Classroom Resource

Weather Detectives: Questioning the Fact and Folklore of Weather Sayings

Subject Area

English Language Arts
Science

Grade(s)

3, 4, 5

Overview

Before there were weather tools, people looked to the sky, plants, and animals for hints about what the weather would do. To remember these indicators, people coined weather sayings. But are these sayings true and reliable? This lesson explores the truth and reliability of weather-related sayings, such as, “Mare's tails and mackerel scales make tall ships take in their sails.” Students brainstorm weather sayings and then investigate the accuracy and origins of the sayings in predicting the weather, using print and online resources in their research. Next, students write about and illustrate their weather sayings and then share their results with their classmates. Finally, students discuss skepticism and when it may be a good response to information that is presented to them as fact.

Science (2015) Grade(s): 3

SC15.3.13

Display data graphically and in tables to describe typical weather conditions expected during a particular season (e.g., average temperature, precipitation, wind direction).

Unpacked Content

UP:SC15.3.13

Vocabulary

  • Data
  • Types of graphs
  • Table
  • Seasons
  • Typical weather conditions for a season
  • Temperature
  • Precipitation
  • Wind direction

Knowledge

Students know:
  • Weather conditions, like average temperature, precipitation, wind direction, from a given area across multiple seasons.
  • Patterns of weather conditions across different seasons and in different areas.

Skills

Students are able to:
  • Identify typical weather conditions for a season.
  • Represent data in tables and various graphical formats.
  • Describe typical weather conditions expected during a particular season.

Understanding

Students understand that:
  • Scientists record patterns of the weather across different times and areas so that they can make predictions about what kind of weather might happen next.

Scientific and Engineering Practices

Analyzing and Interpreting Data

Crosscutting Concepts

Patterns
English Language Arts (2021) Grade(s): 3

ELA21.3.R3

Expand background knowledge and build vocabulary through discussion, reading, and writing.

Unpacked Content

UP:ELA21.3.R3

Vocabulary

  • Background knowledge
  • Vocabulary
  • Discussion

Knowledge

Students know:
  • Relating experiences through discussions, reading, and writing will help build background knowledge and improve vocabulary.

Skills

Students are able to:
  • Connect new concepts to prior experiences to increase background knowledge through discussions, reading, and writing.
  • Construct the meaning of words through discussions, reading, and writing.

Understanding

Students understand that:
  • Background knowledge can increase by relating experiences to new ideas, topics, and words while participating in discussions, reading, and writing.
  • Vocabulary will increase by constructing the meaning of words while participating in discussions, reading, and writing.
English Language Arts (2021) Grade(s): 3

ELA21.3.39

Gather and evaluate information about a topic from a variety of sources, including digital sources, and utilize it to create a project, report, or presentation.

Unpacked Content

UP:ELA21.3.39

Vocabulary

  • Gather
  • Evaluate
  • Information
  • Topic
  • Sources
  • Digital sources
  • Utilize
  • Project
  • Report
  • Presentation

Knowledge

Students know:
  • Information can be gathered from print or digital sources.
  • Strategies to gather and evaluate information.
  • Relevant information about a topic should be added to a project, report, or presentation.

Skills

Students are able to:
  • Gather information about a topic from a variety of print and digital sources.
  • Evaluate the relevance of the information to the topic.
  • Use information to create a project, report, or presentation.

Understanding

Students understand that:
  • The first step in creating a project, report, or presentation is gathering and evaluating information from a variety of sources.
English Language Arts (2021) Grade(s): 4

ELA21.4.33

Use research to produce clear and coherent writing in which the development and organization are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.

Unpacked Content

UP:ELA21.4.33

Vocabulary

  • Research
  • Clear
  • Coherent
  • Development
  • Organization
  • Task
  • Purpose
  • Audience

Knowledge

Students know:
  • Research happens when you look up information about a topic.
  • Clear and coherent writing is organized into a text structure and develops ideas with the addition of details.
  • Writing styles can vary depending on the task, the purpose, and the intended audience.

Skills

Students are able to:
  • Gather research information about a topic.
  • Create writing that is clear, coherent, and appropriate to the task, the purpose, and the audience.
  • Organize writing into a particular structure and develop ideas using details.

Understanding

Students understand that:
  • Before writing an informative text, they should gather information through research.
  • There writing should always be clear and coherent, but the style may change depending on the task, purpose, and audience.
English Language Arts (2021) Grade(s): 5

ELA21.5.37

Write about research findings independently over short and/or extended periods of time.

Unpacked Content

UP:ELA21.5.37

Vocabulary

  • Research findings
  • Independently
  • Short periods of time
  • Extended periods of time

Knowledge

Students know:
  • Researching a topic begins by finding information from multiple sources.
  • Independent writing skills.

Skills

Students are able to:
  • Find information on a particular topic from a variety of research sources.
  • Independently write about research findings over short and extended periods of time.

Understanding

Students understand that:
  • They can share information they have learned about a topic through writing.
  • Some writing projects will last a short time, while others may take longer to complete.
Link to Resource
http://readwritethink.org/classroom-resources/lesson-plans/weather-detectives-q…

CR Resource Type

Lesson/Unit Plan

Resource Provider

ReadWriteThink
Accessibility
License

License Type

Custom

Custom License Type (URL)

http://www.readwritethink.org/util/legal.html

Approved Date

ALSDE LOGO

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