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Weather & Seasons

Third graders learn what weather is — the day-to-day condition of the air — how it’s measured and forecast, and why Earth’s tilt gives us the pattern of seasons through the year.

Grade 3Weather40 minutes1 class period5E ModelExplicit teaching4 StandardsNGSS
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Lesson at a Glance

Everything you need before the bell rings

Learning Objectives

Students will be able to…

  • ✓Explain weather.
  • ✓Identify weather tools.
  • ✓Explain the cause of seasons.
  • ✓Read weather patterns.
Essential Question

Some days are sunny, some rainy; summers are warm and winters cold. What makes the weather change day to day — and why do the seasons cycle every year?

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Lesson Phases
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Vocabulary Terms
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Standards Aligned
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Interactive Task
Explore · Interactive

Weather & Seasons Check

Project each item and have students answer about weather and seasons. The tool explains weather, forecasting, and Earth’s tilt.

⛅ Understand weather & seasonsTry it
Answer each question about weather and seasons.
The Lesson · 5E Instructional Model (Engage · Explore · Explain · Elaborate · Evaluate)

40 minutes, five moves

Tap any phase to open the teacher moves and student actions.

1

Engage — Sunny, Rainy, Cold, Warm

5 min

Days change, and so do the seasons — what causes both?

👩‍🏫 Teacher Moves

  • Look at today’s weather.
  • Ask what makes it change.
  • Pose the question.

🎒 Student Actions

  • Observe the weather.
  • Wonder why.
  • Predict the idea.
2

Explore — Explore Weather

10 min

Students investigate.

👩‍🏫 Teacher Moves

  • Send students to the check.
  • Note weather tools.
  • Note the cause of seasons.

🎒 Student Actions

  • Answer them.
  • Note tools.
  • Note seasons.
3

Explain — Weather & Tilt

11 min

Students explain.

👩‍🏫 Teacher Moves

  • Explain weather.
  • Explain measuring it.
  • Explain the tilt and seasons.

🎒 Student Actions

  • Explain weather.
  • Explain tools.
  • Explain seasons.
4

Elaborate — Reading Patterns

9 min

Students elaborate.

👩‍🏫 Teacher Moves

  • Track weather over days.
  • Compare seasons.
  • Explain a forecast.

🎒 Student Actions

  • Track it.
  • Compare seasons.
  • Explain forecasts.
5

Evaluate — Evaluate

5 min

Students conclude.

👩‍🏫 Teacher Moves

  • Explain weather.
  • Explain the seasons.
  • Hand out the exit ticket.

🎒 Student Actions

  • Explain it.
  • Explain seasons.
  • Complete the exit ticket.
Standards Alignment

Built to the standards you report on

Aligned to the Next Generation Science Standards (Grade 3 / Elementary Science).

NGSS
3-ESS2-1

Represent data to describe typical weather conditions during a season.

NGSS
3-ESS2-2

Obtain and combine information about climate in different regions.

NGSS
3-ESS3-1

Make a claim about reducing the impacts of a weather hazard.

NGSS
SEP-4

Analyzing and interpreting data.

Differentiation

One lesson, every learner

Multilingual Learners

ELL / EMERGING READERS
  • Weather-tool picture cards.
  • Sentence frame: “Today the weather is ___.”
  • Track daily weather.

Support & Access

IEP / 504
  • Start with sunny vs. rainy.
  • Track weather on a chart.
  • Use weather symbols.

Stretch & Extend

GIFTED / EARLY FINISHERS
  • Graph a week of weather.
  • Compare climates.
  • Explain a weather map.
Materials

What to gather

  • 📽️Projector / board
  • 🌡️Thermometers
  • 💻Weather & Seasons Check
  • 📊Weather charts
  • ✏️Pencils
  • 🎫Exit-ticket slips
Vocabulary

Key terms — hover for a quick definition

weatherthe day-to-day condition of the airtemperaturehow hot or cold it isseasona part of the year with typical weathermeteorologista scientist who studies weatherforecasta prediction of the weatherclimatethe usual weather of a place over timetiltEarth’s axis angle, causing seasonsprecipitationrain, snow, sleet, or hail
Evaluate

Exit Ticket

Preview the three formative checks. Tap “Sample answer” to see what mastery looks like — hide them before you print for students.

QUESTION 1
What is weather?
What the air and sky are like at a place at a certain time (like sunny or rainy).
QUESTION 2
What causes the seasons?
The tilt of Earth’s axis as it orbits the Sun.
QUESTION 3
What do we call a scientist who forecasts the weather?
A meteorologist.

Elaborate: be a forecaster.

Have students track daily weather for a week, graph it, and use the pattern to make a forecast — just like a meteorologist. A printable weather sheet is in the Science library.

Study · Flashcards

Study the key terms

Tap a card to flip it, then rate whether you knew it. Built from this lesson’s vocabulary.

🃏 Weather & SeasonsFlip
Card 1
Term
Tap to flip →
Meaning
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Nice work!

Practice · Quiz

Check your understanding

A quick self-check with instant feedback, drawn from this lesson’s key terms.

📝 Weather & SeasonsQuiz
Score: 0
1 / 6
Question 1
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Nice work!

Practice · Worksheet

Printable worksheet

A print-and-go review sheet with a built-in answer key. Tap “Show answer key” to reveal answers, or print the clean version for students.

🖨️ Weather & SeasonsPrint
Name: ________________________
Date: ____________

Part A · Write the word that matches each meaning

Word bank: climate, forecast, meteorologist, precipitation, season, temperature, tilt, weather
  1. the day-to-day condition of the air
  2. Earth’s axis angle, causing seasons
  3. how hot or cold it is
  4. a prediction of the weather
  5. a scientist who studies weather
  6. rain, snow, sleet, or hail
  7. the usual weather of a place over time
  8. a part of the year with typical weather

Part B · Show what you learned

  1. What is weather?
  2. What causes the seasons?
  3. What do we call a scientist who forecasts the weather?
Answer key — Part A: 1) weather · 2) tilt · 3) temperature · 4) forecast · 5) meteorologist · 6) precipitation · 7) climate · 8) season
Part B: 1) What the air and sky are like at a place at a certain time (like sunny or rainy). 2) The tilt of Earth’s axis as it orbits the Sun. 3) A meteorologist.