First Graders Learn About Changes in the Weather

Mrs. Koos' Classroom

by Jo Koos

April 01, 2008

First grade students have just completed a unit in their reading series entitled “Changes in the Weather”. As a culminating writing activity for this unit, students wrote their own weather reports. As a reference point, students were encouraged to watch a weather report on television in the days leading up to the beginning of the project

In the planning phase, students brainstormed a list of weather words that would be displayed on the Smart Board for their use in the next phase of their reports. Next students had to make sure that the temperature and weather conditions they were choosing to use in their reports were compatible with each other After completing a planning sheet about the weather “now” and “tomorrow”, students were then ready to begin the writing process.

Using their planning sheets as reference, first they wrote the section about the weather “now”. Then they finished their reports by writing about the weather “tomorrow”. Students were encouraged to add their own touch to their reports to personalize them. Students practiced reading their reports to fellow classmates. Finally, each student was videotaped giving his or her own weather report.