VOCABULARY: WEATHER WORDS
Targeted Vocabulary:
Weather words
The Course:
This EFL course is offered through the adult education center in the county of Peine, Germany. It
meets one evening a week for 90 minutes and focuses on communicative, integrated skills. Each
semester consists of fifteen class meetings. Because this is a non-credit setting, no grades are
given. The teacher uses a required textbook, but is free to adapt lessons and there is no time
pressure to do a certain number of units per semester, since the class just continues on in the next
semester where it left off in the last. The course is so-called A2 Refresher English class which
targets students who have completed the A2 level (pre-intermediate) on the Common European
Framework sometime in the past, but haven’t had an opportunity to use their English knowledge
recently. The course seeks to reactivate and deepen prior language acquisition in a more
communicative way than students might have encountered at public school.
The Class:
The members of this class are native Germans who wish to refresh their English. Some are
working toward the A2 TELC test. The reasons for taking the class vary. Some students need
basic English skills at work, mostly for telephoning and emailing while others use the language
when traveling.
Objectives
 Students will review and learn weather lexis
 Students will orally describe the local weather and weather abroad.
 Students will learn synonyms for common weather descriptions.
 Students will write a weather forecast.
 Students will learn about the difference in Celsius and Fahrenheit.
Rationale behind the Lesson Plan:
Weather is a universal topic and is a common theme in everyday conversations and
correspondence. Being able to talk about and understand weather forecasts can be useful when
traveling. Understanding the difference between Celsius and Fahrenheit can be helpful for
students who travel to the U.S. or have contact to people living there.
(This lesson was adapted from two lessons at OneSopEnglish.com)
Activities
Warm-up: Brainstorming weather words
Step 1
Ss work with a partner to fill in a
spidergram with weather words.
Step 2
Ss call out words they used and T
completes the spidergram on the OHT.
Intention
Time Allotted
Activating prior
5 minutes
knowledge.
Consolidating
10 minutes
vocabulary known to
the Ss.
1
Make certain that the following words
are used: rainy, windy, sunny, foggy,
cloudy, snowy.
Structured activities: Worksheet
Step 3
Worksheet, Part 1, weather adjectives:
Individually, Ss complete Activity 1 by
matching the words to the situation.
Step 4
Step 5
Step 6
Step 7
Understanding the
context and
describing it.
Check in class
Part 2, Match the words
Deepening
With a partner, Ss match the synonyms. knowledge of words
used to describe
Give Ss the correct answers.
weather.
Part 3, Questions:
Recycling the new
Ss complete the questions and check
adjectives from Part
their answers with a partner.
2.
Ask Ss to share their answers.
Part 4, Describing the seasons:
Ss match the words to the seasons.
Ss make groups of four and share their
opinions.
Part 5, Read the forecasts and match
the clothes:
Ss read the forecasts individually and
match the proper clothing to the
forecast.
Check in the class.
Speaking Practice
Step 8
Interview your partner:
Divide class in half and have Ss stand
in an inner circle and outer circle,
facing one person.
7- 8 minutes
5 minutes
7-8 minutes
Using weather
words to describe
the seasons.
(Production)
10 minutes
Reading a forecast
and inferring
information.
5 minutes
Productive use of
weather vocabulary.
10-15 minutes
Give each student in the inner circle a
card with the interview questions. They
ask their partner the questions and then
give that person the card. The inner
circle rotates to the right and the new
partner asks the questions. Repeat the
cycle once.
Do an example before beginning.
2
Writing and Speaking Practice
Step 9
Write a weather forecast:
Have Ss find a new partner. Give each
pair a print out of weather information
for a different city. Have them write a
weather forecast.
Split the pairs and make groups of four
Ss read their forecasts to the their
group.
Celsius or Fahrenheit?
Step 10
Give Ss the handout. Have them read
the explanation for Celsius and
Fahrenheit.
Practice reading an
authentic weather
forecast.
Sharing weather
information.
15-20 minutes
Targeting awareness
of the differences
between Celsius and
Fahrenheit.
5-7 minutes
Ask Ss to calculate the current
temperature into Fahrenheit.
Give Ss the temperature of New York,
Miami and Los Angeles in Fahrenheit
and have them look at the scale and
give the general temperature in Celsius.
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Attachment of Materials:
Spidergram:
What weather words can you think of? Add them to the diagram.
to blow
Verbs
Weather
Adjectives
Temperature
windy
cool
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Worksheet: Weather
Part 1: Match the words
Match the weather adjectives to the situations:
rainy
windy
sunny
foggy
cloudy
snowy
1. I’m going to the beach. I’ll need my suntan cream. It’s ___________________.
2. It’s been very cold and wet in mountains. It’s ___________________.
3. Drive carefully today. You can’t see very far. It’s ___________________.
4. Look at those dark clouds. I think you’ll need an umbrella. It’s ___________________.
5. The big tree in the park fell over in the storm last night. It’s ___________________.
6. I really hate these gray days. It’s ___________________.
Part 2: Match the words
Match the words in column A to a word in column B that means the same thing:
A
very hot
very cold
quite cold
quite warm
very wet
quite wet
B
chilly
boiling
pouring
freezing
drizzling
mild
Part 3: Question time!
Answer the following questions. Use some of the words in list B in Part 2.
Example:
Q: What’s the weather like today?
A: It’s cool and cloudy.
1. What was the weather like yesterday?
2. What’s the weather like today at the South Pole?
3. What’s the weather like in England in October?
4. What’s the weather like in Spain in August?
5. What type of weather do you like?
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Part 4: Describing the seasons:
Match the words to the seasons. (Some words can be used more than once. Be prepared to
explain your choices.)
sunny, snow, storms, showers, chilly, wet, boiling, blue skies, mild, wind, dry, clouds, fog,
freezing, hot, warm, drizzling
Spring:
Summer:
Autumn:
Winter:
Part 5: Read the forecasts and match the clothes
Read the weather forecasts, and then match them to the clothes below:
a bathing costume
a parka
a waterproof jacket
1. I’ll be mainly dry and sunny, but a bit chilly, with temperatures around 6 degrees. It’ll be
dry all day but very windy, so keep warm if you are going out.
2. There will be storms coming in from the north today, and they’ll arrive mid morning. It’ll
be wet, windy and chilly. In the late afternoon, there will be stronger winds and storms
with thunder and lightning.
3. It’ll be a beautiful, boiling hot day again today, with temperatures in the thirties. The
sunshine and cloudless blue skies will stay with us for the rest of the week.
Interview your partner: (Teacher copies these questions on cards.)
What sort of weather do you really like?
What was the weather like on your last holiday?
What is the worst weather you have ever been in? Where were you? What did you do?
What was your favorite weather when you were a child? Why?
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Sample weather report. (From The Guardian)
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Celsius or Fahrenheit?
References:
Macmillan Publishers. (2005). British English: Weather worksheet 1. Retrieved from
http://www.onestopenglish.com/grammar/pdf-content/vocabulary-british-english/british-e
nglish-weather-worksheet-1/149872.article
Macmillan Publishers. (2005). British English: Weather, worksheet 2 and teacher’s notes.
Retrieved from http://www.onestopenglish.com/grammar/pdf-content/vocabulary-britishenglish/british-english-weather-worksheet-2-and-teachers-notes-2/147075.article
The Guardian. (2013). Weather. Retrieved December 7, 2013 from
http://www.theguardian.com/weather/paris
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