Here is a quick weather lesson for your younger students. It is also a good demonstration of how to bring the TESOL Standards to beginning K-2 students

Theme or Lesson Topic:

Learning weather expressions

Proficiency/Grade Level:

Beginning to Advanced Beginning K-2.

Goal and Standard:

Goal 2, Standard 2: To use English to achieve academically in all content areas.

Content Concepts and Skills:

1. Basic weather expressions: It’s cloudy today; it’s a rainy day; it’s a windy day; it’s sunny today; it’s snowing; it’s a snowy day; there’s a thunderstorm today; there’s thunder and lightning today.
2. Building sentences on the basic weather expression.
3. Relating language to pictures/symbols

Materials or Resources:

Gilberto and the Wind, Taro's Umbrella, The Cloud Book, The Snowy Day; downloadable weather turtle

Instructional Sequence:

This lesson was designed to be covered during three days of instruction (30 minutes each day).

• Introduce students to basic weather terms through literature and download Weather Turtle. Each student is given a copy of the turtle. The vocabulary taught can be geared to the age and language ability of your students. For example, to beginning kindergarten students, teach "It’s snowing" instead of "it’s a snowy day."
• Make a copy of the weather icons on the left hand side of the page. Use them as flashcards or to play a concentration game.
• Have students color the turtle. They should then cut the turtle out. Fold it lengthwise and make two slits on the white lines. Be sure that students do not cut out the entire black square.
• Have students cut out the weather icons in a strip.
Thread the strip through the slits so that the black square is covered.
• Student should pull the strip through the turtle to demonstrate your sentences. If you say, "It is a windy day" students will show the wind icon. Have them ask one another what kind of day it is. Expand on the basic sentence but having students add how that makes them feel. "I’m happy because it’s a snowy day."
• Expand the language further by asking, "It's a snowy day today. What will you do? What will you wear."

Descriptors and Progress Indicators:

During this unit students worked on the following skills:

• comparing and contrasting information
• listening to and speaking about subject matter information
• retelling information
• interpreting information presented visually
• following oral directions.
• formulating and asking questions

© 1998-2004 Judie Haynes, www.everythingESL.net