This activity is taken from The Internet and Young Learners, by Gordon Lewis.

How's the weather?

Level: Elementary and above
Age: 8 and above
Time: 60 minutes; ongoing for Follow-up 3
Aims: To describe and compare weather in various parts of the world.
Language: Weather vocabulary, days of the week, months of the year, numbers, simple past tense, present progressive tense, future with going to, countries and continents, clothes, because.
Preparation: Learn how to use a common weather website.

In Class

1. If you haven't done so already, introduce children to basic weather vocabulary in English such as rainy, sunny, windy, snow, cold, hot, etc. Refer to the website of your choice for the exact language input required. If possible, co-ordinate with a science teacher to integrate the English web work with the core curriculum.
2. Tell the children you want them to take a trip to a foreign city. Ask them if they have ever visited a city in another country or whether they have a place they always wanted to travel to. Write down their choices.
3. Divide the class into small groups and assign each group one city to investigate. Tell them that before they pack they need to know what the weather will be like.
4. Ask the children to log on to the weather website you have chosen to use. Be sure it has clear navigation.
5. Demonstrate where to click for this information if necessary. Check to see if they are at the right place.
6. If possible, have the children print out the web page with the weather forecast for the chosen city. If this is not possible, create a chart which the children must fill in from the website.
7. Ask each group to decide on what they will pack for their trip and explain why.
8. In a whole class activity, ask the children to compare weather in the various cities. Which has the highest temperature? Where is it raining, snowing, etc.? This can be done by mixing groups or as a whole class activity.

Variation
Pair groups together and have the children ask each other about the weather in their chosen cities. Let the children formulate the questions on their own or offer some examples depending on language level, such as:

• What is the temperature?
• Will it rain tomorrow?
• Did it snow yesterday?

Follow-up 1
Make a bar graph of temperatures, amount of rain, etc. in your town, a partner city, or a random location of your choice.

Follow-up 2
Each group now role plays the weather report for the city they worked on. If possible video-tape the report.

Follow-up 3
Make this an ongoing project. Create a weather chart that the children can fill in each morning. If you have a partner school you can check the weather with them.

By Gordon Lewis