Weather Whirlwind Adventure

Pre-k, Kindergarten Grades

Lesson
45 minutes

Weather Whirlwind Adventure

Ariam Troncoso

Purpose

The purpose of this lesson is to engage young learners in exploring and understanding weather through their senses. By participating in hands-on activities and real-world observations, students will develop a foundational awareness of different weather types and how they can be described. This experiential approach encourages curiosity, creativity, and collaboration as students express their understanding through art, movement, and sensory experiences.

Learning goals

Students will use their senses to observe and describe different weather conditions, enhancing their understanding of how weather affects our environment and feelings. They will engage in hands-on activities to identify weather elements like rain, wind, and sunshine, and express their observations through art and movement. By collaborating on projects such as a weather mural and parade, students will demonstrate their ability to communicate and creatively represent weather types using sensory details.

Standards

Common Core - CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.K.1: Participate in collaborative conversations with diverse partners about kindergarten topics and texts with peers and adults in small and larger groups.
NGSS - K-ESS2-1: Use and share observations of local weather conditions to describe patterns over time.
Common Core - CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.K.2: Use a combination of drawing, dictating, and writing to compose informative/explanatory texts in which they name what they are writing about and supply some information about the topic.

Week 1	Day 1
Activities	Begin by setting up different stations around the classroom to simulate weather conditions. Use fans to create wind, spray bottles for rain, and warm lights for sunshine. In small groups, students will rotate through each station, using their senses to observe the simulated weather. Encourage them to describe what they see, feel, and hear at each station. For example, at the 'wind' station, students might talk about feeling the fan breeze and hearing the sound of the fan. This activity provides a tactile and auditory experience to help students grasp different weather conditions. (15 minutes) Set up a table with ice, a small heat lamp, and a shallow tray of water. Guide students to explore how weather elements are formed by observing ice melting into water and feeling the warmth from the lamp. Discuss how sunshine melts snow, turning it into water, and how rain is formed. Use simple language to explain these transformations and allow students to touch the ice and water to feel the changes. This hands-on activity helps students understand the physical properties of weather phenomena through direct interaction. (10 minutes) Provide students with a journal where they can draw or use stickers to represent the day's weather. Encourage them to think about and record what they noticed with their senses during the station activities. Prompt them to discuss how the weather made them feel, using questions like 'Did the wind feel cold or warm?' or 'What sounds did the rain make?' Facilitate a class discussion where students share their reflections, fostering a collaborative environment where they learn from each other's experiences. This activity helps students articulate their observations and feelings about weather in a creative format. (10 minutes) Provide art materials and natural items like leaves and twigs for students to create a weather collage. Ask them to depict different weather types they observed, using sensory details such as colors and textures that represent rain, wind, or sunshine. For example, they might use blue paint for rain or cotton balls for clouds. As they work, encourage them to discuss their choices with peers, promoting collaborative creativity. Display the completed collage in a common area, allowing students to showcase their understanding of weather visually. (10 minutes)
Deliverables
Preparation