Teaching notes and ideas
Name of resource:
Weather top trumps
Age group(s)
Subject(s)
5 to7, 8 to11,
Geography
Topic
Language Level
Weather
Intermediate
EAL Nexus
Description of resource
This resource is a set of cards to play the game of Weather Top Trumps.
Preparation needed
You will need:
 One set of cards for each pair of learners
You will need to:
 Print all but the instructions page onto card. Cut out the cards.

Curriculum objectives
 To identify and describe different types of weather
Language / literacy objectives
Functions
Structures
 Describing
 A ____ has lots of ____
 There’s a lot of _____ in a ________.
 There’s not much _____ in a _______.
 Comparing
 A ______ has more ____ than a _________
 Comparatives: colder than… hotter than…
windier than…
 Justifying
 I think the ______ should have a score of ____
for wind because…
Vocabulary
 Weather attributes: wind, snow, sun, rain, cold.
 Weather conditions: snow, cloudy, gale, tornado, hurricane, breeze, blizzard,
drought, sunny, partly cloudy, hail, flood, downpour.
This project and its actions were made possible due to co-financing by the European Fund for the Integration of Third-Country Nationals
© British Council 2014
EAL Nexus
 Comparatives: sunnier, windier, warmer, colder, hotter, than.
 Quantities: a lot of, very, not very much, a little bit of, extremely, not at all.
 Score, points, numbers 1 to 5.
This resource could be used:
 whole class
 as differentiation within class for a learner or group of learners
Ideas for using the resource
What to do
 Introduce the resource by using the PowerPoint slides to show the photos of
each weather type to the whole class or group who are going to play the game.
Discuss how snowy, how windy, how rainy, etc. each of the types of weather are.
Where there are similar features (e.g. wind), the pictures could be placed on a
continuum to more clearly illustrate the differences in these types of weather.
This provides an opportunity for modelling, as the teacher would model the
language of comparison, e.g. A gale has more wind than a breeze, a hurricane
is windier than a gale.
 The idea of the resource is that learners score different attributes (wind, rain, sun,
snow, cold) on a scale of 1 to 5 prior to actually playing the game. Learners work
collaboratively, in pairs, supervised by an adult (who ensures scoring is
reasonably accurate) to determine the scores for each type of weather. This
gives an opportunity for exploratory talk. The learners will need a copy of each of
the cards with the labelled images to refer to while they are working. They are
then able to compare images which are primarily based around a particular
attribute (e.g. breeze, gale). This activity could provide an opportunity for using
the learners’ first language ability as EAL learners who share a first language
could work in pairs, discussing the scoring in that language, in order to enable
them to articulate their thoughts more clearly. When the scores are agreed they
can be written on the cards.
 Snowballing could then occur where one pair of learners compares their scoring
with another pair, providing further opportunity for exploratory talk. Each must be
able to provide rationale for their scores and changes can be made on the cards
if desired.
 Learners are then able to play the game in pairs. All the cards are placed face
down in a pile and then dealt out between the two learners. The cards remain
face down. One learner chooses an attribute (e.g. rain). Both learners turn over
their top card. The card with the highest score for that attribute says to the other
that their type of weather has more of that attribute than the type of weather the
other learner has (e.g. A flood has more rain than a drought). This learner keeps
both cards and places them at the bottom of their pile. It is then the second
This project and its actions were made possible due to co-financing by the European Fund for the Integration of Third-Country Nationals
© British Council 2014
EAL Nexus
learner’s turn to name an attribute. The game continues for a specified period of
time or until one learner has run out of cards. The learner with the most cards at
the end is the winner.
Other ideas for making the best use of this resource
 A riddles approach could also be taken with an adult describing a particular type
of weather, providing clues that relate to the attributes contained on the cards
one by one, giving children the opportunity to guess which weather it is. This
involves modelling the type of language the children will use when completing the
cards in pairs.
Possible extension activities
 Learners could create additional cards for weather types not included. This could
involve them looking through weather books to identify types of weather not
supplied in this resource.
 Another follow up activity could be shared writing about the setting of a story
which includes a particular type of weather.
 Learners could also fold a piece of paper in half and write clues as to the type of
weather (as in the teacher’s riddles prior to using the resource) and draw a
labelled picture of the weather inside. Learners could swap riddles with one
another and try to guess the weather.
 Learners could also play a barrier game where one learner gives clues to another
(as in the teacher’s riddles prior to the activity) and the learner receiving the clues
has to determine which type of weather it is.
This project and its actions were made possible due to co-financing by the European Fund for the Integration of Third-Country Nationals
© British Council 2014