Weather and Building Knowledge

byJulie So

"Look at the snow!" exclaim my five-year old students on a cold winter day, even when it is only frosty dew melting away. Some students enter Kindergarten with comprehension of some weather words and images. Other students have limited prior knowledge of various weather concepts, vocabulary, and images. They all need to get a feel for the weather, and understand how much fun it can really be!

This Kindergarten weather unit addresses the difficulty teachers have in building on limited prior knowledge of young students by applying visual literacy strategies to construct foundational basic weather knowledge that students will use as prior knowledge in the future. Particular components of weather are difficult for students with limited prior knowledge. In this weather unit, teachers learn and apply visual literacy, visual language, and imagery skills to support student learning with intriguing science projects, engaging activities, and relevant use of technology. Students in Kindergarten are fun to teach because they are full of curiosity about the world around them. Using visual literacy ideas, imagery, and visual language research from the Picture Writing seminar, this unit provides information to help students gain a depth of knowledge about weather.

(Developed for Science and ELA, grade K; recommended for Science and ELA, grades K-2)


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