U.S. and World Weather
Grade Levels: 3 - 5
Objectives
- Students will read a weather map on an Internet site.
- Students will use a map key to tell the temperature.
- Students will name outdoor activities that are appropriate for high and low temperatures.
Materials
Procedures
- Introduce key vocabulary: degree Fahrenheit, key, temperature, thermometer.
- Have students go a weather website to complete the U.S. and World Weather worksheet.
- Remind students to record all temperatures in degrees Fahrenheit.
- Students may work in pairs or in small groups.
- Schedule time for students to share their findings with the class. You may want to print out the map and key and refer to it during the class discussion.
Assessment
- Use students' worksheet responses in addition to class discussion to evaluate their ability to find and use data on an Internet site, read the key for a map, suggest activities and clothing appropriate for different outdoor temperatures, and participate in group discussions. Assign a point value for each response.
- Find a variety of assessment techniques to use with this lesson.
Extension Activities
- Choose from a large collection of cross-curricular activities for all grade levels.
- Explore outstanding lessons and activities in the Weather theme.
- Have students make their own thermometer. Go to /weather/lesson-plan/4131.html and use simple materials to make a thermometer. (Student-made thermometers won't give the exact temperature, but they will show students how thermometers work.) Experiment to see how changing weather conditions affect students' thermometers.
- Direct students to Weather Basics (http://www.wxdude.com/basics.html). Have them read the entire online book and do the interactive activities, or select chapters that you think are especially important. When students are finished, have a class sing-along!

