
Photo Credit: Clipart.com
Weather is a pretty safe topic of conversation. After all, it's always doing something outside ... or might do something soon. It's too hot or it's too cold or it's too beautiful to stay inside. Luckily, the science behind the natural forces that cause the weather is pretty interesting. So next time you find yourself thinking about extreme weather events or just that string of rainy days, turn to these resources to learn more.
Filter Resources by Grade:
Lessons
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K-2 | Hands-On
This lesson focuses on how the weather changes from day to day.
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K-2
In this lesson, students keep daily records of temperature, precipitation, and wind.
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K-2 | Hands-On
Students will take a closer look at the sun and begin to recognize its critical function in heating and warming the air, land, and water that sustain our lives.
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3-5 | Video
This lesson introduces students to the science of hurricanes in an effort to highlight how forces change the speed and direction of motion.
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3-5 | Hands-On
This lesson examines the role of technology in identifying and tracking hurricanes.
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3-5 | Hands-On
In this lesson, students review what clouds are and then use fractions to describe cloud coverage.
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3-5 | Hands-On
This lesson demonstrates that air takes up space, and puts pressure, or pushes, on everything around it.
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3-5 | Hands-On
This lesson will help students understand the continuous cycle that water undergoes as it changes form.
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6-8 | Audio
This lesson will help students understand that El Niño is caused by changes in the atmospheric and ocean content.
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6-8 | Audio
The lesson introduces students to the scientific basis of climate change.
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6-8
This lesson focuses on flooding, both because of its importance to human history, and because it is often misunderstood.
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9-12
In this lesson, students develop an understanding of air masses and the role they play in weather and climate.
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9-12
In this lesson, students explore how scientific knowledge changes in the context of abrupt climate change.
Tools
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K-5 | Video
This short film from the San Diego County Office of Emergency Services explains the basic concepts of tsunamis and safety preparedness.
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6-12 | Video
This video from CBS News, covers the most recent tsunami that hit Samoa in 2009 and includes animation of how the earth's plates move under the ocean.
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6-12 | Website
This tutorial helps to clarify what rainbows are and how they are made.
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6-8 | Interactive
Explore how different factors work together to produce both your local community's day-to-day weather and the overall climate for your region of the world.
Science Updates
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6-12 | Audio
Cyclones have been peaking in intensity closer and closer to the poles over the last 30 years.
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6-12 | Audio
Every year, tornadoes, hurricanes, and snowstorms claim lives and cause injuries. But strangely, hailstorms, which pelt the ground with hard balls of ice, never seem to hit human targets. This Science Update examines the reasons why this happens.
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6-12 | Audio
Learn how scientists are using the Earth Simulator, the most powerful supercomputer on the planet, to model Earth's climate.
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6-12 | Audio
Draining a wetland can change local weather.
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6-12 | Audio
Scientists are learning how weather around the world is interconnected.
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6-12 | Audio
Flowering plants keep the world cooler and wetter than it would be otherwise.
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6-12 | Audio
This Science Update explores why pollution from cities could dry out nearby mountains.
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6-12 | Audio
In this Science Update, you'll hear how ping-pong balls may help predict the path of a deadly snow avalanche.
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6-12 | Audio
In this Science Update, hear how scientists have found a way to predict the severity of a West Nile outbreak for the year.
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6-12 | Audio
In this Science Update, learn why fish don't get electrocuted when lightning strikes the water.
Collections
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K-12
This collection of Science NetLinks lessons and resources will help teachers and students learn more about hurricanes, wind, and other weather.
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K-12
This collection celebrates earth science, a broad field of study that explores the way the forces of our planet intersect.
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K-12
This collection of resources offers insights into the basics of climate change, as well as some of the most recent research.
AAAS Resources
Meteorology
Professional development
Eric Walters, chair of the science department at The Marymount School of New York, penned this winning essay in the 2007 AAAS/Subaru Essay Writing Competition. It discusses a class he set up for his high school students.
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