Weather Teaching Resources
Browse printable weather worksheets, activities, science vocabulary resources, experiments for kids and more ideas for teaching students in elementary school about the weather outside your classroom and around the world.
This collection of curriculum-aligned weather teaching resources was created by teachers with teachers in mind. That means every printable and digital resource has been carefully checked by a member of our expert teacher team to ensure it's classroom-ready, so you save time on your lesson plans!
Looking to get started on the weather, or just need more ways to make this science topic more engaging in your classroom? Read on for a primer from our teacher team!
What Is Weather? A Kid-Friendly Definition
When it comes to defining weather for students, here's a kid-friendly definition you can use to explain what weather is:
Weather refers to the conditions in the Earth's atmosphere, such as temperature, wind, precipitation and cloudiness. The weather outside your classroom or home is affected by many things, including the amount of sunlight reaching the Earth's surface, the rotation of the Earth and the presence of water vapor in the atmosphere.
Weather can change rapidly, and it can be unpredictable, so it's important to stay informed about current weather conditions and be prepared for different types of weather.
What Is Weather Science?
Meteorology — also known as weather science — is the study of the Earth's atmosphere and the weather conditions that occur within it. This includes studying temperature, air pressure, wind, precipitation and other atmospheric phenomena.
Weather scientists known as meteorologists use a variety of tools, such as satellites, radar and weather balloons, to collect data about the atmosphere and predict what the weather will be like in the future. These predictions are called weather forecasts and help us decide what to wear or how to plan for outdoor activities that might be affected by rain, snow or excessive heat.
Weather science isn't just important for telling us what to wear, however! It helps us prepare for extreme weather events, provides important information for transportation and aviation safety and helps scientists better understand the Earth's climate.
Students can act as amateur meteorologists as they learn to record weather information to keep track of what is going on outside of your classroom, including relative temperatures such as hot or cold, clear or cloudy, calm or windy and rainy or icy!
Is Climate the Same as Weather?
The two words are often used interchangeably, but it's important to impress upon your students that weather and climate are two very different things!
Weather, as we already explained, deals with the conditions of Earth's atmosphere at any given time. It can be termed as the short-term atmospheric conditions of a specific place — such as temperature, wind, humidity, precipitation and cloud cover — over a short period of time, usually a few hours or days.
Climate, on the other hand, is a look at those conditions over a long period of time. It can be termed as the long-term average weather patterns of a specific region or location, usually over a period of at least 30 years.
What Do Kids Need to Learn About Weather?
Weather is a broad, broad topic — to say the least! So what's going on during elementary school weather lessons? Before kids move on to middle school, they should have a basic understanding of the different elements that make up the weather and how they interact with each other. They'll also need to understand weather forecasts and how to use them to plan.
With that in mind, here are the biggest topics to cover:
- Temperature — Learning how to measure temperature using a thermometer and how temperature changes over time, as well as the difference between Celsius and Fahrenheit, are part of weather lessons at this stage of kids' education.
- Precipitation — Elementary students learn about different types of precipitation — such as rain, snow, sleet and hail — and how they form in the atmosphere.
- Wind — Wind direction and speed, how wind is measured and how it affects the weather should all be covered before kids head off to middle school.
- Clouds — From cumulus to strato-form, students learn about the different types of clouds and how they form plus how clouds affect the weather.
- Extreme Weather — Extreme weather events such as hurricanes, tornadoes and thunderstorms are typically part of the science curriculum at this stage, and depending on where you are teaching instruction on how to stay safe during these events may well be on the agenda.
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Order of Seasons Task Cards
Use these task cards to allow students to practice ordering images of seasonal changes across the year.
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Order of Seasons Interactive Activity
Explore the order of the seasons with your students by traveling through times of the year in this interactive adventure.
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The Earth's Seasons Teaching Slides
Use this fact-packed digital teaching resource to show your students the names and characteristics of Earth’s four seasons.
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Seasons in the Northern Hemisphere and the Southern Hemisphere
Use these posters in the classroom to give students a visual representation of the seasons (and which months they inlcude in both the Northern Hemishpere and the Southern Hemisphere).
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What's the Season? Teaching Slides
Help your students explore the four seasons and how they affect everyday life using this colorful teaching presentation.
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Weather vs. Climate – Google Slides Interactive Activity
Strengthen student understanding of weather and climate with this interactive activity designed for 5th-grade students.
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Four Seasons Picture Sorting – Cut and Paste Worksheets
Sort pictures according to the season they represent with this cut-and-paste worksheet.
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Weather vs. Climate – Task Cards
Differentiate between weather and climate by answering questions and responding to writing prompts and with this set of 24 task cards.
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Types of Weather – Cut and Paste Worksheet
Use this cut-and-paste science worksheet to match a picture and description with each weather condition.
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Types of Weather Bingo
Identify basic weather vocabulary terms such as windy, cloudy, snowy, cold, etc., with an exciting game of Bingo!
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Weather Journal – Mini-Book
Draw and write about the current weather conditions, record weather data, and predict what the following day’s forecast will be with this printable mini-book.
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All About Clouds – Instructional Slide Deck
Teach your students about the different types of clouds with this 19-slide instructional slide deck.
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Types of Weather – Sorting Activity
Observe and categorize pictures showing different types of weather with this sorting activity.
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Weather Words – Worksheet Pack
Use this set of worksheets when identifying different types of weather.
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Types of Weather – Word Search
Review science vocabulary terms with an engaging weather word search.
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Types of Clouds – Poster Pack
Learn about nimbus, cirrus, stratus, and cumulus clouds with this set of 4 printable posters.
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Clouds and Their Position – Poster
Learn about the different types of clouds and their position within the atmosphere with this printable poster.
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Daily Weather Report – Interactive Powerpoint
Encourage your students to become weather reporters with this interactive weather activity.
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Dress for the Weather Match-Up Activity
Identify proper clothing choices for different weather conditions with a clothing and climate matching activity.
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Spring Writing Prompts for Beginning Writers
Celebrate a new season with Spring writing worksheets for primary grades.
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Printable Weather Recording Charts
Use these printable weather charts to graph and analyze the weather for each month.
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Weather & Weather Tools Vocabulary Cards
Promote science vocabulary development with this set of 15 weather and weather tools vocabulary cards.
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All About Wind – Instructional Slide Deck
Investigate the importance of wind and how it is measured with this 14-slide instructional slide deck.
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Weather Tools – Instructional Slide Deck
Learn about different weather tools and how to read a weather map with this 20-slide instructional slide deck.
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Reading Thermometers – Task Cards
Practice reading thermometers with this set of 24 task cards.
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Weather Vocabulary Puzzles
Make your weather lessons more fun with a set of 14 weather vocabulary puzzles.
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What's the Weather Like Today? – Mini-Book
Measure, record, and graph weather information with a printable mini-book.
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Wind Speed & Direction – Worksheet
Demonstrate understanding of wind speed and direction with this worksheet.
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Dressing for the Physical Environment Sorting Activity
Help children learn about dressing for the environment by sorting clothing items into categories for warm climate and cold climate.
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Weather Versus Climate Poster
A poster explaining the difference between weather and climate.
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Cloud Graphing Activity
A worksheet to use when graphing cloud observations.
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Seasons Sorting Activity
Teach students in K-2 the proper clothing, activities, and objects for different types of weather with this four seasons activity.