Level: Primary

primary

Recommended Weather Resources for KS2

Post date 15 November 2020

Recommended Weather Resources for teaching 7-11 year olds

BBC What is Weather animations and lesson plans for KS2 weather.

Weather resources from the Primary Magazine from the National Centre for Excellence in the Teaching of Mathematics. Requires free registration on the national STEM database.

A nice interactive map showing hot and cold extreme temperatures which introduces GIS techniques.

Seasons resource from ngfl-cymru.

A nice interactive resource for weather forecasting, focussed on Wales.

Recommended Climate Resources for KS2

Post date 15 November 2020

Recommended Climate Resources for teaching 7-11 year olds

What’s Changing our Climate: Children’s Christmas Lecture from Imperial College London, with Professor Jo Haigh, 2017.

From the GA Investigating Climate Zones and Climate Change.

Windows to the Universe – climate.

UCAR – kids crossing.

CAFOD: zero hero campaign

Using Automatic Weather Station Data

Post date 15 November 2020

Lesson title: Using weather data to record, interpret and predict the weather (Part 1)

Download the full resource

Drawn from National Curriculum Key stage 2 Geography:
Geographical enquiry and skills

1 In undertaking geographical enquiry, pupils should be taught to:
Analyze evidence and draw conclusions
2 In developing geographical skills, pupils should be taught:
to use secondary sources of information, including aerial photographs [for example the internet,]
Knowledge and understanding of patterns and processes
3 Pupils should be taught to recognize and explain patterns made by individual physical and human features in the environment

Key Stage 2 Mathematics – National Curriculum

Solving numerical problems

Pupils should be taught to:
choose, use and combine any of the four number operations to solve word problems involving numbers in ‘real life’

National Curriculum – Sc1 Scientific enquiry

a) use a wide range of methods, including diagrams, drawings, tables, bar charts, line graphs and ICT, to communicate data in an appropriate and systematic manner

Considering evidence and evaluating

i) make comparisons and identify simple patterns or associations in their own observations and measurements or other data
ii) use observations, measurements or other data to draw conclusions

Learning objectives:

To be able to use secondary sources of information, including aerial photographs [for example the internet]
To be able to analyse evidence and draw conclusions
To be able to recognise and explain patterns made by the data leading to basic predictions

Agree or Disagree – Weather Misconceptions

Post date 15 November 2020

Agree or Disagree?

Originally developed by Debbie Myers, Teaching Fellow, Durham University and
AstraZeneca Primary Science College member.

Cards to generate discussion and to identify students’ misconceptions about the weather.
Cut out the cards and ask the students to place them on a Agree/Unsure/Disagree Continuum.
Suggested answers available below. As an extension exercise, students could be asked to look up evidence to support their answers, particularly for the ‘unsure’ cards. The quality and reliability of sources could also be discussed.

Global Winds Treasure Hunt

Post date 15 November 2020

Supporting article from Primary Geography.

Overview

Print off and laminate the names of enough winds. Hide them in the classroom or in the school grounds. As the students individually, in pairs or small groups to find a wind. They should then research the wind they have found, answering questions like:

– Where is the wind found? Use an atlas or Google Earth to find the place and see how the
local geography affects the wind (are there mountains nearby?)
– When does the wind occur?
– How long does it last for and how big is the area it affects?
– Do people like this wind?

Their research could be presented using PowerPoint or large sheets of sugar paper, and/ or could be used as the basis for a story or newspaper report about the wind.

Weather Discussion Cards

Post date 15 November 2020

Weather Discussion Cards Developed by Lesley Hunter, Creavery Primary School

Teacher’s Notes

In this activity, students share weather information to work out what the weather is in different places. It is suitable for upper KS1 or KS2.

It can be used with different abilities and improves listening skills, group work and to encourage every group member to participate.

Differentiation can be incorporated by giving poor readers less information (temperature cards only) or appointing a classroom assistant to read for a group of children. Alternatively, a set of easier clues can be produced and the teacher just has to note what colour of card they are printed on.

Weather Journey

Post date 15 November 2020

UK Weather Journey

Developed by Lesley Hunter, Creavery Primary School and AstraZeneca Primary Science College Member

Teacher’s Notes

Overview
This is a “Weather” game for use with an upper KS1 class, looking at seasonal and daily weather patterns.

Differentiation is easy within a class by using different sets of question cards. Print sets on different coloured card so that pupils are not aware that some of the questions are different. Weaker readers could be supported by a classroom assistant.

What to do
The game consists of a journey through different ‘stations’ in a classroom or hall. At each station the pupil (or group) must answer a question with 3 possible answers. Choosing the correct answer will lead to the next venue and the final one will take you back to where you started. Pupils do not know the order in which they have to visit the stations and, as it is circular, groups can start at different places.

Incorrect answers result in penalties which can either send pupils back to somewhere they have already visited or describe another task.

At each station pupils collect a piece of interesting information. These can then be used for extension work for the whole class or for the more able pupils.

Climate Zone Journey

Post date 15 November 2020

Climate Zones Journey

Developed by Lesley Hunter, Creavery Primary School

Teachers Notes

Overview

This is a game for use with a KS2 class, looking at climate zones around the world.
Differentiation is easy within a class by using different sets of question cards. Print sets on different coloured card so that pupils are not aware that some of the questions are different.

What to do
The game consists of a journey through different ‘cities’ in a classroom or hall. At each city the pupil (or group) must answer a question with 3 possible answers. Choosing the correct answer will lead to the next city and the final one will take you back to where you started. Pupils do not know the order in which they have to visit the cities and, as it is circular, groups can start at different places.

Incorrect answers result in penalties which can either send pupils back to somewhere they have already visited or describe another type of penalty. If all questions are answered correctly, students take the green route around the cities. Any incorrect answers results in yellow diversions.

At each city pupils collect a word which makes the sentence “climate is what you expect, weather is what you get”.

Alternatively, they could collect a weather related artefact which could then be used for extension work for the whole class or for the more able pupils (for example, materials to make a weather instrument).

Science of Weather – Clouds

Post date 15 November 2020

Ideas and lesson plans to enhance the learning and teaching of weather studies in primary schools.

Aldridge, V., Meldrum, G. and Ross, H., 2005
The Science of Weather: a primary school resource
City of Edinburgh Council

Science of Weather – Ben Nevis Weather

Post date 15 November 2020