3.6 Talking about the weather

Natural sciences

Grade 4

Planet earth and the universe

Module 43

Talking about the weather

Activity:

Talking about the weather

[lo 1.3, 2.1]

One of the things that change most from day to day is the weather. The weather influences our decisions about where we would like to live, the clothes that we wear and the things that we do.

We always want to know what the weather will be like. We therefore regularly look at the weather forecasts on television, and listen to it on the radio and read about it in the newspapers.

Discuss this in your group and suggest some reasons for wanting to know what the weather will be like.

What is weather actually?

• Warmth and sunlight travel through the earth’s atmosphere. The rays of the sun affect the air in four different ways: It changes the temperature, the humidity, the air pressure and the wind.

Write a sentence about each of these. Look at the pictures that illustrate them:

Temperature

Humidity

Air pressure

Wind

Try the following:

Make a flag and hang it outside to find out how strong the wind is.

Hang spoons from a metal clothes hanger using nylon to tie them and listen to the tinkling that tells you that the wind is blowing.

Assessment

LEARNING OUTCOME 1 : SCIENTIFIC INVESTIGATIONS The learner will be able to act confidently on curiosity about natural phenomena, and to investigate relationships and solve problems in scientific, technological and environmental contexts.

Assessment Standard

We know this when the learner

1.3 evaluates data and provides feedback on observations.

LEARNING OUTCOME 2 : CONSTRUCTING SCIENCE KNOWLEDGE The learner will know and be able to interpret and apply scientific, technological and environmental knowledge.

Assessment Standard

We know this when the learner

2.1 recalls significant information.

Memorandum

• Name a few reasons in your group why it might be useful to know in advance what the weather will be like.

Possible reasons

• When you go out, you want to know whether it is necessary to take a coat or rain jacket, especially to sports and outdoor events
• Farmers plan their daily chores according to the weather
• In case of danger (e.g. hurricane or tornado) safety measures must already be in place
• We want to know whether we can hang out our washing!

Temperature: The sun heats the earth. The heat is reflected off the clouds and the earth to determine the temperature of the air.

Humidity: Water vapour rises from the earth and sea to form clouds. When many water droplets accumulate, rain falls to the earth. Humidity is the moisture content of the air.

Pressure: Atmospheric pressure is determined by air that is forced in different directions.

Wind: Wind is air that moves rapidly.