Grade 2 Weather Unit Outline:

This unit outline is a Grade 2 unit developed around building knowledge about the weather and how the weather affects us. The Evergreen Curriculum outlines that Grade 2 students need to begin to understand how to observe weather, record weather information, that weather changes from day to day as well as throughout the seasons. This unit is outlined to meet the Evergreen Curriculums objectives of understanding weather.

Evergreen Curriculum Objectives:

  1. Observe and record data.
  2. Use a thermometer to measure air temperature.
  3. Observe and record cloud patterns.
  4. Take weather measurements.
  5. Construct an instrument for obtaining measurements and collecting data about weather.
  6. Describe weather.
  7. Describe weather changes that occur from day to day.
  8. Describe weather changes that occur with the seasons.
  9. Explain the effects of weather.
  10. Illustrate how living things adapt to the seasonal changes of the weather.
  11. Investigate the relationship between cloud formations and weather.
  12. Suggest why understanding weather is important.
  13. Describe some effects of weather on agriculture.
  14. Show how weather affects our daily lives.

Lesson One:

  • Launch weather unit by creating a KWL chart to learn what the students know about weather and also the questions they would like answered about weather. This will help to include students in the planning process
  • Read the story 'What will the weather be like today?'
  • Brainstorm all the types of weather that the students know
  • Students will dramatize different types of weather by using our bodies to show what different types of weather look like Ex) students swaying back and forth to show the wind
  • Students will then look out the window to see what the weather is like outside that day. We will discuss how we know what the weather is by looking out the window
  • Students will be introduced to their log book where they will complete the first portion of the log book using pictures to show what the weather is outside today

Lesson Two:

  • Start by showing the students the weather network page for Bethune
  • Show how the weather network uses weather icons (pictures) to show us what the weather will be like
  • discuss what the different icons mean- what might the weather be like outside by looking at the icons
  • Introduce our weather icon. Have the students guess what the weather may be outside if when I show each icon.
  • These icons will be used in our morning routine to discuss what the weather is outside each day.
  • We will then Re read the story "What will the weather be like today?' focusing more on the illustrations of the story. 'how does weather look?'
  • Show the students different weather pictures- sunny, snowing, hailing, foggy ect
  • have the students look at the picture and discuss the weather that the picture is showing
  • students will continue working in their weather log books demonstrating knowledge of different types of weather completing the page 'a______day' where they will pick a type of weather and draw a picture to demonstrate that weather

Lesson Three:

  • Students will begin to learn about the different seasons and how the weather changes throughout the season
  • We will brainstorm all 4 of the seasons that we know writing them up on the whiteboard
  • We will discuss how a tree can tell us what season it is outside
  • I will use the overhead projector to show pictures of a tree and they have to tell me what season it is by looking at the tree
  • We will document the information that a tree tells us for each season (ex. Summer the leaves are really green and there is lots of leaves)
  • students will then create a seasons wheel using a tree to show the changes of the seasons
  • They will draw what the tree looks like in each season on a spinning wheel that when it turns on the tree trunk it shows the seasons changing

Lesson Four:

  • Students will begin to understand knowledge of dressing appropriate for different weather
  • Will start by doing a suitcase activity- I will pull different outfits out of a suitcase and the students will guess what type of weather I am dressing for
  • Discuss as a class why that outfit is appropriate for the weather and why it is important to dress that way (Ex. Winter we need warm clothes so we don’t freeze)
  • Students will then have their own people to dress appropriately for different types of weather
  • I will model this activity with a large template of the same people cut out
  • students will create their booklets of dressing for the weather appropriately

Lesson Five:

  • Students will participate in an exploration activity about wind
  • Each student will get a streamer and we will go outside with our streamers
  • We will discuss what happens to our streamers in different areas of the playground (ex. Close to the building, right in the middle of the playground)
  • Students will discover that the wind moves the streamer in different directions and the force of the wind is different in different areas of the playground
  • After the exploration the students will document their findings by drawing pictures of what their streamer looked like in different areas of the playground

Lesson Six: Clouds-

  • Read the story 'It looked like spilt milk'. Students will make predictions about what the story is about throughout the story
  • Once the story is over I will have a powerpoint presentation to answer all of the students questions that came from the KWL chart about clouds
  • Here are some of the questions and answers that will be on the powerpoint

Weatherwizkids.com-

What are clouds?
A cloud is a large collection of very tiny droplets of water or ice crystals. The droplets are so small and light that they can float in the air.
How are clouds formed?
All air contains water, but near the ground it is usually in the form of an invisible gas called water vapour. When warm air rises, it expands and cools. Cool air can't hold as much water vapour as warm air, so some of the vapour condenses onto tiny pieces of dust that are floating in the air and forms a tiny droplet around each dust particle. When billions of these droplets come together they become a visible cloud.
Why are clouds white?
Clouds are white because they reflect the light of the sun. Light is made up of colors of the rainbow and when you add them all together you get white. The sun appears a yellow color because it sends out more yellow light than any other color. Clouds reflect all the colors the exact same amount so they look white.
Why do clouds turn gray?
Clouds are made up of tiny water droplets or ice crystals, usually a mixture of both. The water and ice scatter all light, making clouds appear white. If the clouds get thick enough or high enough all the light above does not make it through, hence the gray or dark look. Also, if there are lots of other clouds around, their shadow can add to the gray or multicoloured gray appearance.

  • I will then do the cloud in a bottle experiment for the students to show all of the ingredients that a cloud needs
  • Students will complete an exit slip on what they learned about clouds

Lesson Seven:

  • Students will begin to predict what the temperature is today
  • we will brainstorm ways that we could find out what the temperature is ( weather network, newspaper, radio, *thermometer*)
  • Students will begin to learn how to read a thermometer
  • The students will take different readings in different temperature water to learn how to read the thermometer
  • Students will also record their information by coloring thermometers in their log books.
  • As a group to close the lesson will go outside to record the temperature outside that day