Search form

Lesson Plan: Recording the Weather

Subject:  Science

Grade: 3

Lesson Objective: To learn why the weather is recorded

Next Gen Science Standard:  3-ESS2-1. Represent data in tables and graphical displays to describe typical weather conditions expected during a particular season.

Materials Needed:

Starter:

Say:

What are some of the tools that are used to record the weather?  (Range of answers expected, but students should explain that thermometers, weather vanes, rain gauges, barometer and hygrometer.

Main:

Say:

  • You remembered many of the different tools that meteorologists use to record the weather.
  • Meteorologists use thermometers, weather vanes, rain gauges, barometers, hygrometers and their own eyes. 
  • Meteorologists also use something called satellites to help record the weather.  A weather satellite is a machine that is in space and goes around the Earth. 
  • The satellite takes pictures of clouds and other weather events and sends the information back to Earth for meteorologists to look at.
  • Gathering information about the weather is important because it helps people to know what they might expect and it helps to see how weather patterns work.
  • When meteorologists try to figure out what the weather is going to be like, it is called forecasting the weather.
  • Forecasting the weather is predicting what the weather will be like that day, that week and next week. 
  • When forecasting the weather, the meteorologists look at the information that they gathered from the weather tools and their observations. 
  • They think about what they know about weather patterns and things that have happened with the weather in the past.
  • They also look at satellite and radar information to see what the computers think the weather may be.
  • There are many reasons that meteorologists forecast the weather.  Raise your hand if you can think of any reason.  (Allow the students to answer)
  • Some of the reasons that meteorologists forecast the weather is so that farmers know when it may rain, so that pilots know whether it is safe to fly and so that people can plan and prepare if it is going to be very hot or very cold.
  • You are going to be using a thermometer and a barometer to record the weather today.
  • I am putting a thermometer outside of our door.  You will be able to get up and check it to see what the temperature is.
  • To check the temperature, you look at where the line stops and then write down the number next to the line.  That is the temperature.
  • I have a barometer here in the classroom.  You are going to come up and look at it.  If the straw is pointing down, that means there is low pressure and it might rain.  If the straw is pointing up, that means there is high pressure and there is probably sun.
  • You will write the temperature and the air pressure down in your notebook.  (Allow about 10 minutes for the students to record the weather.)

Feedback:

Say:

  • What did you wrote down about the weather?  (Allow the students to answer.)
  • Did anyone else record a different temperature or air pressure?

Written by Kimberly Greacen, Education World® Contributing Writer

Kimberly is an educator with extensive experience in curriculum writing and developing instructional materials to align with Common Core State Standards and Bloom's Taxonomy.

Copyright© 2018 Education World

Image by wpclipart.com