Explore Planet Earth with Teek and Tom: 1
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Provided by: NOAA|Published on: March 1, 2025
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Synopsis
- This resource from NOAA is based on the first episode of this series with Teek and Tom, an alien from a distant planet and a climatologist from NOAA, and includes two lesson plans where students will learn about the difference between weather and climate.
- The video is 16 minutes, 45 seconds long and the lessons will each take one or two 45-minute class periods.
- In the video, students will learn the difference between weather and climate and how farmers use climate outlooks to determine what crops to plant.
- In Lesson 1, students will differentiate between weather and climate, identify different types of clouds, analyze weather forecasts and climate maps, and look at the average temperature data from 1991-2020.
- In Lesson 2, students will calculate average or mean temperature data, analyze temperature and precipitation norms, discover how latitude, landmass, bodies of water, mountains, and ocean currents impact the temperature and precipitation in a region, and use a map to graph the average temperature and precipitation of a place.
Subjects: Science
Authors: NOAA,
Region: United States, Washington D.C.
Languages: English
Teaching Materials
Positives
- The student log segment of the video reviews what students learned, highlighting the key details.
- The lesson content and activities are all in reference to helping Teek learn about earth, which is a fun way to keep students engaged in the content.
Prerequisites
- In the lesson plans, the worksheets, maps, and charts are in a PowerPoint file and located at the bottom of the PDF, so teachers don't necessarily need to download the PowerPoint.
- Students should know how to use information to complete tables and graphs and how to analyze data represented in maps, graphs, and tables to answer questions.
Differentiation & Implementation
- After learning about the difference between weather and climate, teachers can introduce the greenhouse effect and climate change. The series does have a video for this topic, otherwise, A Guide to Climate Change for Kids contains helpful kid-friendly articles to support the topic of climate change.
- Taking inspiration from the end of the video, students can create their own student logs to record what they have learned about weather and climate after completing the lessons. Teachers can use these logs as assessments.
- Depending on student ability, teachers can use strategic grouping for the data analysis activities. Alternatively, if the included lesson plans are too advanced for students, the Climate vs. Weather lesson from ClimateScience is a more simplified activity to help students understand the difference.
This resource features an animated video that explains the difference between weather and climate and two lessons that engage students with real climate data. The video and text are clear, and many links are provided to additional resources at NOAA. This resource clearly addresses a common misconception about climate and is recommended for teaching.
Teaching Tips
Standards
Resource Type and Format
Scientist Reviewed
This resource has been reviewed by SubjectToClimate's climate scientists and verified for scientific accuracy and up-to-date information. Our review process ensures that every resource in our library reflects the current state of climate science.
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