Weather Teaching Resources
Browse printable weather worksheets, activities, science vocabulary resources, experiments for kids, resources about floods and natural disasters and more ideas for teaching students in primary 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 vapour 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 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 primary school weather lessons? Before kids move on to high 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 — Young 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 secondary 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, floods 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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Reading a Thermometer Worksheets
Practise reading the temperature with a set of printable Reading a Thermometer Worksheets.
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Seasons, Days, & Months of the Year Spelling Worksheet
Spell the days of the week, months of the year, and the four seasons with a printable Spelling Homework sheet.
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My Favourite Season Worksheet
Activate your students' prior knowledge about the seasons using this worksheet which prompts them to state which is their favourite season and justify their choice.
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Changing Seasons Word Search
Get your students’ minds buzzing with this Changing Seasons Word Search, while they build their scientific vocabulary about Earth and space sciences.
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Seasonal Changes Worksheets
Engage your young learners with this set of fun season worksheets. Included are 12 activities to keep them learning!
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What's the Season? Teaching Slides
Use this teaching presentation to help your students explore the four seasons and how they affect everyday life.
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Flashcards About Weather - Printable Picture Cards
Use this set of 12 flashcards about weather to explore words that cover terms such as sunny, humid, overcast and foggy.
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Months of the Year Poster - Southern Hemipshere - No Christmas
A poster displaying the months of the year.
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Printable Weather Recording Charts
Use these printable weather charts to graph and analyse the weather for each month.
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Fish Windsock Craft Template
Create a fun wind sock with our Fish Windsock Craft Template.
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How Seasons Affect Plants and Animals PowerPoint
Share this informational slide deck with your Grade One class to teach students about how seasons affect plants and animals on planet Earth.
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Seasons, Weather and Our Choices Worksheets
Hand out these eight great seasons worksheets to help your students learn all about the seasonal changes and the way they affect our everyday choices.
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Classroom Weather Chart for Identifying Environmental Conditions
Use this fun classroom weather chart in your morning meetings to help students visualise the weather and changes in the environment due to the changing seasons.
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Seasonal Changes Teaching Presentation
Show your students this 26-slide teaching presentation all about the changing seasons, and develop their understanding of seasonal changes in the environment.
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Weather vs. Climate – Interactive Activity
Strengthen student understanding of weather and climate with this interactive activity.
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Dress for the Weather Worksheet
Identify proper clothing choices for different weather conditions with this worksheet.
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Natural Disasters Safety Poster
A task to be used when investigating how to remain safe in the event of a natural disaster.
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Natural Disasters - Flood Simulation Experiment
A hands-on experiment to use when exploring natural disasters.
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Characteristics of Seasons Interactive Activity
Use this activity-packed interactive resource to explore with your students the names and characteristics of summer, autumn, winter and spring!
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Four Seasons Tree Activity
Create a visual representation of the 4 seasons with a printable tree template.
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Natural Disasters – Printable Puzzles
Match pictures and facts of various natural disasters with this set of printable science puzzles.
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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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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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Rain Cloud in a Jar Experiment
Use this science experiment when learning about the different types and features of clouds and how they contribute to the water cycle.
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What Causes the Seasons to Change? – Teaching Presentation
Explore what causes the seasons to change and learn about solstices and equinoxes with this teaching presentation.
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Seasonal Changes Worksheet
Explore the observable features of the seasons with a printable Seasonal Changes Worksheet.
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Natural Disasters Effects and Management Worksheet
An activity to use when exploring the potential effects of natural disasters, and how to manage these.
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Hibernate, Migrate, or Adapt? Year 1 Animal Printables
Cut and sort animals that hibernate, migrate, and adapt with a Year 1 worksheet for science class.
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Seasons and Months Posters
Use these four months and the seasons posters to help your students to learn the seasons and their corresponding months.
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How Seasons Affect Plants and Animals Poster Set
Display these informative posters in your Grade One classroom to remind students of the five ways animals and plants adapt to seasonal changes in their environment.
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Order of Seasons Interactive Activity
Explore the order of the seasons with your students by travelling through times of the year in this interactive adventure.
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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.