Unit 1 — Weather and Climate
Description
Students organize and use data to describe typical weather conditions expected during particular seasons. Students represent weather data in tables and graphical displays, and obtain information about climates in different regions of the world. By applying understanding of weather-related hazards, students make claims about the merit of design solutions that reduce the impacts of climate change and weather-related hazards.
Essential Questions
- What is typical weather near our home?
- How can we predict seasonal weather patterns?
- How do climates vary across different regions of the world?
- How can we design solutions to reduce the impact of weather hazards?
Learning Objectives
- Represent data in tables and graphical displays to describe typical weather conditions expected during a particular season
- Obtain and combine information to describe climates in different regions of the world
- Make a claim about the merit of a design solution that reduces the impacts of climate change and/or a weather-related hazard
- Recognize patterns of weather change across seasons
- Analyze weather data to make predictions
Supplemental Resources
- Chart paper for recording weather data observations
- Printed weather data sets for analysis and graphing
- Graphic organizers for comparing climate information across regions
Engineering, Technology, and Applications of Science
Earth and Space Sciences
Students read informational texts and cite textual evidence to demonstrate understanding of science concepts across all units. They ask and answer questions about weather, forces, traits, life cycles, ecosystems, and environmental change using content-specific texts. Students write opinion pieces, informative and explanatory texts, and conduct short research projects to build knowledge about science topics. They also report orally on topics with appropriate facts and descriptive details, and use information from illustrations, maps, and photographs to support scientific understanding.
Students apply mathematical reasoning and tools across science units to collect, represent, and analyze data. They measure liquid volumes and masses using standard units, draw scaled picture graphs and bar graphs to represent data sets, generate measurement data using rulers and display results on line plots, and reason abstractly and quantitatively when analyzing patterns and cause-and-effect relationships in investigations. Students also use operations and algebraic thinking when comparing and solving problems based on scientific data.
Formative Assessments
- Students record and organize weather observations in tables and bar graphs
- Students compare weather patterns across different seasons
- Students answer questions about climate information from texts and media sources
- Students participate in discussions about weather-related hazards and solutions
Summative Assessment
Students develop a presentation about design solutions that reduce the impacts of weather-related hazards
Benchmark Assessment
— not configured —
Alternative Assessment
Students may demonstrate understanding of weather data and seasonal patterns through teacher-led discussion, sorting activities with picture cards, or verbal descriptions of climate regions supported by visual aids such as photographs or diagrams.
IEP (Individualized Education Program)
Students may benefit from graphic organizers or partially completed tables and bar graphs to support data recording and organization during weather observation activities. Directions for multi-step tasks, such as comparing seasonal weather patterns or analyzing climate information, should be broken into smaller numbered steps with visual cues. Teachers may allow students to demonstrate understanding of weather hazards and design solutions through oral responses, labeled diagrams, or dictation rather than written output alone. Pre-teaching key weather and climate vocabulary with picture support can help students access both informational texts and class discussions.
Section 504
Students should be provided extended time when recording weather data in tables and graphs or when responding to questions about climate information from texts and media. Preferential seating near the teacher or demonstration area can help students stay focused during data analysis and discussion tasks. Printed copies of any weather data, graphs, or visual displays shown on the board should be made available so students can reference materials at their own pace.
ELL / MLL
Weather and climate vocabulary — including terms such as temperature, precipitation, season, hazard, and climate — should be introduced with visual supports such as labeled photographs, diagrams, and real-world examples before content instruction begins. Directions for data recording and comparison tasks should be given in clear, simple language, and teachers may check for understanding by asking students to restate the task in their own words. Where possible, connecting weather phenomena to students' home regions or countries can build background knowledge and make climate comparisons more meaningful.
At Risk (RTI)
Students benefit from beginning data recording tasks with familiar, locally observable weather before extending to broader climate comparisons, helping them connect new concepts to prior experience. Providing a simplified table or graph template with labeled axes and a word bank reduces the complexity of the recording process without reducing the scientific thinking involved. Teachers can use visual weather charts, photographs of seasonal changes, and short video clips to build the background knowledge students need to participate successfully in discussions about weather hazards and design solutions.
Gifted & Talented
Students can be challenged to go beyond describing seasonal weather patterns by investigating the relationship between geographic features — such as elevation, proximity to oceans, or land cover — and regional climate differences. When evaluating design solutions for weather-related hazards, students may research real-world engineering responses, consider trade-offs between solutions, and develop a reasoned argument that weighs evidence from multiple sources. Encouraging students to design their own data collection methodology or propose an original solution to a local weather-related problem extends their thinking into authentic scientific and engineering practice.