AIR, WATER, AND WEATHER

AIR, WATER, AND WEATHER LESSON

Directions:

Print the Air, Water, and Weather reading comprehension passage and questions (see below).

Older students should read the passage silently, then answer the questions.  Teachers may also use the text as part of a classroom lesson plan.

Exercise:

When rain falls during the time the sun is shining, it is called a sun-shower. A myth is that if it rains when the sun is shining, it will rain again the next day at the same time.

You can tell how far away the lightning is if after you see the lightning flash if you count the seconds until you hear the thunder. Every five seconds equals one mile. Keep listening as you hear he storm come closer.

Lesson Excerpt

The earth is a planet that has air, water, and weather patterns. Air is necessary for the life of plants and animals. When air moves fast it becomes the wind. Even though you cannot see the wind, you can see what it does. It blows dust, clouds, and leaves on the trees. When air is heated by the sun it moves upward and there is room for the cold air to come under the warm air. When the cold and hot air are together, it makes wind. Winds that blow from the north are colder than winds that blow from the south.

Forms of Water

Water comes from the rain and fills the rivers, lakes, and oceans. Water is also made by melting snow and flows into rivers. Water has no shape, but takes on the shape of the container in which it is kept. If that is a lake it has a big shape. In a glass, it is small. When the water is heated, it changes into water vapor or steam. If water is kept in the freezer of a refrigerator, it changes into ice. Water can be solid, vapor, or liquid.

The Water Cycle

We can change the form of water by heating and cooling. In nature, water keeps changing from hot to cold. This is how clouds are formed. First, the sun warms the water in the ocean, lakes, and rivers and turns the water into a gas (vapor). We can't see it but it goes into the sky and when it gets very high where the air is cooler, it turns into droplets of water and tiny pieces of ice. When there are enough droplets and pieces of ice, it forms a cloud.

Next, the cloud gets heavy and starts to push the droplets and pieces of ice to the ground. If the temperature is warmer close to the earth, it melts the ice and it turns into rain. If it is cold near the ground, it turns into snow. When the snow melts it turns into a liquid and goes back into the rivers, lakes, and oceans. Then the process begins all over again by turning into a vapor, then a cloud and then rain. This is called the water cycle. (continued...)