What is the weather like today?
Matthew Lazette and Lauren Gilbert
Standards:
E.ES.01.21 Compare daily changes in the weather related to temperature (cold, hot,
warm, cool); cloud cover (cloudy, partly cloudy, foggy); precipitation (rain, snow,
hail, freezing rain); wind (breezy, windy, calm).
E.ES.01.22 Describe and compare weather related to the four seasons in terms of
temperature, cloud cover, precipitation, and wind.
E.ES.01.31 Identify the tools that might be used to measure temperature,
precipitation, cloud cover, and wind.
Grade Level: 1
Lesson: “What should I wear to school today?”
Lesson Overview: Hot, cold, windy, or snowing, students need to know how to dress
appropriately. In this lesson, students will learn how weather affects what they
wear to school each day and how we measure differences in the weather.
List of Materials: blackboard, chalk, weather instrument worksheets, computer.
Engagement:
Show class the weather video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DlHG82HKOYw. )Introduce the lesson by
asking students about the weather today. Have them describe the weather. Record
their responses on the board. Explain that the weather helps us determine what we
wear each day.
Exploration
Then have students brainstorm different types of weather. Create a weather
word wall using the terms students use. Discuss how different types of weather
relate to the seasons of the year. Once students have described different types of
weather, have them list different activities they could do outside during certain
weather/seasons. Ask students to describe what they would wear to do the
activities. (Suggest shorts during snowy weather or a snowsuit during a hot day to
see if students understand.) Ask students how do we measure the weather.
Explanation
Introduce the weather instruments and how they work: thermometer –
measures air temperature, rain gauge – measures precipitation, anemometer –
measures the speed of wind, and cloud cover. Use the interactive thermometer to
show students how the temperature corresponds to activities outdoors.
http://www.mathsisfun.com/measure/thermometer.html . Pass out pictures of the
rain gauge, barometer, thermometer, anemometer, weather vane, and ruler (or the
real articles if you have enough) to each group. These pictures shouldn't have the
name of the instruments on them. (If possible, have a real sample of each of the
weather instruments that the students have pictures of.) Tell the students that these
are some of the weather instruments meteorologists use to find out what the
current weather conditions are. Without telling the name of the instruments show
the real instruments to them one by one. Pass out cards that tell the names of each
weather instrument. Give the groups time to put the name of the weather
instruments with the pictures of the weather instruments. When they are done see if
they have correctly matched the names with the instruments. At this time you can
see if any of the students know how these instruments measure the weather
elements. As they tell about each one, pass out the card that tells about that
particular weather instrument and its use. Elaborate on what the student has stated
about the instrument. Do this until all the instruments have been talked about. Tell
the class that these are the basic instruments that meteorologists use to tell us what
the past weather was and what the current weather is now.
Elaboration
Ask the students to create two pictures of outdoor activities and what
weather instruments would be used to measure the weather in the pictures.
Examples: flying a kite, warm day at the beach, sledding or ice skating, wearing rain
coat or using an umbrella. Have students share pictures and tell why it is important
to know what to wear for the activity and what weather instrument is used.
Evaluation
There would be multiple ways of evaluating the knowledge leve of the students such
as:
 Look at the worksheet the students answered during the discussion.
 Test the students if they know the weather instruments by using the
pictures and the words of the pictures to match them up.
 Have the students write what the uses of the instruments are.
 Have the students tell why the information that is recorded by these
instruments is helpful.
References
http://www.havefunteaching.com/worksheets/science/seasons-of-theyear/seasons-of-the-year-matching.pdf
http://www.havefunteaching.com/worksheets/science/earthscience/thermometer.pdf
http://alex.state.al.us/lesson_view.php?id=13362
http://www.uen.org/Lessonplan/preview?LPid=18979