Understanding by Design
Unit Plan
UNIT: The Physical Environment/ Weather and Climate (Secondary 1 Express/ N(A))
Designers: Low Pei Jun, Raine Seah
Unit Summary:
Students will be introduced to the elements of weather, and to the difference between
weather and climate. In addition to the basic foundational knowledge of weather elements
and their instrumentation and measurement, students should be able to identify and describe
the characteristics as well as the distribution of the world’s major types of climate. Students
should also understand the effects of weather and climate on human activities and the
possible impacts extreme weather occurrences can have on people. This understanding will
allow them to appreciate the interrelationship between humans and their physical
environment.
DESIRED RESULTS (STAGE 1)
State Standards and or/ grade level benchmarks addressed:

Differences between weather and climate

Weather elements (temperature, rainfall, wind)

Instrumentation (thermometer, rain gauge, wind vane)

Calculations of temperature (daily, monthly, annual range, mean) and rainfall (daily,
monthly, annual)

Overview of world’s major climatic types: distribution and characteristics
o Tropical
o Temperate
o Polar

Weather, climate and people
o Develop an understanding of the processes affecting the physical and human
environments
o Have a holistic understanding of physical-human relationships (two-way
interaction process)
1
Overarching Understanding(s) from
curriculum framework:
Students will understand that…


Essential Questions from curriculum
framework:
To understand, students will need to consider
such questions as…
Physical phenomena can have spatial
patterns and are a result of their spatial
distribution

What are the spatial patterns of the
physical phenomena of climate over
Earth’s surface, and why?
Human activities are influenced by
Earth’s physical processes both
positively and negatively

How do Earth’s physical processes affect
human systems positively and negatively?
Topical Understandings specific to the
UNIT:
Topical Questions specific to the UNIT:

There are climatic patterns across space
and the major climatic types are a result
of their spatial distribution

What are the spatial patterns of major
climatic types over Earth’s surface, and
why?

Human activities are influenced by
weather and climate positively and
negatively

How do weather and climate affect human
systems positively and negatively?
To understand, students will need to know and be able to do the following…
know… Students will know:
be able to… Students will be able to:




The weather elements (temperature, 
rainfall, wind)

The knowledge and uses of some
weather instruments (including rain
gauge, wind vane, thermometers)

The definitions of weather and climate

The calculations of temperature (daily,
monthly, annual range, mean) and
rainfall (daily, monthly, annual)


The components of a climograph

The characteristics and distribution of 
the world’s major climatic types

The positive and negative impacts of
weather and climate on people

Identify the weather elements
Use some weather instruments (including
rain gauge, wind vane, thermometers)
Differentiate between weather and climate
Calculate temperature (daily, monthly,
annual range, mean) and rainfall (daily,
monthly, annual)
Read and interpret
compare climographs
climographs,
and
Describe the characteristics and distribution
of the world’s major climatic types, and
identify on a world map the major climatic
types
Discuss the problems and benefits of
weather and climate to people
2
ASSESSMENT EVIDENCE (STAGE 2)
Diagnostic Assessments: (to determine students’ readiness in terms of knowledge, skills,
interest and learning profiles)
Performance Assessment Task(s) for Understanding:
Goals:
Roles:
Audience:
Situation:
Product or Performance:
Standards or Criteria for Evaluation/ Traits for Rubrics:
Other Assessment
How will the product be differentiated to provide options for students’ readiness,
interest and/or learning profiles?
LEARNING ACTIVITIES AND EXPERIENCES (STAGE 3)
3
UNIT PLAN
-UNIT: Theme III – The Physical Environment/ Weather and Climate
- 8 Lessons, ½ hour Sessions
(Include a concept map of the Unit)
Lesson
1
Objective
Introduce students
to whole unit
Students will be able
to identify the
weather elements of
rainfall and
temperature, and
wind
Main activity
INTRODUCTION
Raise awareness of relevance of the
unit by drawing upon newspaper
articles on extreme weather e.g.
Floods in South Asia, Floods in
Peninsular Malaysia (See attached
articles)
Nature of
Instruction
Inductive
approach,
using real life
examples to
stimulate
students
associative
thinking
ACTIVITY 1
Give students weather forecast of the Think Pair
day from the Straits Times. Pairs to Share
brainstorm/ discuss about:
a) The weather outlook for today
and
the
next
2
days.
b) How would knowing the weather
information for the next few days
be useful to us?
c) Comparing Singapore’s weather
forecast with the other cities’
weather
forecasts,
identify
similarities/
differences
for
forecasted temperatures
d) Give possible reasons for the
observations
Class Discussion
Teacher to also describe and explain Frontal
land-sea breezes as a small-scale teaching
local wind. Introduce to students the
concept
of
air
pressure.
(Temperature, air masses)
4
2
Students will be able
to recognize various
weather
instruments,
and
understand the use
and siting of weather
instruments.
HANDS-ON SESSION
Weather Instruments (rotation)
TEMPERATURE
- Max & Min Thermometer
- Stevenson Screen
- U-shaped Thermometer
Group rotation
of instrument
stations
WIND
- Wind Vane
- Wind Sock
- Anemometer
Students will be able RAINFALL
to measure rainfall - Rain Gauge
(daily)
Students to fill up scaffolding
worksheets
which
will
include
questions on:
- Identifying parts of instruments
- Units of Measurement
- The ideal place to site respective
instruments and justification.
3
Students will be able
to calculate
temperature (daily
range and mean).
Students will be able
to differentiate
between weather
and climate.
Class Discussion on Answers
ACTIVITY 1 (Pairwork)
Students to make use of weather Pairwork
forecast (lesson 1 resource) to fill in
max/min temperature data for about 6
major cities, including Singapore, and
calculate
the
mean
daily
temperature and daily temperature
range.
Teacher to highlight the differences Group work
between weather and climate.
ACTIVITY 2 (Groups of 4)
Each group will be given climatic data
from an unknown weather station
with the coordinates of the location of
the station.(www.worldclimate.com/)
Answer supplementary worksheet.
Questions include:
- Name the weather instruments
that can be used to obtain the
data daily
- Given the coordinates, identify
the location of the weather station
on the World Map provided
- Discuss the relationship between
latitude and temperature by
matching the temperature data to
5
4-5
plotted points on the map
Students will be able FRONTAL TEACHING
to read and interpret Teacher to teach students how to Frontal
a climograph.
read a climograph, i.e. bar represents teaching
rainfall, line represents temperature,
etc.
Students will be able
to
describe
the
characteristics and
distribution
of
world’s
major
climatic types
Teacher to refer to example
climographs in textbook and get
students to describe the observed
trends. Plot the locations on the big
World Map in front of class.
ACITIVITY 1 (Group discussion)
Group work,
Students to remain in groups of 4 Collaborative
from previous lesson. Each group will learning
be given a climograph of a known
location.
Groups to identify temperature and
rainfall trend of given graph.
Students will be able Groups to calculate temperature
to
calculate (monthly, annual range) and rainfall
(monthly, annual).
temperature
(monthly,
annual
There will be 5 different climographs
range) and rainfall in total (Two groups will get the same
(monthly, annual).
climograph).
Teacher to show each climograph on
screen. Group representatives will
share with the class the trends they
have identified. Meanwhile, for every
climograph, the location of the city
will be plotted on the World Map in
front of class.
Students will be able
to identify on a world
map
the
major
climatic types
Teacher to facilitate classroom
discussion on the relation of the
trends observed in the climographs
with their
respective locations
(specifically,
how
they
differ
according to latitude). Other factors
such as distance from sea, altitude
can be brought in for ready learners.
Teacher to conclude lesson by
showing the spatial distribution of 3
major climatic types, namely tropical,
temperate and polar climates.
6
6
Students will be able
to discuss climatic
effects on people’s
lives (positive,
negative)
Students to remain in groups of 4
from previous lesson.
ACTIVITY 1 (Group discussion)
– Generate discussion on how Group work;
weather and climate affect people Collaborative
and their daily lives positively and learning
negatively
ACTIVITY 2 (Group Mini-Project)
- In one of the following forms,
students are to present their
group’s discussion points to the
class:
1. Comic Panorama
2. Role Play (TV News, etc.)
3. Song/ Rap
7-8
Students will be able
to discuss climatic
effects on people’s
lives (positive,
negative)
OPTIONAL Students will be able
to draw real life
contextual
experience to
understanding
weather/ climate
SHARING SESSION
( 5 minutes per group)
Teacher to consolidate in the last 510min.
INDIVIDUAL
ASSIGNMENT
for
assessment
Suggestions:
- Use
a
graphic
organizer
(mindmap/ online mindmap e.g.
mindmeister.com to organize
learning points for the topic
- Use
a
comicstrip
(drawn/
ComicLife.com), design a comic
to show
the positive/negative
impacts of weather and climate
on people
- Compose
a
song/poem
(podcast/written) on weather and
climate- be sure to include the
instruments/measuring methods/
the world’s major climatic types/
how it affects people
- Create a tourism brochure,
pamphlet, etc. describing the
climate for your given country /
region.
Fieldtrip to Changi Meteorological
Exploratory;
Station.
Inquiry-based
learning
Blog about experience.
7
8