Download Lesson # 9 Why do we have Different Climates

Weather and Climate
Lesson # 9 Why do we have Different Climates?
Teacher Lesson
Essential Question: How does weather affect our lives?
Standards:
3-ESS2-2. Obtain and summarize information about the climate of different regions of the
world to illustrate that typical weather conditions over a year vary by region.
RI.3.2 Determine the main idea of a text; recount the key details and explain how they
support the main idea. (3-ESS2-2)
Objective:
Students will be able to …
1. Obtain information about various climates.
2. Describe why typical weather conditions vary over a year by region.
Assessment: Student activity page, class discussion.
Vocabulary:
1.
Latitude: The distance of a place north or south from the equator. The closer a
region is to the equator, the hotter it is on average all year long. The farther away it is, the
cooler it is. Summers become shorter and milder. As you approach the poles, winters
become bitterly cold.
2.
Altitude: The height of a place above sea level. Higher elevations tend to be colder
than lower elevations.
3.
Oceans and Large Lakes: Water rises and drops in temperature more slowly than
land. Water also warms or cools the air above it. As wind blows this milder air around it
affects a region’s temperature. Areas near water tend to have milder winters and cooler
summers than places at the same latitude that are away from water.
4.
Mountain Ranges: Air cannot go through mountains. Instead, it rises and cools as it
travels up the side of a mountain. Cold air cannot hold as much water as warm air does. The
rapid cooling causes rain, which removes most of the water. All of the rain stays on the same
side of the mountain! The other side of the mountain is dryer and may even become as dry
as a desert.
5.
Wind: Six major belts of wind blow around the Earth. They blow from different
directions. For example, Polar winds blow north to south. Westerly winds blow west to east.
As they do, they distribute cool air, heat, and moisture to different parts of the world
6.
Vegetation: plants considered collectively, especially those found in a particular area
or habitat
7.
Regions: an area or division, especially part of a country or the world having
definable characteristics but not always fixed boundaries.
8.
Equator: an imaginary line drawn around the earth equally distant from both poles,
dividing the earth into northern and southern hemispheres and constituting the parallel of
latitude 0
Materials:
Materials
Amount
Spray-painted ball
1 (in bin)
Post-It Notes
5 per student
Pictures of Climate Zones
1 (in bin)
Whole class activity
in Appendix
“An Introduction to Climate” In Appendix
Activator:
Tell students that based on data, they will have to guess a “Mystery Climate”
Sahara Desert:
Average Yearly Temperature: 86 Fahrenheit, Average temperature in summer: 104F
Average Yearly Rainfall: 3 in. a year
Average humidity: 25%
Don’t tell students that it’s the Sahara Desert, have them guess based on the data averages
and what they know based on weather and climate. If students are stuck, ask leading
questions comparing the climate to that of North Adams’ (e.g. Do we get more than 3 inches
of rain a year?)
Activity:
1. Remind students that last time we met you saw a model of how the sun’s rays hit the
Earth. Show the model. Today we are going to see why the heating effect of the Sun on
Earth’s surface affects weather and climate in a particular region. This activity is to help you
understand the heating effect of the sun on the surface of the earth and why some places are
warmer than others.
2. Hand out pre-reading activity. Have students read the words on the sheet and circle
which words that might be in a story about climate. Discuss why students chose the words
they did .
3. Complete the activity at the end of this lesson as a class. Use the model from yesterday
to remind students of where the sun is the strongest.
4. Read “Climate Zones” from Readworks.org and answer questions. The teacher can
choose to ask the multiple choice questions as guided questions while the students are
reading and the students can independently answer the open response questions.
Closure: After completing the task discuss why climate is different in different regions.
Remind students about the difference between weather and climate.
Lesson 9 Pre-Reading Activity:
Circle the words you think you would find in a story about climate.
Tropical
precipitation
Matter Regions environment