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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How About This Weather? - Worksheet
Explore different types of weather and subsequent observable changes with this 5-page worksheet pack.
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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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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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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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Seasonal Changes Differentiated Word Search
Get your students’ minds buzzing with this word search seasons activity, while they build their scientific vocabulary about Earth and space sciences.
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Seasons in the Southern Hemisphere and Northern Hemisphere Poster
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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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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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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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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What Are Floods? Comprehension Worksheet
Read and learn about flooding with a printable reading comprehension worksheet.
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Seasons, Weather and Our Choices Interactive Activity
Complete this whole-class interactive activity to teach students the connection between the seasonal conditions and their daily choices.
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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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Weather vs. Climate – Teaching Slides and Guided Notes
Teach your students the difference between climate and weather with this set of teaching slides and accompanying guided notes.
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Impacts of Floods PowerPoint
A 19-slide editable PowerPoint template about floods and their impact on communities.
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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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Flood Safety Poster - Design and Create Task
A design and create task for students to demonstrate their understanding of the impact of floods.
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How Seasons Affect Plants and Animals Teaching Slides
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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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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Wonderful Weather – Foundation and Year 1 Worksheets
Make weather predictions, create a weather report and write about the weather with this set of printable worksheets.
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All About Clouds – Teaching Presentation
Teach your students about the different types of clouds with this 19-slide teaching presentation.
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The Seasons - Posters
A set of beautifully illustrated posters that depict the seasons and the differences between them.
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Informative Texts Writing Task - Weather
A fact file about weather and scaffolding sheet which can be used to write an informative text.
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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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Seasonal Cycle of a Tree Poster
Help your students investigate seasonal changes undertaken by trees throughout the year with this infographic-style poster.
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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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Weather Vocabulary Cards
Use this set of 12 weather vocabulary cards to explore words that cover terms such as sunny, humid, overcast and foggy.
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Types of Weather – Sorting Activity
Observe and categorise pictures showing different types of weather with this sorting activity.
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Types of Weather – Word Search
Review science vocabulary terms with an engaging weather word search.
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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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Four Seasons Spinner Activity — Southern Hemisphere
Print a four seasons spinner activity to expand students' understanding of the different times of the year.
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Flood Vocabulary Task
A vocabulary task for students to use when demonstrating their understanding of the impact of floods in Australia.
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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.