Lesson 4 of 4 · Weather and Climate
Experiment⭐ 30 XP🌋 Rock RealmReading a Weather Forecast
Weather and Climate.
🎯 Your mission
Predict it first. Then prove yourself right (or wrong).
⚡ The twist
Today's mountain was yesterday's ocean floor.
Mind = Blown
🌋 There are 1,500 active volcanoes on Earth right now.
Make a hypothesis first
Guess: where will the water go first?
What You'll Learn
A forecast combines temperature, chance of rain, wind speed and direction. The percentage is not how hard it will rain but how likely rain is anywhere in that area, which is why a 40% forecast often means a dry afternoon.
Key Words
Tap a word to see its definition.
Materials Needed
- notebook
- thermometer
Safety First
- Have an adult check your set-up before you start, and tidy everything away afterwards.
Steps
Read the explanation above and note the two key terms before you start.
Record the forecast for your area each morning for a week and the actual weather each evening. Count how many days matched and work out the forecast's success rate.
Record what actually happened, including anything that did not match what you expected.
Write a conclusion that answers the question this lesson opened with, and state your uncertainty.
Check Your Understanding
Question 1
1 of 2A 40% chance of rain means rain is:
Where you see this in real life
Today's weather, tomorrow's beach, next century's coastline — all this.
Stretch Challenge
Try this in real life this week.
Look at the sky for 5 minutes and try to predict tomorrow's weather.
For the dinner table
“What's the slowest change you can think of?”
Next Smart Experiment
We'll pick an experiment that matches exactly how you're thinking right now.
Share this experiment
Send it to a parent who's looking for a 10-minute kitchen science win.
Ready?
Reading a Weather Forecast
Predict it first. Then prove yourself right (or wrong).
Full screen — no distractions
Checkout complete lesson on Weather and Climate for 3rd Grade
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