How do meteorologists differentiate between droughts and dry spells? Introduce the concepts of weather forecasting and prediction with an insightful research-based lesson from the K20 series. Partners synthesize individual research from...

Students research the climate patterns of various locations and make predictions based on their findings. They determine the importance of latitude and longitude in weather and climate. Students create graphs displaying their collected...

Head to the treeline and beyond to examine how this feature of the landscape affects weather and climate, which gives scientists clues about its health. Class members' observations of photographs provide the data...

The investigation of weather and climate is a fascinating study. In this lesson, learners see that weather and climate are two very different areas of study. They study printouts of an area's temperature highs, lows, and average rainfall...

What better way to make predictions about future weather and climate patterns than with actual climate data from the past? Young climatologists analyze data from 400,000 to 10,000 years ago to determine if climate has changed over...

Decide whether to learn about weather. An illuminating lesson has scholars first watch video clips and discuss the difference between weather and climate. Using their newfound knowledge, they create analogies to illustrate this...

What is the difference between weather and climate? This is the focus question of a activity that takes a deeper look at how weather data helps determine climate in a region. Using weather and climate cards, learners decide...

The United States is a large country with many different climates. Graph and analyze temperature and rainfall data for Sacramento and Washington DC as you teach your class about the characteristics of Mediterranean climates. Discuss the...

The final lesson in the 21-part series on climate change focuses on energy solutions to the consumption problem. Using data specific to their school, pupils make recommendations, follow up on actions, and carefully track progress....

Begin a unit on weather and climate change by assessing prior knowledge of the topic. Learners respond to a survey with questions that ask what they think causes climate change, the effects of climate change, and if it is important...

Fabulous! Your 5th graders should love this project. As an ongoing lesson throughout the year students use temperature probes to record outside temperature and then document their data using spreadsheets. They use their weather data and...

Earth's vast ocean is full of mysteries! Science scholars discover the big-picture properties that influence its characteristics at different latitudes using a lesson from PBS's Weather and Climate series. After completing a background...

"If global warming is real, why is it so cold?" Distinguishing the difference between weather and climate is important when it comes to understanding our planet. In these activities, young scientists look at the climate patterns in a...

Explore the amazing power of glaciers with a hands-on earth science experiment! After first learning basic background information, learners go on to create their very own chunks of frozen water and gravel in order to...

A great year-round activity that shows young mathematicians how the math skills they are learning are actually used in the real world. This exercise also helps learners begin to distinguish the difference between weather and climate. As...

Should the game go on or not? An engaging lesson asks small groups to make a decision using weather data. After analyzing a map, an updated forecast, and radar information, groups have to decide whether to cancel a baseball game. They...

From days of 24 hour sunlight, to endless nights that last for days, the Arctic is a very unique place to live. Examine the seasonal changes that occur in the northern-most reaches of the globe and the impact they have on the plants and...

Weather versus climate: weather relates to short time periods while climate averages the weather of a period of many years. Scholars learn about average temperature and precipitation in various climate zones and then apply statistics...

How dry is it? It's so dry, the river only runs twice a week! Through an analysis of maps and discussions, pairs learn about droughts across the United States in the ninth of 12 lessons. They then read about, answer questions, analyze...

Look at climate change around the world using graphical representations and a hands-on learning simulation specified to particular cities around the world. Using an interactive website, young scientists follow the provided...

Climate systems involve sunlight, ocean, atmosphere, ice, land forms, and many other factors. Scholars explore each of these variables related to the Pacific Northwest rain forest. They use an online interactive to investigate the polar...

Many researchers focus on one impact of climate change in isolation, but researchers gain a global perspective when they come together. A timely lesson teaches scholars about the projected impacts of global temperature increases. Then...

Weather — there's more to it than meets the eye of the storm. With this resource young meteorologists learn about the basics of weather, including information about the factors that influence the weather, common weather vocabulary,...

Collaborators sort a set of cards into biotic and abiotic categories. Then, as a class, they discuss their work and relate each of the abiotic components to climate change. Finally, they form a web of components by connecting those that...