WEATHER TEACHER GUIDE

About Focus on English

The Focus on English series is designed to provide an English language scaffold for new learners of English in New Zealand schools and supports the curriculum in mathematics, science and social studies for years 7 to 10.

High-frequency vocabulary, technical terms and basic language features are taught in contexts that support learning in science, mathematics and social studies at curriculum levels 3–4.

There are six topics in the series:

  1. Animals – English for science
  2. Shapes – English for mathematics
  3. Plants – English for science
  4. Measurement – English for mathematics
  5. Weather – English for science
  6. Conservation – English for science

(Download the Focus on English activity spreadsheet if you would like to search/sort all activities in the Focus on English series.)

All activities are designed to be used with teacher input. It is recommended that teachers follow the sequence of activities in a subtopic to teach the target vocabulary.

In each subtopic, students:

  • listen, look, read and talk to establish familiarity with the context
  • are introduced to 20 target words
  • practise recognising and producing the written and spoken forms of each word
  • relate form and meaning
  • practise recognising the environment in which the words usually occur
  • use the words in new contexts.

About this teacher guide

This document contains the teacher guide pages for all activities in the Weather topic.

Click on the hyperlinks to access:

  • a PDF of each activity (teacher guide plus student worksheet)
  • audio file(s) where available for student support
  • additional resources where available.

Weathertopic objective

  • Recognise and use specialist and general vocabulary relevant to the science curriculum strandMaking Sense of Planet Earth and Beyond.
  • Read and listen in order to understand and respond to simple information about weather.

1

ESOL Online – Focus on English – 1. Animals

5.1 Introducing climate......

5.2 Target vocabulary – climate......

5.3 Organising target vocabulary – climate......

5.4 Pronouncing target vocabulary – climate......

5.5 Familiarisation with target vocabulary – climate......

5.6 Finish this sentence......

5.7 Weather game......

5.8 Local climate......

5.9 Writing target vocabulary – climate......

5.10 Read and draw......

5.11 The New Zealand climate......

5.12 Introducing wind......

5.13 Beaufort scale......

5.14 How does wind blow?......

5.15 Cause and effect......

5.16 Using ‘this’ and ‘these’......

5.17 Sea breezes......

5.18 Using ‘why’ and ‘because’......

5.19 Māui and the Sun......

5.20 Introducing water......

5.21 Target vocabulary – water......

5.22 Water puzzle......

5.23 Pronouncing target vocabulary – water......

5.24 Familiarisation with target vocabulary – water......

5.25 Spelling target vocabulary - water......

5.26 Noun, adjective, verb or adverb?......

5.27 Water target vocabulary – same or different?......

5.28 Tell me about water......

5.29 Introducing rain......

5.30 What is rain?......

5.31 Rainfall extremes......

5.32 Which weather phenomenon?......

5.33 Storm poems......

5.34 Stormy January......

5.35 Coping with weather......

5.36 Survival kit......

5.37 My country’s climate......

5.38 Introducing storms......

5.39 Target vocabulary – storms......

5.40 Identifying target vocabulary – storms......

5.41 Pronouncing target vocabulary – storms......

5.42 Familiarisation with target vocabulary – storms......

5.43 Writing target vocabulary – storms......

5.44 Matching adjectives, verbs and nouns......

5.45 Verb clusters......

5.46 Storms target vocabulary – same or different?......

5.47 Storm story......

5.48 Introducing personal recounts......

5.49 The storm......

5.50 Irregular past tense......

5.51 The cyclone......

5.52 Adjectival order......

5.53 Write a personal recount......

5.1Introducing climate

Topic: Weather

Subtopic: Climate

Activity type/skill: Orientation

Literacy focus: Vocabulary

Objective

  • Provide orientation to the subtopic.
  • Make links with previous knowledge.

What you need

  • Student worksheet
  • Audio track 5.1a
  • Audio track 5.1b

What to do

  1. Look out the window and discuss the currentweather. Ask what other kinds of weather students can name in English. Draw out the basic words – weather, sun, wind, rain.
  1. Look at the first page of the student worksheet and have students draw a sunny day, a windy day and a rainy day in the circles and label them.
  1. Play track 5.1a (Track 1 for this topic) and listen to the poem, pausing the track after the first time it is read.
  1. Discuss the poem and what it means.
  1. Continue playing the track, letting the students complete eachline and then supplying alternate lines.
  1. Look at the second, thirdand fourth pages of the student worksheet. Play track 5.1b (Track 2 for this topic) and listen to and read the text together.
  1. Talk about the ideas in the text. Draw out thestudents’ existing knowledge of the causes ofweather.Discuss the weather vocabulary used.
  1. Draw theweather symbols on the board and get thestudents to label them.
  1. Look at the weatherpage of a newspaper and discuss the weathervocabulary and symbols used there.Ask the students to read pieces of the text from the newspaper andthen explain the related graphic(s).If students come from the northern hemisphere,relate the current season/weather in theircountry to the season/weather here.
  1. Look at the fifth page of the student worksheet. Explain to students that they need to keep a weather diary for 5 days and describe the weather using simple,accurate sentences.Leave information like this on the board duringthe time they are writing this diary, to supporttheir writing:
  • Temperature: cold? cool? warm? hot? – work with them to add examples ofmodifiers like ‘fairly’ or ‘very’ as needed andgive them practice in estimating thetemperature in degrees Celsius.
  • Wind: none? a breeze? a gale? direction?– help them add any needed modifiers like ‘slight’, ‘strong’ and an estimate of speed (in km/h) and direction.
  • Precipitation: mist? fog? drizzle? showers?rain? hail? snow? – work together to addmodifiers like ‘light’, ‘heavy’ and so on.
  • Cloud cover: complete? scattered? patchy?clear sky? fine? sunny? thick cloud? thin?overcast? a few clouds? dark clouds?fluffy clouds? white?
  • Storm activity: thunder? lightning?
  1. Each day, when the students have finishedwriting the weather for the day, study theweather report in the previous day’s newspapertogether. Is it similar to what they wrote? Did itpredict what happened?

Extending the activity

  • Go to the library and find books about weather.Books for youngerchildren are useful.
  • The internet is a particularly useful source ofweather information because it is uptodate andprovides graphics to illustrate weatherconcepts.Try:
  • Use the newspaper weather report or websites such as or find outwhat the weather is like in the students’ homecountries.Help them to interpret the information, which isusually in numerical and table form, clearly andaccurately.
  • ‘It is very hot in Hong Kong today,and there is a strong wind.’
  • ‘In Bangkoktoday, it is raining heavily and it is not as hot asusual.’

5.2Target vocabulary – climate

Topic: Weather

Subtopic: Climate

Activity type/skill: Word list

Literacy focus: Vocabulary

Objective

  • Introduce target vocabulary.
  • Experience spoken and written forms and their usage.

What you need

  • Student worksheet
  • Audio track 5.2

What to do

  1. Play track 5.2 (Track 3 for this topic)and have students look at both pages of the student worksheet as they hear each word and its extensions (tense variations and plurals) and the word in a defining context.

area / cause / coast / climate / cool
effect / evenly / fall / flow / heat
low / mountain / pressure / rarely / region
rise / speed / temperature / vary / weather
  1. Have students listen again and repeat the words.
  1. Have students copy the words in the spaces.
  1. Point out plurals and changed verb forms (‘When water flows, it moves smoothly’).

Extending the activity

  • Use the lists for revision and reference.

5.3Organising target vocabulary – climate

Topic: Weather

Subtopic: Climate

Activity type/skill: Jumbled words

Literacy focus: Vocabulary

Objective

  • Spell the words.
  • Practise alphabetical order.

What you need

  • Student worksheet

What to do

  1. Have students look at the jumbled words at the top of the worksheet.
  1. Show students how to unjumble a word.
  1. Have students unjumble each word and write it in the first column.
  1. Working in pairs, have students check each other’s work.
  1. Ask students to write the words in alphabetical order in the second column.

Extending the activity

  • Give students more words to unjumble.
  • Have students jumble words for others to unjumble.

5.4Pronouncing target vocabulary – climate

Topic: Weather

Subtopic: Climate

Activity type/skill: Pronunciation

Literacy focus: Vocabulary

Objective

  • Pronounce words.
  • Identify the sound of words.

What you need

  • Student worksheet
  • Weather vocab cards

What to do

  1. Have students look at the words at the bottom of the worksheet or the weather vocab card.
  1. Say the words and ask students to circle them.
  1. Say the words and ask students to repeat them.
  1. Tap out the rhythm of words.
  1. Point to words at random and ask students to say them.
  1. Have students point to words for other students to say.

5.5Familiarisation with target vocabulary – climate

Topic: Weather

Subtopic: Climate

Activity type/skill: Word cards

Literacy focus: Vocabulary

Objective

  • Gain familiarity with spoken and written forms of words.

What you need

  • Student worksheet
  • Scissors

What to do

  1. Have students cut out the 20 word cards on the student worksheet and place them face up in front of them.
  1. Have studentspoint to each word as you say them in random order.
  1. Have students sort words into categories, for example:
  • the same number of syllables
  • the same initial sound
  • the same final sound
  • the same medial vowel sound
  • the same sound for the letter ‘a’.
  1. Have students:
  • place the cards face down
  • pick up a card, say and spell it
  • turn the card over and say and spell it from memory.

Extending the activity

  • Have students store the cards and use them daily for revision.
  • Use this set of cards with other vocab cards to play sound dominoes, matching final and initial sounds.

5.6 Finish this sentence

Topic: Weather

Subtopic: Climate

Activity type/skill: Word forms

Literacy focus: Vocabulary

Objective

  • Become familiar with different forms oftarget words.

What you need

  • Student worksheet

What to do

  1. Look at the student worksheetand talk about the words from the word list, thenhelp students place the words in the correctspaces using word length as a check onaccuracy.
  1. Have them complete the exercise inpairs or as a class group.Once they haveagreed on the correct answers, have them read thesentences aloud. Explain that they may oftenbe able to make corrections to their work byreading aloud to test whether it ‘sounds right’.
  1. Have a student read each section aloud,helping them pronounce the words accurately.

5.7 Weather game

Topic: Weather

Subtopic: Climate

Activity type/skill: Using weather expressions

Literacy focus: Vocabulary

Objective

  • Speak fluently when usingweather vocabulary.

What you need

  • Student worksheet
  • Dice and counters

What to do

  1. Look at the student worksheet and talk about the symbols.Draw them on the board and label them(see Activity 5.1 for their meanings).
  1. Before they start to play, copy this informationonthe board and draw and label compasspoints.

Under 5°
Very cold / 6–10°
Cold / 11–15°
Cool / 16–20°
Warm / 21–25°
Hot / Over 25°
Very hot
10–29 km/h
A breeze / 30–59 km/h
A wind / 60+ km/h
A gale
  1. Then play the game:
  • Take turns to throw a dice and move your counter.
  • When you land on a square, use the picture clues and wind and temperatureinformation on the board to makea statement about theweather.
  1. Play the game often.The first time you play, have the students makea simple comment about the picture cue. Thenext time, have them talk about the wind ortemperature. Then combine the two.
  1. Talk about the differences between a wind and a gale and what is regarded as hot and cold in different countries.

5.8 Local climate

Topic: Weather

Subtopic: Climate

Activity type/skill: Using weather expressions

Literacy focus: Vocabulary

Objective

  • Write new vocabulary in a meaningfulcontext.
  • Personalise use of new vocabulary.

What you need

  • Student worksheet

What to do

  1. Talk with the students about their experience ofthe local climate.Look at websites like and to see if their impressions are accurate.
  1. Look at the student worksheet and ask them to find and read out any sentences thatare true for the local area.
  1. Have them write the name of the local city orarea on the top line of the left-hand column and then write three true sentences about the local weather.
  1. Have them write the name of the city orarea they come from on the top line of the right-hand column and then write three true sentencesabout the weather in that place,using their ownknowledge and information from websites.

5.9 Writing target vocabulary – climate

Topic: Weather

Subtopic: Climate

Activity type/skill: Dictation

Literacy focus: Vocabulary

Objective

  • Process the meaning of target words.
  • Become conscious of grammatical forms.

What you need

  • Student worksheet

What to do

  1. Have students work in pairs. If there is only onelanguage learner, have them work with a nativespeaker of English to complete this activity.
  1. Ask the studentsto listen carefully and try toremember as much as possible of what you say. They can write key words on a piece ofpaper if they want to.Read this sentence twice, at normal speed:

Most snow in New Zealand falls in mountainareas, but snow sometimes falls near the coastin the east of the South Island.

  1. Have the students work together to reconstructthe sentence on paper. When they think theyhave got it as accurate as possible, have them writeit on the lines at the top of the student worksheet.
  1. Then write the sentence on the board and letthe students correct their own work.Praise accuracy of spelling, punctuation,grammar (falls, in the east, near the coastand so on).

Extending the activity

  • Repeat this activity regularly.Try these sentences:
  • The regionsnear the north and south poles arealways cold because the sun is low in the sky.
  • In the southern part of New Zealand, winter isthe driest time.

5.10 Read and draw

Topic: Weather

Subtopic: Climate

Activity type/skill: Word/picture matching

Literacy focus: Vocabulary

Objective

  • Focus on the meaning of target vocabulary.
  • Use vocabulary in new contexts.

What you need

  • Student worksheet

What to do

  1. Look at the bottom of the student worksheet. Read the captions in the boxes as a group.
  1. Copy the nine boxes on the board. Ask them tothink of something suggested by the caption foryou to draw in each box.
  1. Rub your drawings offthe board. Tell them they have 10 minutes todraw something in each box to illustrate thecaptions. (The competence ofthe drawing is irrelevant –it is the idea thatcounts.)Make it a competition. Tell them you will givetwo marks for each idea that is correct anddifferent from the picture you drew on the board andone mark for drawings that are the same as theone that you drew on the board.Encourage lateral thinking and using thevocabulary in a new environment, for example, an electric jug to heat water.
  1. Have the students explain their drawings to thegroup, which must accept that the drawingsaccurately represent the caption before marksare allocated.

5.11 The New Zealand climate

Topic: Weather

Subtopic: Climate

Activity type/skill: Identifying information

Literacy focus: Vocabulary

Objective

  • Use new vocabulary in a meaningful context.
  • Work with spoken and written texts.

What you need

  • Student worksheet
  • Audio track 5.11

What to do

  1. Look at the first page of the student worksheet and have the students silently read the information reportabout the New Zealand climate.Then have them readit aloud section by section,using the map to find the regions mentioned.
  1. Personalise the information by finding where thestudents live and identifying the information thatapplies to that area. For example, Auckland is innorthern New Zealandso it must have asubtropical climate, winter must be the wettesttime, it must have at least 2,000 hours ofsunshine a year and so on.
  1. Play track 5.11 (Track 4 for this topic) and have students listen to the spoken text giving similar information.
  1. Working in pairs, have students look at the second page of the student worksheet. They must read the sentences in the gridand tick the appropriate boxes to show whichtext or texts contains the information. Explain that they must read and listen for theinformation – not the exact words of thestatements. Play the track again to help them.
  1. Mark as a group, identifying the phrases in eachtext that give the information.

Answers:

Statement / Reading / Listening
Northern New Zealand has a subtropical climate. /  / 
Mountains divide the east and west sides of both islands. /  / 
The west coast of the South Island is the wettest area in New Zealand. /  / 
In northern New Zealand and the central NorthIsland, there is more rain in winter than in summer. /  / 
The coolest month of the year is usually July. /  / 
Frosts can happen anywhere in New Zealand. /  / 
New Zealand is a sunny country. /  / 
The warmest months are usually January and February. /  / 
Most of New Zealand has a temperate climate. /  / 
Snow rarely falls in coastal areas of the NorthIsland. /  / 

5.12 Introducing wind

Topic: Weather

Subtopic: Climate

Activity type/skill: Orientation

Literacy focus: Reading

Genre: Explanations

Objective

  • Provide orientation to the subject of wind.
  • Make links to prior knowledge.

What you need