Charting Weather Patterns in Seasons

3rd GradeBy: Meredith McCoy

Title: Charting Weather Patterns in Seasons Name: Meredith McCoy 3-ESS2-1: Represent data in tables and

graphical displays to describe typical weather conditions expected during a particular season.

Clarification Statement: Examples of data could include average temperature, precipitation, and wind direction.

Lesson Overview

After completing the lesson, students will be able to:Identify weather conditionsCollect data and complete a bar graphUse a pictographUnderstand weather changes during

seasons

Materials Needed

Weather Journal for each student

Chart with pictures

Book for engage

Crayons

Weathervane or flag to show wind direction

Outdoor thermometer

Engage: Read aloud to spark interest

Show an example of the two types of graphs we will be using

Graph 1: Bar Graph

Second type of graph

Graph 2: Pictograph

Explore: What’s happening outside?

For 2 weeks, students will observe the weather for each day during the that particular season. They will record the outdoor temperature, the weather conditions outside, and wind direction every day at the same time outside. Student observations will be recorded in their weather journals and put into a bar graph each day. A class pictograph will be created after we collect the data. We will include temperature, wind direction, rainy, snowy, cloudy, and sunny in our table as possible conditions to track. Fill out the pages in the weather journal. Take a vote at each table of 4 students to complete the favorite seasons table.

My

Weather

J ournal Name_________________________

My Worksheet Packet for the Weather Journal

Explain: What have we learned?

Call on each table group to talk about what one thing they learned about that season

As a class we will build our class pictograph on the chalkboard or on a bulletin board based on our findings for our favorite seasons. We will use a leaf to represent fall, a flower to represent spring, a sun to represent summer, and a snowflake to represent winter. We will each come up and pick a picture cut out and place it in the correct bar for the pictograph to see what our favorite seasons are.

Show the following different pictures of seasons on the Smartboard or Power Point demonstration. Ask what the conditions most likely are based on what they see. Make sure they can explain how they know and what clues in the picture helped them come to that conclusion.

Our Class Pictograph

What season is this? How do you know?

What should I wear today? A bathing suit?

What season is this and how do you know?

Do I need a heavy coat?

Elaborate: What’s it like in other parts of the world?

Students will draw different slips from a box. Each slip will have a different city and state, or country written on it with a month. The students will draw a slip and go home and research what weather conditions are like for that particular place in that particular month. They will build a graph on the “create a graph” website at home to represent their findings. They will share these back at school in 5 minute mini-presentation form. This will help them understand that weather is different all over the world.

Weathervane Project

Evaluate: Do they understand?

Collect weather journals and check work to see if they are understanding

Invite students to come up daily and add to the class weather graph independently to see if they can graph information correctly

Have students build their own graph on the Create A Graph website to represent the information they gathered in the elaborate activity to present to the class and turn the graphs into the teacher to be graded

References

http://mrsrichardsonfirstgrade.blogspot.com/2011/09/graphing.html

http://petersons-pad.blogspot.com/search/label/graphs

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-eS6k7zxGw5Y/UAHIKayzyzI/AAAAAAAABHw/Liz1qwHeWaU/s1600/daily+weather.003.jpg

“Create a Graph” http://nces.ed.gov/nceskids/createagraph/