COURSE
Weather
Weather explores these key concepts and much more:
- The Atmosphere
- Temperature
- Precipitation
- Evaporation
- Condensation
- Measurements
- Climate & Seasons
COURSE OVERVIEW
Teach your child about weather and encourage their scientific thinking skills as they engage in this course’s fun observation activities! Through various hands-on projects, including making a rain gauge, growing salt crystals, and more, your child will delve into different aspects of the weather, such as the Sun’s position, the water cycle, precipitation, and clouds. They’ll also explore weather forecasting and the atmosphere, helping them learn more about the world around them!
During this course’s 15 lessons, your child will discover that observation is a part of scientific investigations, and they’ll increase their knowledge of the many elements of weather.
Lesson 1: What Is the Weather?
From sky conditions to wind to precipitation to temperature, this lesson will introduce your child to the many facets of weather. They’ll also explore how weather affects people in their daily lives.
Lesson 2: Temperature
Your child’s learning will heat up as they discover the Fahrenheit and Celsius temperature scales! They’ll also learn about thermometers as they take the temperature of household items and observe and record temperature changes.
Lesson 3: Wind
Create an atmosphere of learning as you teach your child about how air moves across Earth’s surface. Through observing how things move when a fan is turned on, they’ll learn that the wind, though invisible, can be a powerful force.
Lesson 4: Rain
Knowledge will rain down as your child discovers the concepts of evaporation and condensation. They’ll learn how water gets into the sky and what makes it fall from the sky.
Lesson 5: Sun
The day will be sunny and bright as you introduce your child to the relationship between sunlight and temperature! They’ll learn about the colors of light and about ultraviolet light and how it can affect our skin.
Lesson 6: Clouds
Look, up in the sky! Is it a cirrus, stratus, cumulus, or cumulonimbus cloud? By the end of this lesson, your child will be able to tell. They’ll also discover that fog is actually a cloud that’s very close to the ground!
Lesson 7: Precipitation
The anticipation of learning about precipitation—and creating some fun projects—is building! In this lesson, your child will learn about forms of water through making a rain gauge and growing salt crystals!
Lesson 8: Wind Direction
In this lesson, your child will learn that a change in wind direction often brings a change in weather. They’ll also discover that a weathervane is used to show which way the wind is blowing, and they’ll get to create a wind chime!
Lesson 9: Wind Strength
Your child’s learning momentum will continue to build as they learn how wind speed is determined. They’ll even get to make an anemometer, a tool for measuring how hard the wind is blowing!
Lesson 10: Powerful Weather
Thunderstorms, blizzards, dust storms, tornados, hurricanes—sometimes weather is extremely powerful! In this lesson, your child will learn how powerful weather systems are alike and different.
Lesson 11: Weather Reports
What’s the weather like today? In this lesson, your child will discover that a forecast is a weather prediction, and they’ll work on observing and recording weather changes during the day.
Lesson 12: Seasons
Learning is always in season! Teach your child about the seasons that are common in Earth’s temperate zones, including the continental United States. Your child will observe some of the things that make the seasons different.
Lesson 13: Climate
Help your child understand the connection between the climate of a place and the plants and animals that live there. They’ll also discover that sometimes, a country can have many different climates—like the United States!
Lesson 14: The Water Cycle
In this lesson, your child will learn about hourly and daily weather reports and discover that the water cycle is the way that water evaporates on Earth’s surface, becoming clouds that turn into precipitation.
Lesson 15: Weather Review
Presenting your confident learner! Celebrate your child’s accomplishments as they choose topics related to weather and create a presentation to explain what they have learned. Encourage your child to share their presentation with family and friends!
