This lesson asks students to think about the weather in their area and introduces them to weather and temperature trends in different latitudes of the United States. They will look at today's weather map and record the high temperatures for a few cities. Students will conclude by drawing pictures of themselves outdoors in their hometown and in another place that has different weather.

Geography

Standard 7: "The physical processes that shape the patterns of Earth's surface"

Two hours

• Computer with Internet access
• Wall map of the United States
• Small pieces of paper, approximately 4 X 4 inches (10 X 10 centimeters)
• Removable transparent tape
• Writing materials

Students will

• describe today's weather and see if they can find indoor clues about what the weather's like;
• discuss times when the weather has affected their plans;
• look at today's weather map and temperature listings and discuss the patterns they notice across the United States; and
• draw pictures of themselves outdoors today in their hometown and in another town with different weather.

Ask students to describe today's weather. Then have them look around the room and discuss how their classmates' clothing reflects the weather. Are they wearing sweaters and pants, or shorts and tank tops?

What other things can they see in the classroom that remind them of what the weather's like outside? They might notice decorations for a particular holiday, certain autumn or spring colors, or a stack of umbrellas or outside toys in one corner of the room.

Inform students that people all over the world are affected by the weather. Ask students to discuss some of the times when the weather has affected their activities or plans. For example, perhaps they've had to cancel a long-awaited excursion due to bad weather, or maybe they celebrated a winter holiday outdoors due to unseasonably warm weather.

Have students look at the current map at the Weather Channel Web site to see what the weather is like in other parts of the country. Ask them to describe the symbols the map uses to show what the weather is like. Then discuss today's weather in Florida, New York, California, and Montana.

Help students record the high temperatures, as seen on the Weather Channel map, for Seattle, Chicago, Boston, Los Angeles, Phoenix, Kansas City, Houston, and Miami.

Have a few students write the high temperatures on small pieces of construction paper. Use removable tape to place the papers onto the above cities on the class wall map.

Ask students to look at the map and find where the temperatures are the highest and where they are lowest. If weather patterns are relatively normal today, they should notice that the colder temperatures occur farther north in the country.

Discuss the fact that colder temperatures tend to occur in the northern part of the U.S. Ask students whether their town falls in the north, south, or central part of the country. Which city would tend to be colder: their town or Miami? Which city would tend to be warmer: their town or Chicago?

Ask students to contribute words that describe the weather in the places they have seen on the map. List their words on the board. To practice the alphabet and vocabulary, you can ask them to think of words that start with specific letters. For example: "What are some 'S' words that describe the weather in Phoenix?" Their answers might include "sunny," "stormy," or "scary," and you might suggest "steamy" or "scorching."

Have students choose one of the places they have investigated that's experiencing different weather from what they have in their own town today. Ask them to draw two pictures: one of themselves doing an outside activity in their town today, and one of them doing an outside activity in the other location. The pictures should reflect differences in clothing and activities as well as in what the sky and land might look like in both places.

Have students write sentences or words to describe what the weather is like in each scene.

Help students use books or the Internet to find out about some of the animals that are unique to certain climates in the United States. For example, the grizzly bear lives in northern climates, while the flamingo is found in subtropical Florida. Have the students draw pictures of these animals in the appropriate locations on a blank outline map or on blank paper.

National Geographic: Xpeditions Activity—Creative Climates
The Weather Channel