View largerWeather and climate poster for 3rd grade
Telling weather (the conditions on one day) from climate (the usual pattern over many years)
1 page60 KB
Weather and Climate Worksheets
Tell weather from climate, read weather tools and data tables, make and read bar graphs, compare climates and label Earth’s climate zones.
Download the weather and climate worksheets
Weather or climate?
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View all 2 pagesWeather or Climate? sort worksheet for 3rd grade
Sorting statements into weather (one time) and climate (the usual pattern over many years)
Answer key on page 2
2 pages50 KB
View all 2 pagesWeather or Climate? cut and paste for 3rd grade
Sorting statements into weather (one time) and climate (the usual pattern over many years)
Answer key on page 2
2 pages64 KB
View all 2 pagesWeather and climate reading passage for 3rd grade
Reading an informational passage to explain the difference between weather and climate
Answer key on page 2
2 pages46 KB
Weather tools and data
View all 2 pagesWeather tools matching worksheet for 3rd grade
Matching weather tools to what they measure
Answer key on page 2
2 pages190 KB
View all 2 pagesReading a weather data table for 3rd grade
Reading a table of daily weather data and describing the weather it shows
Answer key on page 2
2 pages59 KB
View all 2 pagesTemperature bar graph worksheet for 3rd grade
Reading a scaled bar graph of monthly temperatures to describe the weather expected in each season
Answer key on page 2
2 pages42 KB
View all 2 pagesMake a bar Graph: rainy days in each season
Making a scaled bar graph of weather data by season and solving how-many-more problems
Answer key on page 2
2 pages43 KB
Climates around the world
View all 2 pagesCompare Climates: climate data worksheet for 3rd grade
Using climate data to describe and compare the climates of different places
Answer key on page 2
2 pages50 KB
View largerClimate zones poster for 3rd grade
Describing the polar, temperate and tropical climate zones and where they are
1 page29 KB
View all 2 pagesLabel the climate zones worksheet for 3rd grade
Labeling the polar, temperate and tropical climate zones on a globe
Answer key on page 2
2 pages35 KB
View all 2 pagesWhich climate Zone? worksheet for 3rd grade
Using clues about weather, plants and animals to name a place’s climate zone
Answer key on page 2
2 pages352 KB
Words and review
View largerWeather and climate vocabulary cards
Learning the vocabulary of weather and climate
1 page109 KB
View all 2 pagesWeather and climate quiz for 3rd grade
Reviewing weather, climate, weather tools and climate zones
Answer key on page 2
2 pages41 KB
Print at 100% (actual size) for the cleanest tracing lines.
About these weather and climate worksheets
Weather is what the air is doing today. Climate is the weather a place usually has, year after year. Third graders learn to tell the two apart, then use real data to describe the weather to expect in each season and the climates of places around the world.
These weather and climate worksheets start with a poster and a weather-or-climate sort, move on to weather tools and data tables, and then put the data to work: a bar graph of monthly temperatures, a rainy-days graph to finish, a comparison of three U.S. cities and a globe of the polar, temperate and tropical zones.
Every page is black and white, prints on US Letter or A4, and every page with right answers has an answer key on page 2.
Standards
NGSS 3-ESS2-2Obtain and combine information to describe climates in different regions of the world.NGSS 3-ESS2-1Represent data in tables and graphical displays to describe typical weather conditions expected during a particular season.CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.3.1Ask and answer questions to demonstrate understanding of a text, referring explicitly to the text as the basis for the answers.CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.3.4Determine the meaning of general academic and domain-specific words and phrases in a text relevant to a grade 3 topic or subject area.CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.3.MD.B.3Draw a scaled picture graph and a scaled bar graph to represent a data set with several categories. Solve one- and two-step “how many more” and “how many less” problems using information presented in scaled bar graphs. For example, draw a bar graph in which each square in the bar graph might represent 5 pets.
How to use them
- Begin with the weather and climate poster. Ask: is “it is raining” weather or climate? Is “it rains a lot here in spring” weather or climate?
- Use the sort or its cut and paste twin as a quick check, then read the passage about packing for two trips.
- Keep a class weather log for two weeks with the weather tools page as a guide, and compare it with the week-of-weather data table.
- Teach the bar graph pages alongside scaled bar graphs in math. Count the scale out loud before reading a bar.
- Finish with the climate zones globe and the which-climate-zone clues, then the quiz.
Teaching tips
- Weather changes from hour to hour; climate is the pattern over many years (scientists often use 30). One cold day does not change a climate.
- Precipitation means any water that falls from clouds: rain, snow, sleet and hail.
- On the globe, the lines are at the real latitudes of the tropics (23.5°) and the polar circles (66.5°). Mountains, oceans and winds also shape climate, so real maps of climate are more varied than three bands.
- Fahrenheit is used on these pages. Water freezes at 32°F.
- For extra support, read the climate data table together and highlight one city per color.
Questions teachers and parents ask
What is the difference between weather and climate?
Weather is the condition of the air at one place and time, like rainy and 58°F today. Climate is the usual pattern of weather in a place over many years, like hot, dry summers.
What are the climate zones for 3rd grade?
Most 3rd grade lessons use three zones: tropical (hot all year, near the equator), temperate (four seasons) and polar (cold all year, near the poles). Many also talk about dry, desert climates.
Which weather tools do 3rd graders learn?
A thermometer measures temperature, a rain gauge measures rainfall, a wind vane shows wind direction, an anemometer measures wind speed and a barometer measures air pressure.
Are the climate numbers real?
Yes. The Chicago, Phoenix, Anchorage and Miami numbers are rounded long-term averages. The week of weather and the rainy-days data are made up for practice.