Weather affects all living things, including humans, on a daily basis. Humans have the advantage of being able to predict and measure the weather. Weather occurs primarily due to air pressure, temperature and moisture differences between one place and another.

How does weather affect our daily lives?

Students will:

• Investigate wet-weather phenomena including clouds, lightning, thunder, and rainbows
• Learn about temperature, how to read a thermometer, and how temperature affects what we do
• Explore how First Nations seasons represent current weather phenomenon

The students will:

• Undertake some simple experiments to help understand wet-weather phenomena, including clouds, storms, lightning and rainbows
• Test thermometers to understand how a thermometer works
• Use learning stations to explore how changing weather impacts plants and animals through the lens of First Nations seasons.

Science – Science as a Human Endeavour

• Scientific knowledge is based on observations of the natural world using the senses, and scientific tools and instruments (VC2S2H01)
• Science is used by people in their daily lives, including asking questions and using patterns from observations of the world around them to make scientific predictions (VC2S2H02)

Science – Science Understanding

• Daily and seasonal changes in the weather and the environment can be observed and affect decisions made in everyday life (VC2S2U07)

Science – Science Inquiry

• Experiences can be used as a basis for posing questions to explore observed patterns and relationships, and to make predictions (VC2S2I01)
• Scientific questions and predictions can be investigated safely by following procedures that have sequenced steps (VC2S2I02)
• Data and information can be sorted and ordered using provided tables and organisers, and visual or physical models, to show simple patterns (VC2S2I04)
• Observations can be compared to predictions and the observations of others, which may lead to further questions being identified (VC2S2I05)

Maths – Algebra

• Recognise, continue and create repeating patterns with numbers, symbols, shapes and objects, identifying the repeating unit and recognising the importance of repetition in solving problems (VC2M1A02)

Maths – Measurement

• Describe the duration and sequence of events using years, months, weeks, days and hours (VC2M1M03)

Geography – Geographical Knowledge and Understanding

• Weather and seasons, including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples’ seasonal calendars (VC2HG2K06)

Digital Technologies – Creating Digital Solutions

• Discuss how existing digital systems satisfy identified needs for known users (VC2TDI2C03)

Capabilities – Critical and Creative Thinking

• Different kinds of question stems for gathering information and ideas (VC2CC2Q01)

Capabilities – Intercultural Understanding

• Ways in which culturally diverse individuals and families live, including their own family (VC2CI2C01)

The following Learning Continuum is a guide for teachers to show the links between the programs. Ecolinc offers onsite, online and through outreach. The Learning Continuum can be used to access Ecolinc resources to support the development of units of work.

Outreach programs are conducted by an Ecolinc education officer at your school. They are available to moderately disadvantaged primary schools in the Geelong, Ballarat and western suburbs areas (or within 100km radius from Bacchus Marsh)