CURRICULUM RESOURCES
Foundation | Earth and space sciences | Weather in my world | NEW – fully aligned to the Australian Curriculum
Each day the weather affects our work and leisure activities. The weather influences our decisions about what to wear and the things we do. Severe weather phenomena such as droughts, floods and cyclones have serious impacts on communities. Horticulture, farming, fishing and tourism are highly dependent on weather. The accurate prediction of weather patterns and interpretation of weather forecasts are very important to our economy and lifestyle.
The Weather in my world unit is an ideal way to link science with literacy in the classroom. Students' beliefs and understanding about the air, Sun and wind will be developed as they work through hands-on activities. Through investigations, they will increase their knowledge of how the characteristics of weather affect their daily lives.
Unit at a glance (PDF)
Equipment lists (PDF)
Alignment with the Australian Curriculum: Science (PDF)
Alignment with the Australian Curriculum: English and Maths (PDF)
Indigenous curriculum links (PDF)
Indigenous Perspectives framework (PDF)
Indigenous Perspectives Teaching and learning guide
Factual and narrative texts
Useful websites
Other
Factual texts:
Cloud
Manners, Jane (Pearson Education Australia, 2004, 16pp.)
ISBN 0 7339 4242 3
Stormy weather
Pike, Katy (Go facts readers level 3 series, Blake Publishing, 2004, 12pp.)
ISBN: 1 865 09301 7
available as a big book – ISBN: 1 865 09303 3
Weather watch
Pike, Katy (Go facts readers level 3 series, Blake Publishing, 2004, 12pp.)
ISBN: 1 865 09302 5
Splish, splash, splosh: a book about water
Manning, Mick & Granstrom, Brita (Scholastic Library Publishing, 2004)
ISBN: 0 749 65686 7, 0 749 62410
Narrative texts:
Seasons
Burningham, John (Red Fox, 1993, 40pp)
ISBN: 0 099 89970 1
An account of the changes in landscape and weather that occur through the seasons. Each of the seasons is introduced with the same scene from a different stage of the yearly cycle of nature.
Little cloud
Carle, Eric (Puffin, 1998)
ISBN: 0140562788
The story of a little cloud who drifts away from the other clouds and changes into a variety of forms, including a sheep, a shark, a rabbit, a hat, and a clown before rejoining the other clouds to make a large, dark cloud which begins to rain.
Stella, queen of the snow
Gay, Marie Louise (Allen & Unwin, 2000, 32pp)
ISBN: 1865083291
Stella’s little brother Sam is experiencing his first snowstorm, and Stella answers his many questions. Together, Stella and Sam discover the wonders of a snowy winter’s day.
Big rain coming
Germein, Katrina (Puffin, 2002, 32pp)
ISBN: 0143500457
Set in a ‘top end’ Aboriginal community, everybody is waiting for the rain to come.
Kipper’s rainy day
Inkpen, Mick (Hodder & Stoughton, 2001, 16pp)
ISBN: 0340774002
A ‘lift-the-flap’ book in which Kipper and his friend Tiger play in the rain.
Kipper’s sunny day
Inkpen, Mick (Hodder & Stoughton, 2001, 16pp)
ISBN: 0340773995
A ‘lift-the-flap’ book in which Kipper and his friend Tiger have fun in the sun.
Molly and the storm
Leeson, Christine & Hansen, Gaby (Koala Books, 2002)
ISBN: 0 86461 490 X
Molly, a mouse, is caught outside in a storm with her brothers and sisters. They search for a place to shelter.
Ernie dances to the didgeridoo
Lester, Alison (Hodder, 2001, 34pp)
ISBN: 0733613624
Ernie spends a year in Arnhem Land and writes to his friends about the six seasons he experiences while he is there. A pronunciation guide is provided for the words from the Kunwinjku language that are used to describe the seasons.
A year on our farm
Matthews, Penny & McLean, Andrew (Scholastic, 2002, 30pp)
ISBN: 1862914923, 1862914419
Set on an Australian sheep farm, this story presents the lifestyle and work from the perspectives of the children who live there. The changing seasons are also presented through the eyes of the children.
The pig in the pond
Waddell, Martin & Barton, Jill (Candlewick Press, 1992)
ISBN: 1 56402 604 3
A story about a pig who jumps into a pond on a hot, sunny day.
Australian Bureau of Meteorology
For weather information all over the country.
Australian Bureau of Meteorology – Indigenous Weather Knowledge
Site that showcases Indigenous weather knowledge for some sites around Australia.
Weather sound clips:
Bureau of Meteorology weather icons:
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cloudy |
partly cloudy |
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rain |
shower |
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storm |
sunny |
Interesting weather photos:
(Click on image for a larger version. To save the image, right-click on the larger version,
choose 'Save picture as', and save the image in a location of your choice.)
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lightning |
rain and clouds |
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rain and rainbow |
trees in wind |
umbrella in wind |
Photographs of the sky:
(Click on image for a larger version. To save the image, right-click on the larger version,
choose 'Save picture as', and save the image in a location of your choice.)
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clear |
cloudy |
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overcast |