Weather, climate and living things
Run your own weather station for a week
How much does the weather change in one place across seven days?
Watch first
An English teaching video on this topic from iNewittAll. Watch it, then scroll down for the lesson.
What you need
Tick each one as you find it — 0 of 5 ready.
Plan the fair test
- Change: The day of the week
- Measure: Temperature in °C and rainfall in mm
- Keep the same: Same time of day, same spot, thermometer always in shade
Objectives this evidences
- Understand weather and climate, including the change in climate from the Ice Age to the present
Do it, one step at a time
Step 1 of 5
- Step 1. Stand the jar in an open spot away from walls and trees, and put the thermometer in shade at the same height each day.
- Step 2. At the same time every day, record the temperature, the rainfall in millimetres, the wind direction and the cloud cover in eighths.
- Step 3. Empty the rain gauge after every reading.
- Step 4. After seven days, draw a climate-style graph: bars for rainfall and a line for temperature on the same axes.
- Step 5. Write two sentences comparing your week with the usual average for the month where you live.
What should happen
Readings jump around day to day. That is weather. Climate is the average of thousands of days like these, which is why one cold week proves nothing about climate change.
Think about: If your thermometer sat in direct sun, would your temperatures be too high or too low, and why?
Write up your result
A sentence or two is enough to save it.
The lessons behind this practical
Each one opens with the same short film, and the film has a written transcript underneath if reading is easier than watching.
Now the quiz for this topic
Questions come from the lessons behind this practical, so nothing is asked that has not been taught.
Quiz
Weather, climate and living things quiz
4 questions from the lessons in this stage. No timer, and you can try again as many times as you like.