Weather and Seasons

In this lesson students explore different weather associated with each of the four seasons. They develop their vocabulary related to the seasons through a read aloud and Socratic dialogue with visual aids. Students will then create a seasonal flip chart to compare and contrast different weather as well as human behavior throughout the seasons. They will carry this understanding of weather and seasons as they continue to discover elements of weather including extreme weather.

• Seasons are times of year that have specific weather patterns and amounts of daylight.
• In most places, winter is associated with cold weather while summer typically means warm or hot weather.
• Human beings modify their clothing and activities depending on the season.

• What are the four seasons?
• What makes one season different from another season?
• What weather do you think about when you hear “summer”?
• How do plants change from season to season?
• What patterns did you notice in the temperatures for each season? Are some seasons warmer or cooler than others?

Misconception: The seasons cause weather to change.

Fact: Seasons have specific weather patterns associated with them, but they aren’t the cause of the weather.  

Misconception: Snow and ice make it cold.

Fact: Snow and ice form when temperatures are low enough. In other words, cold weather causes snow and ice to form, not the other way around.

Season : a time of year that has specific weather patterns and amounts of daylight

This hands-on mini-lesson has students creating a seasonal flip chart to compare and contrast weather patterns associated with each season. Students engage in a circle discussion where they discuss the differences of each season and then draw pictures to deepen their understanding of the seasons. Finally, they use their charts to communicate the information they learned about weather and seasons with their classmates.