This lesson asks students to consider the weather and climate in their home region and to think about the ways in which people complain about the weather. Students will refer to a climate map to predict what the climate might be like in specified United States cities. They will then find out those cities' average temperatures and precipitation by using a weather Web site. As a final project, students will write statements that people in these cities might make to describe their weather and climate.

Geography, social studies

Standard 8: "The characteristics and spatial distribution of ecosystems on Earth's surface"
Standard 15: "How physical systems affect human systems"

One to two hours

• Computer with Internet access
• World climate map
• Globe
• Story about an extreme weather scenario temperature/precipitation chart for major U.S. cities (available online)

Students will

• describe the weather complaints they have heard other make or they have made themselves;
• predict the weather in specified cities, based on information at a climate map;
• use the Internet to find out the average temperatures and precipitation for these cities;
• determine the months in which each of these cities experiences the most extreme weather, and compare that weather to the climate of their home region; and
• write statements that people might make about the weather in their cities

Ask students if they have ever heard people complaining about the weather or if they have ever complained about the weather themselves. What types of complaints do they hear in their area? Who tends to complain more—adults or kids? Do they always agree with their parents about whether the weather is a problem?

Show students the world climate map, and explain to them what the colors on the map show. Also explain that average temperature decreases as latitude increases. You might want to have them look at a globe to better understand this concept.

Point out the locations of the following cities on the map: Phoenix, Seattle, Chicago, Miami, Anchorage, and their town. Have students predict what the weather might be like in each of these cities based on what they have seen on the climate map.

Help students find out the temperatures and precipitation for these cities in the winter and summer. They can find this information at the Weather Channel site.

Have older students write the average high and low temperatures and precipitation for January and July on their own paper. For younger students, write the average high temperatures for January and July on the board and record the month in which each city gets the most rainfall and the amount of rainfall that occurs during this month.

Help students compare the cities to each other and to their own town. Have students determine the month (January or July) in which each of these cities experiences the most extreme weather (e.g., January in Anchorage or July in Phoenix). This might be open to some debate—many people consider Chicago too cold in January and too hot in July!

Have students write statements that people might make about each city when they complain about that city's weather. For example, someone in Phoenix in July might say, "It's so hot, I can't leave my house," and someone in Seattle in January might say, "I'm so tired of all this cold rain!"

Inform students that not everyone in these places complains about the weather, and many people like what is generally considered extreme weather or enjoy spending time indoors during periods of bad weather. There must be some good things about the extreme weather in the off-season.

Have students write additional statements and/or draw pictures describing the things that they would recommend people in these cities do to make the most of their weather situations. What would students like to do in these cities if they were there when the weather wasn't ideal?

National Geographic: Xpeditions Activity—Creative Climates
Weather.com