Weather and Seasons: Prior Knowledge

What types of weather have we already experienced?

Choose an activity that enables learners to articulate similarities and differences between weather conditions they have experienced. Promote an equitable approach to learning by valuing their personal experiences and knowledge of weather and climates around the world. Begin to make links between the weather and its impacts on humans and other animals.

This is recommended as session one in the KS1 Weather and Seasons unit of learning, but can be used independently.

< 30 minutes
KS1

Preparation

Green Skills

  • Recording data
  • Interpreting data

Step by step

Quick Starter Activity

Postcard Participation! Give learners a blank postcard template and ask them to share an example of what the weather was like on a day out (either in words or drawings). If they have examples from outside of the UK you could even attach these to a world map to show how weather is different around the world.  

postcard

Main Activity Suggestions

Suggestion 1 (Indoor) 

Royal Meteorological Society: Weather Journey. This game is about seasonal and daily weather patterns in the UK. Adaptation can be achieved by using different sets of question cards and scaffolding early readers with adult support.  

Suggestion 2 (Outdoor) 

Royal Meteorological Society: Start a Weather Tracker. Use this table to record changes in the weather.  

Suggestion 3 (Indoor) 

Royal Geographical Society: Weather on the Isle of Struay. A range of short activities encourages learners to compare the weather of their own locality and the island of Coll, which is fictionalised as the Isle of Struay.  

Top Tips

Use these activities to help learners notice different repeated patterns in the weather that can help them to predict different types of weather in the future, which is how meteorologists make weather forecasts. Use this poster from the Royal Geographical Society to reinforce key vocabulary and concepts about weather and climate. 

Curriculum links