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3rd grade · Science · Unit 10 of 10

Weather & Climate

Seasons, weather data and climates around the world.

What your child practices

Practices reading weather data to describe each season, comparing climates in different regions of the world, and connecting weather to the water cycle, such as the lake-effect snow that falls near Lake Erie and Lake Ontario.

New York State Learning Standards learning standard: 3-ESS2-1; 3-ESS2-2; 3-ESS2-3 · weather patterns by season, climates in different regions of the world, and how weather connects to the water cycle

How we explain it

Children can open this short lesson before they practice.

  1. Weather is today's air. Climate is the usual weather over many years.
  2. Climates differ: deserts are hot and dry, polar places are icy.
  3. Lake-effect snow falls when cold wind blows across a big lake.

Example: Which climate is hot and dry most of the year? Polar is cold. Rainforest is wet. Answer: desert

Weather & Climate in New York

In the New York State Learning Standards, this is unit 10 of 10 in 3rd grade Science, after Fossil Clues.

Gradelings describes a child's practice on this unit as Beginning, Approaching, Meeting or Exceeding (Four practice steps). That reflects practice, not a report-card mark: the teacher decides the mark.

Source: New York State Education Department (NYSED)

Sample questions

A taste of this unit. In the app, questions change every time and get easier or harder to match your child.

  1. Question 1

    A bar graph shows rain each month. The tallest bar is the…

    • driest month
    • warmest month
    • rainiest month
    • coldest month

  2. Question 2

    Lake-effect snow falls near Buffalo when cold wind blows across…

    • a desert
    • a mountain top
    • Lake Erie
    • a cave

  3. Question 3

    Which tool shows wind direction?

    • Rain gauge
    • Thermometer
    • Balance
    • Wind vane

  4. Question 4

    Why are places near the equator warm all year?

    • They have no wind
    • They are close to the moon
    • They get strong sunlight all year
    • They are high up

  5. Question 5

    To find a place's climate, scientists look at weather data for…

    • one day
    • many years
    • one week
    • one hour

  6. Question 6

    Which would you expect in a polar climate?

    • Palm trees
    • Hot sand
    • Rainforest
    • Ice and snow

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