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Geography · Grade 3

Weather, Climate and Location

Weather is what the air is doing today; climate is the usual pattern over many years. Learners sort weather from climate, read average temperature and precipitation for Chicago, Miami and Denver, discover three location clues that shape climate (distance from the equator, nearness to big water and elevation), and use them to predict the climate of Quito, a city on the equator high in the Andes.

  • 4 lessons
  • About 80 minutes
  • Weather and climate check: 9 questions
  • Ways to answer: choose an answer, pin a map, pick map regions, match pairs, type a number and put in order
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What learners will discover

  • Tell weather (the conditions at one time) from climate (the usual pattern over many years).
  • Read and compare average temperature and precipitation in tables and bar charts.
  • Explain how distance from the equator, nearness to large bodies of water and elevation affect a place's climate.
  • Use location clues and data to predict and compare the climates of places not studied before.

Lessons

  1. Weather or climate? 4 steps2 practiceabout 16 min
  2. Reading climate data 5 steps3 practiceabout 20 min
  3. Why climates differ 5 steps3 practiceabout 22 min
  4. Predict a climate 5 steps2 practiceabout 22 min
  5. Weather and climate check 9 questions at the end

Keep exploring

Games to practice with

  • Globe ExplorerSpin a real 3D globe, flip to the flat map, and find continents, oceans and countries.
  • Pin the PlanetDrag the pin onto wonders, cities and exact latitude and longitude points.
  • Mapmaker QuestFollow directions to make a map, then read its legend, compass rose and scale.

More 3rd grade geography

Guide for grown-ups