Curricular Resources in Weather and Climate

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Curricular Resources in Weather and Climate

Below are the CLN "Theme Pages" which focus on specific topics within Weather and Climate. CLN's theme pages are collections of useful Internet educational resources within a narrow curricular topic and contain links to two types of information. Students and teachers will find curricular resources (information, content...) to help them learn about this topic. In addition, there are links to instructional materials (lesson plans) which will help teachers provide instruction in this theme.

Air Quality Theme Page
Blizzards and Snow Theme Page
Clouds Theme Page
El NiñoTheme Page
Floods Theme Page
Global Warming/Climate Change Theme Page
HurricanesTheme Page
LightningTheme Page
Ozone Depletion Theme Page
TornadoesTheme Page
Water Quality Theme Page

General Weather/Climate Resources

Here are a number of links to other Internet resources which contain information and/or other links related to Weather/Climate. Please read our disclaimer.

About Rainbows: Answers to various questions about rainbows for older students, including: What is a rainbow? Where is the sun when you see a rainbow? What makes the bow? What makes the colors in the rainbow? What makes a double rainbow? and more...
Ask an Expert: Weather: CLN's "Ask an Expert" page has about 100 links to specialists in the field who can serve as a valuable source of curricular expertise for both students and teachers. Questions/answers on Weather may be found in our "All Subjects" section at the top of the page, the "Science" section, as well as the general "Reference" section.
Athena Curriculum: Weather: Athena has used geophysical and other data sets acquired via the Internet to prepare curricular units on weather. Included are instructional materials, links to education programs, and resource materials (e.g., maps).
[The] Atmosphere: A Delicate Situation: This site contains information and links which allow students to learn about the fundamental principles of the atmosphere, for example its composition and structure. Student activities are included as well.
Bad Meteorology: Detailed explanations of the faulty reasoning behind commonly taught misinformation about weather (e.g. formation of clouds, shape of raindrows, greenhouse effect, and rotation of draining water-Coriolis effect).
Earth and Environmental Science: The U.S. Geological Survey maintains a meta-list of links to resources on Climate.
Exploring the Environment: Weather or Not: This module is part of "Exploring the Environment"� (ETE) from NASA's Classroom of the Future�. In ETE, high school students are faced with a real life problem and their goal is to use problem solving skills and internet based data (e.g., remotely sensed satellite images) to propose and defend a solution. A Teacher's Guide is available. This link is to the ETE home page since it gives the easiest access to necessary introductory and teacher information. To access the weather module, click on "Modules and Activities" and then "Weather or Not."
Forecasting: This interactive lesson, designed for grades 2-6, explains modern forecasting techniques, contains an online quiz, and provides an activities page that encourages students to practice the forecasting tricks they have learned and to observe the weather.
Fundamentals of Physical Geography: Although this online textbook from Michael Pidwirny, Okanagan University College, is intended for postsecondary students studying introductory physical geography, much of it may be applicable for high school students as well. Contents include over two hundred pages of information, more than three hundred 2-D and animated graphics, an interactive glossary of terms, a study guide, links to other Internet resources, and a search engine. See the Table of Contents to directly access such sections as Meteorology and Climatology, Hydrology, Biogeography and Ecology, Geology, and Geomorphology.
[The] OnlineGuides: Formerly known as the "Guide to Meteorology" and/or "The Daily Planet", these resources from the Department of Atmospheric Sciences at the University of Illinois contain instructional resources on meteorology, remote sensing, and reading and interpreting weather maps. They also have a section titled "Projects and Activities" with curriculum aids for teachers.
Severe Weather: Here, students will be able to obtain information on severe storms, tornadoes and hurricanes as well as pursue links to other severe weather sites.
UM Weather: Another metalist of links to weather related sites, but the categorization of those links from the University of Michigan is somewhat unique. In addition to the standard categories of links to weather forecasting sites (including Canada as a separate category), you'll find links to site that have radar/satellite imagery, tropical weather, weather maps, and weather software.
[The] Weather Dude: A weather page especially for kids, parents and teachers from Seattle's KSTW-TV. There are links to explanations of weather terminology, links to teacher/parent resource materials on weather and other sciences, and links to resource materials where kids can learn more about weather and other sciences.
WeatherOffice (Environment Canada): A clickable map with locations around Canada, United States, or the World leads to local weather forecasts. Unfortunately, the site is limited to use by frames-based browsers. Canadian weather forecasts and current conditions are also available at this other, less sophisticated Environment Canada site.
Weather: The Final Front: Here's a meta-list of links to pages of weather resources designed for K-12 students and teachers by a Northern Ontario Consortium. Their categories of weather resources (each with extensive set of links) include: air, atmosphere, climate, interpreting the weather, precipitation, water cycle, and weather in general.
World Climate Data: Links to weather stations around the worlds are found in abundance at this site. You can find climate data by country, by placename or by WMO name. Note that the data are on climate, not on current weather conditions.
WWW Virtual Library: Meteorology: Here's a meta-list of links to meteorological sites, organized by data index, geographical index and server type.

Note: The sites listed above will serve as a source of curricular content in Weather/Climate. For other resources in this subject area (e.g., curricular content in Earth Science, General Science, Life Science, or Physical Science), or for lesson plans and theme pages, click the "previous screen" button below. Or, click here if you wish to return directly to the CLN menu which will give you access to educational resources in all of our subjects.