6th Grade Lessons on Weather and Climate
Lessons on weather and climate for the sixth grade -- including cloud and storm formation, temperature, air pressure, and atmosphere -- can help students have a better understanding of how fluctuations not only influence their daily lives but can also impact the planet's ecosystem. Hands-on projects can help students better understand the material through visualization, as well as give them opportunities to practice their skills with experimentation, analyzing data and interpreting results.
Clouds in a Bottle
Students can get a better idea of how clouds are formed by making their own inside a bottle, an activity suggested by Exploring Nature. Students fill an empty 2-liter bottle with about 1 inch of warm water. They then lay the bottle on its side while a teacher lights a match and allows it to burn in front of the opening. After allowing the smoke to drift inside, students should close the cap and gently roll the bottle to allow clouds to form. As sixth graders, the students have more dexterity to perform this experiment and more patience to wait for the teacher and be gentle with the bottle. Teachers can also show the effects of air pressure by asking students to lightly squeeze the bottle, which will make the clouds disappear.
Hurricane Tracking Chart
Hurricanes start as tropical storms that are formed from warm waters evaporating off the ocean, which is why they are so common in tropical and coastal areas. Students can better understand hurricane-prone climates by creating their own hurricane tracking chart. This activity should be spread out over many months during hurricane season. Students should read or watch the news and mark each tropical storm and hurricane on their maps. They should also include information such as the strength of the storm, size and wind speed. Then can then search for trends and produce a report for the class. The activity meets sixth-grade curriculum standards for describing observations and identifying relationships through charting data.
Long-term patterns and averages for temperature can tell a lot about a climate and what might be influencing it. Students can choose a location and research temperature data over a period of many years. This could be the last decade or maybe even the last five decades, depending on the size of the project. Students should decide for themselves a way to represent the data, such as a spreadsheet or chart, then they should report what they find to the class, including averages and outliers, such as the coldest year on record. They should offer explanations for their findings where possible. The activity allows them to analyze data and interpret findings, in line with sixth-grade standards.
Many students will enjoy creating their own weather forecast since it is such a popular feature of the news and it will give students a chance to be in the spotlight for a moment. If the equipment is available, they can video tape their forecasts. If it's not, they can create a newspaper mockup, including weather symbols and charts, just like the real thing. They should base their forecasts on research of recent weather trends and provide justification for their predictions. Not only does the activity allow students to practice their skills in reporting data, but it will also give them an opportunity to learn through hands-on experience.
- Exploring Nature Educational Resource: Cloud Making Activity
- Exploring Nature Educational Resource: Storms - Hurricanes
- Audobon Public Schools: 6th Grade - Weather And Climate
- Cooperative Institute For Meterological Satellite Studies: Unit 1 Plan Developed For Grade 6
- Glendale River-Hills School District: Developmental Characteristics Of Sixth Graders
Maria Magher has been working as a professional writer since 2001. She has worked as an ESL teacher, a freshman composition teacher and an education reporter, writing for regional newspapers and online publications. She has written about parenting for Pampers and other websites. She has a Master's degree in English and creative writing.