It’s a sunny day where you live. So that means you must live in a warm climate! Or...is a sunny day just the weather? Hmmm.. weather and climate are related but they mean different things. In this seminar you will learn about the difference between weather and climate. You will be able to apply your past knowledge of weather to this seminar. By the end of this seminar, you will be able to classify outside conditions as either weather or climate.StandardsStandard 3.3.4.A.5Describe basic weather elements. Identify weather patterns over time.

Learning Goals/Outcomes/Objectives:
Observable features of the student performance by the end of the grade: 1). Obtaining information: Students use books and other reliable media to gather information about: i. Climates in different regions of the world (e.g., equatorial, polar, coastal, mid-continental). ii. Variations in climates within different regions of the world (e.g., variations could include an area’s average temperatures and precipitation during various months over several years or an area’s average rainfall and temperatures during the rainy season over several years). 2 Evaluating information a Student's combine obtained information to provide evidence about the climate pattern in a region that can be used to make predictions about typical weather conditions in that region. 3 Communicating information a Students use the information they obtained and combined to describe*: i. Climates in different regions of the world. ii. Examples of how patterns in climate could be used to predict typical weather conditions. iii. That climate can vary over years in different regions of the world.

In this scenario-based activity, students design ways to either clean a water source or find a new water source, depending on given hypothetical family scenarios. They act as engineers to draw and write about what they could do to provide water to a community facing a water crisis. They also learn the basic steps of the engineering design process.

In this lesson, students utilize case studies to learn about the ways climate change is currently impacting people and other living things around the world.

Students determine their carbon footprints by answering questions about their everyday lifestyle choices. Then they engineer plans to reduce them. Students learn about their personal impacts on global climate change and how they can help the environment.

In this lesson, students explore reasons why temperatures in particular Colorado cities are rising.

In this lesson, students will first participate in a chalk talk to elicit initial ideas about climate and Antarctica and the types of data scientists collect. Next, they will explore images of Antarctica and make initial noticings and wonderings about what they’re seeing. Students will be introduced to important vocabulary through matching terms to components or features of a satellite image. Finally, students will synthesize their initial ideas about how satellite imagery can help us understand climate change in Antarctica. This is the first lesson of a five-part curriculum about Antarctic physical environments and ecosystems.

This lesson explores climate data at local, national, and global levels to determine that temperatures are changing all over the world, and that there are certain locations where temperatures are warming faster than the global average.

This lesson introduces why certain cities in Colorado are getting hotter using a video by the Denver Post that describes the pattern.

Shellfish like oysters and clams are an important part of Washington State native traditions, the economy and coastal ecosystems. Shellfish have faced and continue to face many challenges including overfarming, pollution and ocean acidification. Shellfish also have an important role in addressing these challenges because of their ability to provide habitat for other species and filter pollutants, bacteria and excess nutrients from the water.In this unit students learn about the stakeholders, history, economics and cultural importance of shellfish in the Puget Sound/Salish Sea regions. Then they learn about how shellfish interact with their environment and their importance in local ecosystems. Finally they learn about some of the current environmental challenges and some solutions linked to shellfish. They will create a persuasive product from the viewpoint of one of the stakeholder groups. They should argue from evidence why shellfish are important to that group and what should be done with shellfish in the future. 

How does our climate affect us? How do we decide what to wear each day? What factors determine if our clothing choices are comfortable? What is the source of our water? Students explore characteristics that define climatic regions. They learn how tropical, desert, coastal and alpine climates result in different lifestyle, clothing, water source and food options for the people who live there. They learn that a location's latitude, altitude, land features, weather conditions, and distance from large bodies of water, determines its climate. Students discuss how engineers help us adapt to all climates by designing clothing, shelters, weather technologies and clean water systems.

This article points out that there is no one official definition for the Arctic. Then the author identifies definitions ranging from geography to climate to culture and more. Maps and other visuals illustrate the definitions. The author suggests that defining the Arctic can be an example for K-Grade 5 students of the nature and challenges of classification systems. The article appears in the free, online magazine Beyond Penguins and Polar Bears.

When you walk or drive around your neighborhood, what do the roofs look like? What if you lived in an area with a different climate, how might that affect the style of roofs that you see? Through this introductory engineering activity, students explore the advantages of different roof shapes for different climates or situations. They observe and discuss what happens in a teacher demo when a "snow load" (sifted cups of flour) is placed on three model roof shapes.

During this lesson, students explore the increase in summer temperatures and describe the pattern as it relates to Colorado using a video by the Denver Post.

This lesson has students investigate how albedo is contributing to temperature increasing in some places, like cities, are increasing at faster rates than elsewhere.

This lesson has students explore what land use changes are happening and how changes in surface color affects temperatures in cities.

In this video segment adapted from United Tribes Technical College, listen as six Native American students share their concerns, hopes, and knowledge about climate change.

In this week-long unit, students examine weather reports from all over the world in order to understand global temperature patterns. Throughout the unit, students collect their findings in a portfolio. The comprehensive curriculum materials contain teacher tools, a Web activity in which students examine 12 months of weather data for several U.S. cities, comparing their findings with the same 12 months at Antarctica weather stations, two hands-on experiments, two Q&A interviews and a student handout with guidance for putting together their portfolios and examples of creative final projects.

In this lesson, students investigate various factors that can lead to surface ice melt in Antarctica by pairing a scientific mindset with hands-on exploration of datasets.

Students will learn the difference between global, prevailing and local winds. In this activity, students will make a wind vane out of paper, a straw and a soda bottle and use it to measure wind direction over time. Finally, they will analyze their data to draw conclusions about the prevailing winds in their area.