Building Blocks of Science® A New Generation: Weather and Climate Patterns Unit Kit

Grade 3. The Weather and Climate Patterns Unit Kit includes a Teacher's Guide and supplies and apparatus for a 30-student class. During Weather and Climate Patterns, students are introduced to the causes of weather and climate. They begin by considering how air and water affect weather, and come to understand how we can use our senses to observe and predict the weather. Students learn how to measure elements of weather in a similar way to meteorologists, and they create a model of the layers of the atmosphere and discover what causes air pressure. Throughout the unit, students examine the sun, the wind, the water cycle, and the nature of storms. They explore how the shape of the earth causes different regions to be heated unevenly, causing specific weather patterns in different climates. By the end of the unit, students make the connection between the effects of weather on humans and how we can predict and prepare for hazardous weather.