Fun Activities for Teaching Weather
It’s raining ideas for teaching kids about the weather!
Why Should Kids Learn About Weather?
Teaching weather to kids is helpful for several reasons.
Learn About the Natural World
The weather is a fundamental aspect of Earth Science.
Learning about the weather helps kids learn about the world around them.
Introduces Kids to Science
Teaching weather is a first step in teaching science.
Kids learn the skill of observation. Weather also connects to scientific concepts like temperature, measuring rainfall, and understanding the water cycle.
Connects to Other Subjects
The study of weather connects to other subjects like geography, biology, and even history.
Engages Students
Kids experience the weather daily, and it impacts their lives.
They have a vested interest in the weather, which sprouts a natural curiosity and wonder about how it works.
In other words, your students are excited to learn about the weather!
How to Teach Weather with Fun Activities
Can you teach weather from a textbook? Sure.
Is it interesting? Not so much.
Instead, try teaching weather with these hands-on activities.
Weather Journals or Calendars
Kids can learn the power of observation (and the skill of data collection) by keeping a weather journal or calendar.
Each day, check the weather. If you have young students, this can be as simple as noting if it is sunny, cloudy, rainy, or snowy.
Students can draw a picture in their journal or place a sticker on a calendar.
For older students, you can add information like temperature, wind speed, rainfall, pressure, and humidity.
Make Your Own Rain Gauge
Take a smooth-sided plastic soda bottle and cut off the top (right before it starts to narrow to the opening).
The top should look like a funnel. Throw away the cap.
Place a layer of clean pebbles in the bottom of the soda bottle. (This keeps the bottle from toppling over in the wind.)
Fill the bottle with just enough water to cover the pebbles.
Use a ruler and a Sharpie to mark the sides of the bottle in 1 cm increments.
Invert the funnel lid on the top of the bottle and secure with tape.
Place the rain gauge outside. Each day, check the change in water level and record the difference.
Make a Weather Station
Set up a small weather station with a thermometer, rain gauge, and wind vane.
Students can collect and record the daily weather data.
For extra fun, students can pretend to be a weatherperson and deliver the weather of the day.
Homeschooled students can record their weather report on the phone and share the video with family.
Students in school can take turns delivering the weather to the class.
Go on a Weather Field Trip
Do you have a local weather station, TV station, or museum with a weather exhibit? See if you can take a field trip to learn more!
You can also check out virtual field trips that involve weather.
Get in touch with the National Weather Service. They offer educational programs for kids.
Simulate Weather Online
The UCAR Center for Science Education has lots of games and simulations involving weather.
Check out this one: Kids can simulate a thunderstorm.
See the Water Cycle in Action
Add 1/2 cup of water and a couple drops of blue food coloring to a quart-size zip-top baggie.
Tape the bag to a sunny window.
Check back in a few hours to see how the water evaporates from the bottom and condenses on the side of the bag, forming droplets.
Make Frost
You can show students how frost forms with these everyday materials.
Peel the label from an empty metal soup can.
Fill the can 3/4 full with crushed ice. Add a few teaspoons of salt, and then fill the can with cold water.
Stir the contents of the can.
Let the can sit out in the open. Check back in a few minutes to see the frozen condensation on the outside of the can (that’s frost).
Make a Cloud in a Jar
Use a large mason jar or empty glass spaghetti jar with a lid.
Pour hot water into the bottom of the jar until the water line is around 2 inches.
Invert the lid so it is sitting on top of the jar. Add ice to the lid.
After a minute, remove the lid for a moment and spray a small amount of hairspray on top of the water.
Replace the lid with ice (still upside down and resting on top) and wait a few minutes. Watch as a cloud forms inside the jar.
Tornado in a Jar
Fill a clear, smooth-sided jar or a large bottle with water, leaving a little space on top.
Add a few drops of dish soap, a few drops of blue food dye, and a teaspoon of vinegar to the jar.
Screw on the lid.
Quickly swirl the jar and watch the tornado form.
Make a Rain Jar
Fill a clear jar 3/4 full with water.
Spray in shaving cream to completely fill the jar.
Add drops of food coloring to the top of the shaving cream.
With an eye dropper, add drops of water to the top of the shaving cream-dye mixture.
Watch as drops of dye fall from your shaving cream cloud into the jar of water below. It’s raining from the cloud!
Teaching Weather with Interactive Activities
Learning about weather can be exciting with these fun, interactive activities.
Close the book and open up your lesson on weather with this list of fun activities for teaching weather.
