Fun With Air and Weather!

1.     Air and Weather can be studied year round. 

Since the weather is always changing, there is always something new to discuss. Depending on the part of the country you live in, however, there may be certain times of the year where getting outside and studying it becomes inconvenient.  I live in Chicago, so the ideal time to study the weather with my class is in the spring and fall.  So try to plan your studies for convenient times of year to be outside for your explorations.

2.     Get outside with your class. 

Build nature walks, leaf rubbing activities, apple picking, planting seeds, and other highly engaging activities into your unit.  Children love to work with nature and be a part of it.  Remember that having classes outside can be a memorable learning experience for students.

3.     Talk about the air and weather.

It seems mundane to us, but children enjoy talking about foggy days, temperatures, and of course snow falls (if you live in a part of the country with snow).  As the weather begins to break each spring, children enjoy longer days, rain puddles and budding flowers.  Encourage these discussions and remember that for children they are an important part of learning about the seasons.

4.     Celebrate each season with your class.

It’s challenging to embrace the highs and lows of each season for adults.  Living in Chicago, I am challenged each winter to find something cheery about the season.  Then I remember how important the gently melting snow is to nourishing the earth, so that it can grow plants again in the spring.  To remind myself and my students that spring is coming, each Groundhog’s day we plant an amaryllis bulb in our classroom.  As we watch it grow, the days begin to get longer, and the temperature begins to go up.  It’s a fun tradition.  Every season is important, and share the reasons why with your students.

5.     You can keep it simple.

The weather is all around us, you can study the types of clouds, chart the sunsets over a period of time, make shadow clocks, or conduct any other number of free weather observations with your students.  You can also check out my Understanding Air and Weather unit.  It’s a great way to get your students started with studying the weather.  For more tips on teaching science, view my post on How to Make Teaching Science Stress Free.

What fun weather explorations do you like to do with your students?  Or, is there another science unit that you and your students enjoy exploring?  Feel free to share it in the comments section below.

Enjoy!