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The Weather Zone for Parents & Teachers

Weather is important to everyone's life. It affects the games you play, the clothes you wear, how you feel, farming, building, what you eat, and many other things.

The Weather Zone is an interactive learning tool to teach children aged 6 to 10 about the wonderful world of weather. We focus on the three main scientific variables of weather: temperature, humidity and pressure. You can use this tool with your kids or the children in your classroom to enhance your own teaching of these concepts.

Our Weather Zone was designed so that you and your child can explore weather together, discuss important topics and vocabulary and learn about the weather in your part of the country. Once you have gone through The Weather Zone with your child and given them the lay of the land, we then encourage you to let them explore the game on their own.

Dewey’s Weather Zone Activity Sheets:

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National Science Education Standards Related to Weather

Standard

Content

H.B.2 Structure and properties of matter
 

Solids, liquids, and gases differ in the distances and angles between molecules or atoms and therefore the energy that binds them together. In solids the structure is nearly rigid; in liquids molecules or atoms move around each other but do not move apart; and in gases molecules or atoms move almost independently of each other and are mostly far apart.

H.D.1 Energy in the earth system

Heating of earth's surface and atmosphere by the sun drives convection within the atmosphere and oceans, producing winds and ocean currents. Global climate is determined by energy transfer from the sun at and near the earth's surface. This energy transfer is influenced by dynamic processes such as cloud cover and the earth's rotation, and static conditions such as the position of mountain ranges and oceans.

E.D.3 Changes in earth and sky

Weather changes from day to day and over the seasons. Weather can be described by measurable quantities, such as temperature, wind direction and speed, and precipitation. Objects in the sky have patterns of movement. The sun, for example, appears to move across the sky in the same way every day, but its path changes slowly over the seasons. The moon moves across the sky on a daily basis much like the sun. The observable shape of the moon changes from day to day in a cycle that lasts about a month.

M.D.1 Structure of the earth system

The atmosphere is a mixture of nitrogen, oxygen, and trace gases that include water vapor. The atmosphere has different properties at different elevations. Clouds, formed by the condensation of water vapor, affect weather and climate. Global patterns of atmospheric movement influence local weather. Oceans have a major effect on climate, because water in the oceans holds a large amount of heat.

E.D.2 Objects in the Sky

The sun, moon, stars, clouds, birds, and airplanes all have properties, locations, and movements that can be observed and described. The sun provides the light and heat necessary to maintain the temperature of the earth.
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