Weather vs. Climate: Crash Course Kids

Contributor
Crash Course
Type Category
Instructional Materials
Types
Animation/Movie
Note
This resource, vetted by NSTA curators, is provided to teachers along with suggested modifications to make it more in line with the vision of the NGSS. While not considered to be “fully aligned,” the resources and expert recommendations provide teachers with concrete examples and expert guidance using the EQuIP rubric to adapted existing resources. Read more here.

Reviews

Description

This brief video from Crash Course Kids introduces students to the difference between weather and climate. The video focuses on the weather and climate of Yuma, Arizona. Students can analyze data averaged over years to determine if the weather shown in the video in Yuma is typical of the climate.   Climate data may be found here: http://www.usclimatedata.com/climate/yuma/arizona/united-states/usaz0275

Although the term average is not typically introduced in third grade math, students will often be able to come up with a useable definition, such as typical, common, or expected. The expression, "Climate is what you expect; weather is what you get, may be helpful to students as they develop their understanding of the two related terms.

 

Intended Audience

Educator and learner
Educational Level
  • Upper Elementary
Language
English
Access Restrictions

Free access - The right to view and/or download material without financial, registration, or excessive advertising barriers.

Performance Expectations

3-ESS2-2 Obtain and combine information to describe climates in different regions of the world.

Clarification Statement: none

Assessment Boundary: none

This resource appears to be designed to build towards this performance expectation, though the resource developer has not explicitly stated so.

Comments about Including the Performance Expectation
This video provides a reliable media source for students to obtain information for this performance expectation. Students would need to use other resources in addition to this one to combine information on climates in other locations.

Science and Engineering Practices

This resource appears to be designed to build towards this science and engineering practice, though the resource developer has not explicitly stated so.

Comments about Including the Science and Engineering Practice
For this practice, following the video, students should use other resources to investigate the climate of Yuma, Arizona and also other climates.

Disciplinary Core Ideas

This resource is explicitly designed to build towards this disciplinary core idea.

Comments about Including the Disciplinary Core Idea
The video defines climate as “what the weather is like over a long period of time.” Students sometimes have the misconception that a long period is days or weeks. It should be emphasized that climate study usually involves averaging many years of weather data. Although the term average is not expected to be fully understood or computed, students will often be able to come up with a useable definition, such as typical, common, or expected. The expression, "Climate is what you expect; weather is what you get, may be helpful to students as they develop their understanding of the two related terms. In the video, students are briefly introduced to the idea that climate can change over hundreds or thousands of years. Discussing the most recent ice age, which covered most of the land of the northern hemisphere in ice until about 10,000 years ago, may help students understand long-term climate change. Recent, shorter-term climate change is not a grade level expectation. Climate data for Yuma, Arizona may be found here at www.usclimatedata.com or several other climate data websites.

Crosscutting Concepts

This resource is explicitly designed to build towards this crosscutting concept.

Comments about Including the Crosscutting Concept
The video discusses how climate patterns for Yuma, Arizona can be observed and used to predict what kind of weather is expected there. By investigating climate patterns throughout the year in Arizona or in other places, students would be able to predict likely weather patterns.

Resource Quality

  • Alignment to the Dimensions of the NGSS: This resource includes the practice of obtaining information, the disciplinary core idea of climate and weather, and the crosscutting concept of patterns. In order to fully address any of these dimensions, however, students should investigate several other resources.

  • Instructional Supports: This resource does not include instructional supports. There is a lot of content in a very short amount of time. It would be helpful to pause the video and/or play it at a slower speed, to allow students time to process and discuss the content.

  • Monitoring Student Progress: This resource provides just a brief introduction to concepts that should be more fully explored. Before watching the video, the teacher might ask students what they think the difference between weather and climate is (formative assessment). After the video, students could be asked to describe what they think now about the difference between weather and climate (using examples from the video).

  • Quality of Technological Interactivity: This video does not include an interactive component.