weather instruments and it will be their job to figure
out how to use them and see what type of weather they measure. There will be 4
stations set up around the classroom. Each station will represent one aspect of
weather that we can measure or observe. Students will pair off and spend 1 minute
at each station. They should use this time to observe their tools, hypothesize results
they may get, and collect data. Students will be given the option to record their data
OR they can do a mental record. After all 4 stations have been visited by the
students, we will discuss what they decided to do at each station, what the names of
the tools were that they worked with, and any questions or concerns they have after
the activity. This will help us gauge their prior knowledge and will lead us to our
lecture.
* There are instructions for the details of how and what the students should gather
for each station and what to discuss after completion*
Explain:
With this section you will take the time to define thermometer, the different types of
thermometers we can use, how to use it properly, and the units we use to measure
temperature (Celsius and Fahrenheit). Define rain gauge, how they work, how to
read them correctly, and the units we use to measure precipitation (cm, in). Define
weather vane, how they work, how accurate they are, and the units we use to
measure wind direction (N, NE, NW, S, SE, SW, E, W). Explain how to observe cloud
cover with our eyes, what clouds are made of, words we use to explain cloud cover
(partly cloudy, cloud, clear sky), and the 3 basic types of clouds (Cumulus, Stratus,
Cirrus).
** There are slide/notes attached on what you can us to explain the instruments**
Elaborate:
Students will apply their knowledge of each weather tool to complete a week of
weather observations. They will work with a partner and visit each outdoor weather
station to record the data provided by each instrument. This will take place over a
week’s time this will be used to see if the student can apply what they have learned
and take it one set further. The stations will be as follows:
•There will be three stations, plus cloud observations:
1.A temperature station
2.A wind direction station
3.A precipitation station
Evaluate:
At the conclusion of the lesson students will be given a worksheet to complete after
the elaborate activity has finished. This worksheet will have pictures of all the
instruments (thermometer, rain gauge, eyes and weather vain) we used during the
lesson and pictures of what they measure (temperature, perception, clouds, and
wind direction). The students will be asked to match the correct instrument to the
correct weather it measures. Their Weather Data Collection Worksheet will also be
used in evaluating their progress. These will then be assessed by the teacher to see if
the students understand what has been taught or if there needs to be more time
spent on the lesson before moving on.
* Stations 1 & 2
•Weather Station 1: Temperature
–Students will work with their partner to measure 2 different water temperatures.
–They are free to record it as hot or cold, or they may go as far as recognizing the
numbers that represent the actual temperature.
•Weather Station 2: Precipitation
–Students will work with their partner to measure precipitation.
–Add water from the spray bottle and droppers to try and determine how this tool
works.
Stations 3 & 4
•Weather Station 3: Wind Direction
–Students will work with their partner to measure wind direction.
–They can angle the fan in any direction, but allow some time to just observe the
direction the wind is coming from.
•Weather Station 4: Cloud Cover
–Students will work with their partner to measure cloud cover.
They should refer to the cloud flashcards to help them
Discussion
Temperature
•What is the name of the tool you used to measure temperature?
•Was one of the beakers of water warmer or colder than the other? How could you
tell?
•Did you see a number on the thermometer?
•What unit did this thermometer measure?
Wind
•What is the name of the tool you used to measure wind?
•Were you able to get an accurate measure of wind direction?
•Did the arrow point the same direction that the wind was coming from?
•What direction did the arrow point in?
•Would this be easier to practice outside?
Clouds
•What is the name of the tool you used to measure cloud cover?
•What types of clouds did you see?
•Can you describe what the sky looks like?
•Can this predict the type of weather we may have?
Precipitation
•What is the name of the tool you used to measure precipitation?
•What type of precipitation did the water in the spray bottle represent?
•What type of precipitation did the water from the dropper represent?
•Did the dropper or spray bottle fill the rain gauge quicker?
**
Thermometer
This is used to measure temperature.
The height that the liquid (mercury) rises to record the temperature that
something is at.
We measure temperature in degrees Celsius or degrees Fahrenheit.
Rain Gauge
We use a rain gauge to measure precipitation:
-rain
-snow
The amount of precipitation that it collects on the inside of the rain gauge is
measured to determine how much precipitation has fallen from the sky that day.
Precipitation is measured in centimeters and inches.
Weather Vane (Wind Vane)
•This is used to measure wind DIRECTION.
•The direction that the arrow points in, is the direction the wind is coming from.
•We can describe wind direction by using the words:
–North (N), Northeast (NE), Northwest (NW), South (S), Southeast (SE), Southwest
(SW), East (E), West (W)
Our EYES are the best tool
•We can observe what clouds are outside by looking at them.
•Clouds can be classified into many different categories.
•Cumulus, Cirrus, and Stratus are the clouds that we will start with.