Developmental Lesson Plan

Weather Unit: Day 2

Teacher Candidate: Kaitlyn Johnson
Date: Group Size: 22 Allotted Time: about 30 minutes Grade Level: K
Subject or Topic: Weather Changes Over Seasons
Common Core/PA Standard(s):
3.3.K.A Use and share observations of local weather conditions to describe patterns over time.
7.3.K.A Describe how weather affects daily life.

Learning Targets/Objectives:
● Students will be able to name the four seasons and the weather that accompanies
them in Pennsylvania and explain why we have seasons.
Assessment Approaches: Evidence:
1. Weather Watching: Seasons drawing 1. Draw a picture to show what
each season looks like.
Assessment Scale:
1. Weather Watching: Seasons drawing
a. All 4 seasons are drawn accurately (Ex. Spring- flowers and sun, Summer-
sunny and warm, Fall- leaves falling off trees and cooler, and Winter- snowy
and cold) —- Proficient
b. 2 out of 4 seasons are drawn accurately —- Below basic
Subject Matter/Content:

Prerequisites:
General knowledge of each season
Know that it is colder in Fall and Winter than it is in Spring and Summer
Weather and words to describe weather

Key Vocabulary:
hemisphere: half of a sphere. Earth has two hemispheres: Northern and Southern
equator: an imaginary line that separates the earth into the two hemispheres and runs
down the center of the Earth
Autumn: another way to say the season of Fall
Earth’s Axis: an imaginary line the Earth turns on
Revolve: make one trip

Content/Facts:
There are four distinct seasons in Pennsylvania
Winter, Spring, Summer, and Fall
The seasons follow the same pattern every year
These are caused by the the Earth’s axis as it turns around the sun
Weather changes in each season and the amount of daylight changes as well
The Earth is tilted toward the sun and and gets direct sunlight in the summer
 makes it warmer and sunnier with longer days and shorter nights
The Earth is tilted away from the sun and does not get direct sunlight in the winter
makes it colder and less sunny with shorter days and longer nights
During spring and fall the Earth is not tilted away from or toward the sun which creates
more even sunlight on the Earth
days and nights are about the same and the temperatures are more mild, not too
hot or cold.
Two hemispheres
Northern
Southern
They have opposite seasons; when summer in the Northern Hemisphere,
it is Winter in the Southern Hemisphere and when it is fall in the
Northern Hemisphere it is spring in the Southern Hemisphere

Anticipatory Set
Weather Journals (about 5 minutes)
1. The teacher will tell the students that they are going to observe the weather and record
it in their weather journals that they started yesterday.
a. As the students are waiting for their journals to be passed out, they will be
instructed to get their tool boxes out and have them open on their desk.
2. When everyone has their journals, the teacher will model writing the date for the
students in the designated spot and instruct the students to put their pencil down on
their desk to show they are ready.
3. The teacher will say, “okay scientists, let’s look out the window and take a moment to
observe the weather. Raise a quiet hand when you think you know what the weather is
like outside today”
a. The teacher will then call on one student to share the weather for the day.
b. The teacher will then instruct the students to draw the weather while modeling
her own drawing for the students under the doc camera. Students will get about
2-3 minutes to draw and color their picture.
4. The teacher will show the temperature under the doc camera and ask, “who can tell me
what the temperature is today?”
a. The teacher will call on a few students to share.
b. The teacher will assist in naming the number if needed.
c. The teacher and students will then record the temperature on the designated
line.
5. The teacher will then have the students close their journal and hold it above their head
when they are done to be collected.
6. The teacher will instruct the students to clear their desks once their journal is collected
and have them sit up at the carpet.

Development/Teaching Approaches
 1. The teacher will have an anchor chart with the four seasons on it at the easel and say,
“who can tell me what the four seasons are? Think about it quietly in your head and
then raise a quiet hand when you think you know.”
2. The teacher will allow students to think for a few seconds and will then call on a
student and have them share one season they thought of.
a. The teacher will call on students until all of the seasons have been named using
the anchor chart as needed to assist students.
3. The teacher will then show students four seasonal pictures one by one and explain that
they need to put their detective hats on and look closely at the pictures to decide what
season each one represents.
a. The teacher will ask the students activating questions such as “what is the
weather/temperature like when you wear these clothes?” and “What clues do
you see in the picture about the weather that might help you to know what
season it is?”
b. For example, the winter picture has a dull sky and the girl is wearing a hat, coat,
scarf, and mittens.
c. The teacher will go through all 4 seasonal pictures discussing the weather in
each one and naming the season with the help of the students.
4. The teacher will then connect today’s lesson to the lesson yesterday by saying,
“yesterday we discussed how the weather changes each day, but the weather also
changes each season too. Now that we talked about the four seasons and how the
weather is different during each one, we are going to read to find out why the weather
changes over the seasons”.
5. The teacher will then play a video explaining why the weather changes over seasons.
The Seasons and Hemispheres | LEARNING WITH SARAH | Educational video…
6. The teacher will explain that when the Northern Hemisphere (where we live) is tilted
on it’s axis (the imaginary line the Earth turns on) we are in summer which means we
get much more direct sunlight which is why it is warmer and we have longer days.
7. The opposite happens when the Earth tilts away from the sun and we get less sunlight
making it colder and giving us less daylight.
8. The teacher will then instruct the students to head back to their seats quietly and get out
their toolboxes.
9. Each student will get a paper with a box for each season and will be instructed to write
their name at the top and then to put their pencil down.
10. The teacher will have this paper under the doc camera and will start with the spring
box. The teacher will say, “I want you to draw what the weather looks like during
spring, remember what we discussed when looking at the spring picture card”
a. Students will get about 2 minutes to draw their picture using crayons.
11. The teacher will repeat step 10 for each season until all 4 have been completed.
12. The teacher will collect each student's drawings to check for understanding of the
weather in each season.
13. The students will be instructed to clear their desks off and sit with ready hands when
ready to move on.

Closure/Summarizing Strategies:
How Sunlight Makes the Seasons Demonstration (can be done after special if not enough
time before)
1. The teacher will invite the students up to the carpet for a demonstration. The teacher
will say, “who wants to see how exactly sunlight makes the seasons?”
2. Up at the front the teacher will have the concept map anchor chart about weather from
yesterday at the easel and will also have a lamp with shade removed and a globe with
the seasons summer and winter.
3. Before starting, the teacher will review the terms hemisphere and equator by asking the
students if anyone remembers what those words meant from the video.
4. The teacher will remind the students that the hemisphere is half of the Earth and that
there are two hemispheres; Northern and Southern and the equator is the imaginary line
that separates the Earth into these two hemispheres.
5. The teacher will say, “this globe represents the Earth and this picture of winter
represents the Northern Hemisphere where we live. The picture of summer is the
Southern Hemisphere. This light bulb is going to represent the sun. We are going to
watch what happens when we move the Earth certain ways so be sure to pay close
attention scientists”
6. The teacher will then tilt the summer picture toward the lightbulb. The teacher will say,
“Notice how the Earth is tilted a little bit on something called it’s axis, can you say
axis. The Earth’s Axis is the imaginary line the Earth turns on as it revolves around the
sun. As the Earth moves on this axis some parts are closer or further away from the
sun”
7. The teacher will ask, “what are you noticing about the two seasons right now?”
a. Students should respond that the summer hemisphere or part of the Earth is
closer to or tilted toward the sun meaning it has more bright light on it
compared to the winter side which is less bright.
b. The teacher will then place the globe on the other side of the lamp and swap the
pictures to show that as the Earth turns each hemisphere is experiencing a
different season.
8. Before wrapping up, the teacher will explain that the seasons repeat each year because
the Earth is always moving around the Sun while it is also turning on its axis.
9. The teacher will ask 2 or 3 students to share what they have learned and the teacher
will record it onto the concept map for the unit.

Accommodations/Differentiation:

● Follow all IEPs and 504 plans

Materials/Resources:
- lamp with shade removed
- globe or balloon
- summer and winter clipart pictures
- tape
- 4 season pictures
- video The Seasons and Hemispheres | LEARNING WITH SARAH | Educational…
- 4 seasons anchor chart
 - weather concept map anchor chart
- markers
- crayons
- pencil
- weather journals
- weather watching: seasons worksheet (23)
Resources from: Trapp, S. (2021). Primary Theme Park. https://www.primarythemepark.com/

Reflective Response:
Report of Student Learning Target/Objectives Proficiency Levels

Remediation Plan (if applicable)

Personal Reflection Questions

- Did all students seem to understand why we have different seasons?
- Were the students engaged in the demonstration?
- Did all students accurately draw the weather for each season and are they beginning to
use new terminology from yesterday and today’s lesson?

Additional reflection/thoughts