Teacher sheet · Ages 10–11 · about 45–50 minutes
Weather: measuring and forecasting
Lesson page: echoesof.science/school/weather/ages-10-11/ · Pupil worksheet: echoesof.science/school/weather/ages-10-11/print/
Learning aims
- Distinguish weather (short-term) from climate (30-year average).
- Name weather instruments and what they measure.
- Explain wind as air moving from high to low pressure because of uneven heating.
- Recognise fronts on a weather map and describe how forecasts are made.
Lesson plan
| Time | Activity |
|---|---|
| 5 min | Starter: show today's forecast map. What do the H, L and coloured lines mean? |
| 15 min | Read the text; look at a real weather chart with fronts. |
| 15 min | Set up the class weather station and take the first readings. |
| 5 min | Play Which instrument? |
| 5 min | Quiz; plan the daily reading rota. |
Materials for the experiment
- A home-made rain gauge (plastic bottle with funnel and ruler)
- A thermometer
- A ribbon or strip of plastic bag tied to a stick (wind streamer)
- A compass
- A weather record sheet
Safety: Stay in the school grounds with an adult. Never look at the Sun. Glass thermometers break easily: handle with care. The teacher cuts the bottle for the rain gauge and tapes the edge.
Common misconceptions
| Pupils may think… | Actually… |
|---|---|
| A north wind blows towards the north. | Winds are named after where they come from. |
| Weather and climate are the same. | Climate is the average weather over about 30 years. |
| Clouds are water vapour. | Water vapour is invisible; clouds are tiny droplets of liquid water (or ice) that have condensed. |
Worksheet answers
- Cold front: blue line with triangles. Warm front: red line with semicircles. The symbols point the way the front is moving.
- The Sun heats the Earth unevenly; warm air rises and leaves low pressure, cooler air sinks and makes high pressure; air moves from high to low pressure, which is the wind.
- Depends on the class data; a good answer gives one day and compares the forecast with the readings.
- Weather is the state of the air over hours or days; climate is the average weather over a long time, usually 30 years.
Quiz answers
- What is the difference between weather and climate? Climate is the average weather over many years. Weather is short-term; climate is usually averaged over 30 years.[1][2]
- Which instrument measures wind speed? An anemometer. An anemometer measures wind speed.[3]
- A north wind blows… from the north. Winds are named after the direction they come from.[3]
- Which way does air move? From high pressure to low pressure. Air flows from high to low pressure.[7]
- High pressure often brings… clear blue skies. Highs are often linked with clear skies.[8]
- On a weather map, a blue line with triangles is… a cold front. Cold fronts are blue with triangles; warm fronts red with semicircles.[10]
Going further
Make a simple pressure log: read the barometer (or a weather website for your town) each day and plot it with your rain readings. Did rain come more often on low-pressure days?
Sources used in this lesson
- [1] What is the difference between weather and climate? (European Space Agency (ESA)): reliability High
- [2] What is climate? (Met Office (UK national weather service)): reliability High
- [3] How do we measure the weather? (Met Office (UK national weather service)): reliability High
- [4] How we measure rainfall (Met Office (UK national weather service)): reliability High
- [5] Precipitation and the Water Cycle (U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), Water Science School): reliability High
- [6] Understanding weather (Met Office (UK national weather service)): reliability High
- [7] Why Does the Wind Blow? (NOAA / NASA SciJinks): reliability High
- [8] High and Low Pressure Systems (NOAA / NASA SciJinks): reliability High
- [9] Air Pressure (NOAA National Weather Service, JetStream): reliability High
- [10] Weather fronts (Met Office (UK national weather service)): reliability High
- [11] How weather forecasts are created (Met Office (UK national weather service)): reliability High
Full list with links and a note on each source's reliability: echoesof.science/school/weather/sources/
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