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Features of places: weather
Students learn how people describe the weather of places. Students explore weather related activities occurring in places.
Content Summary
Weather and seasons
Students:
- investigate the weather and seasons of places, for example: (ACHGK006)
- description of the daily weather patterns of a familiar place
- discussion of how weather can affect places and activities ( e.g leisure, farming, daily life)
Background notes for teachers
Scope of inquiry
This inquiry leads students to be able to describe and compare the weather of places and discuss how weather can affect the activities people do. The inquiry should be related to the students' lives at school and home and provides an opportunity to discuss playground activities during different types of weather. For instance, to stay in the shade playing quietly on very hot days, to bring a raincoat on rainy days, and to bring a jumper on cold days.
The inquiry can be expanded to investigate seasons and how seasons are different in different places both locally and nationally. In Australia, seasons can be an ambiguous concept and difficult for young students to understand as we tend to experience frequent 'unseasonal' changes in the weather rather than distinct seasonal patterns in our traditional season of summer, autumn, winter and spring. It may be appropriate to discuss, for example, the top end of Australia's wet season and dry season as an alternative description for seasonal patterns.
Geographical concept of environment
People and environments are interconnected. The seasonal environment experiened in different places affects people. This can mean people visit a particular environment for the weather it provides, eg. rain at the beach.
State Library of NSW photographic collections
Images from two photographic collections have been used: a contemporary collection relating to new residential developments taken by photographer Geoff Ambler between 2008 and 2013 which also documents some aspects of daily life in these places; and an historic collection taken by photographer Sam Hood. Hood was a Sydney-based photographer who had his own studio as well as working for many Australian newspapers. He was able to capture many sides of Sydney from the 1880s to the 1950s. His photographic works range from buildings, architecture, sports, the arts and representations of how Sydneysiders spent their leisure time.
The use of both sets of images enables links to the Stage 1 History syllabus topic: Present and Past Family life. The images show similaritise and differences in daily lives past and present, with a focus on activities relating to weather.
Student Activities
Activity 1
Rainy weather
Number of set tasks: 1
Activity 2
What is the weather at our place?
Number of set tasks: 1
Activity 3
Activities and weather
Number of set tasks: 3
Activity 4
Weather role play
Number of set tasks: 1
Activity notes for teachers
Activity 4
Students pretend to get dress in one of the clothing items in Source 10. They role play an activity they would be doing dressed in that clothing item and state the weather.
In small groups, students role play activities they can do in each type of weather called as indicated by the teacher. The teacher states a change in the weather and students change clothing and activities.
A box of dress ups, props and 1m2 fabric squares (use as scarves, beach towels, raincoat, etc) would enhance this activity. A4 images of weather symbols could be used to signify weather changes.
NSW Syllabus for the Australian Curriculum Geography K–6
Outcomes
A student:
- GE1-1 describes features of places and the connections people have with places
- GE1-2 identifies ways in which people interact with and care for places
- GE1-3 communicates geographical information and uses geographical tools for inquiry
Geographical Inquiry Skills
Acquiring geographical information
- pose geographical questions (ACHGS007, ACHGS013)
- collect and record geographical data and information, for example, by observing, by interviewing, or using visual representations (ACHGS008, ACHGS014)
Processing geographical information
- represent data by constructing tables, graphs or maps (ACHGS009, ACHGS015)
- draw conclusions based on the interpretation of geographical information sorted into categories (ACHGS010, ACHGS016)
Communicating geographical information
- present findings in a range of communication forms (ACHGS011, ACHGS017)
- reflect on their learning and suggest responses to their findings (ACHGS012, ACHGS018)
Geographical Concepts
- Place: the significance of places and what they are like (e.g location and features of local places and other places in the world).
- Space: the significance of location and spatial distribution, and ways people organise and manage the spaces that we live in (e.g where activities are located and how spaces can be organised).
- Environment: the significance of the environment in human life, and the important interrelationships between humans and the environment (e.g natural and human features of a place; daily and seasonal weather patterns of places).
- Interconnection: no object of geographical study can be viewed in isolation (e.g local and global links people have with places and the special connection Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples maintain with Country/Place).
- Scale: the way that geographical phenomena and problems can be examined at different spatial levels (e.g various scales by which places can be defined such as local suburbs, towns and large cities).
LAC
Learning across the curriculum
- Critical and creative thinking
- Literacy
- Numeracy
- Personal and social capability
- Difference and diversity
Resources
Picture books
Weather
The Sunny Day by Anna Milbourne and Elena Temporin
The Rainy Day by Anna Milbourne and Sarah Gill
The Windy Day by Anna Milbourne and Elena Temporin
The Snowy Day by Anna Milbourne and Elena Temporin
The Wind Blew by Pat Hutchins
Seasons
A Year on Our Farm by Penny Matthews
The Big Field: A Child's Year Under the Southern Cross by Anne Morddel
All Through the Year by Jane Godwin and Anna Walker
News
Blogs
Podcasts