Charts and graphs help scientists turn weather observations into evidence they can compare.
📋 NGSS Standard: 3-ESS2-1 — Obtain and combine information to describe climates in different regions of the world.
🎯 Learning Objective
Students will read simple weather charts and graphs and use them to compare conditions and defend a claim with evidence.
💡 The Big Idea
Weather data is easier to understand when it is organized in a chart or graph. Scientists use displays to compare days, notice trends, and support explanations.
🔬 The Science
Science Snapshot
Data helps scientists compare weather conditions and spot patterns more reliably.
What is happening?
Weather data turns observations into evidence. Thermometers, rain gauges, wind socks, cloud charts, and daily logs help scientists compare weather conditions more accurately than memory alone.
Why it works that way
Data matters because it helps us notice patterns, changes, and extremes. A table or graph can show warming, cooling, wetter periods, or stormy stretches that might be easy to miss without records.
Look for this in the lesson
Students should treat numbers and symbols as clues to a story about the atmosphere. The goal is not only reading the chart, but asking what the data suggests happened over time.
Ask while you read: What trend or change becomes easier to see when the weather is recorded as data?
Materials
🏠 Household Items to Gather
Printed lesson pages and worksheet
Pencil and colored pencils
The included weather chart on this lesson page
📋 Printables
Student Worksheet page from this lesson
📊 Weather Chart for This Lesson
Use this five-day weather chart for all of the Lesson 3 questions. Read the title, labels, symbols, and numbers before you decide what the data shows.
Day
Sky
High Temperature
Rainfall
Wind
Monday
☀️ Sunny
62°F
0.0 in.
5 mph
Tuesday
⛅ Partly cloudy
66°F
0.0 in.
7 mph
Wednesday
☁️ Cloudy
70°F
0.2 in.
8 mph
Thursday
🌧️ Rainy
74°F
0.8 in.
12 mph
Friday
⛅ Partly cloudy
68°F
0.0 in.
7 mph
What to notice: The temperature rises from Monday to Thursday, then drops on Friday. Thursday has the most rain and the strongest wind. Tuesday and Friday have the most similar sky conditions and wind speed.
Let's Get Started
Step 1 — Read the included chart title and labels first (5 min) Use the five-day weather chart above. Show students how the day names, weather symbols, and labels tell what kind of data they are reading.
Step 2 — Find the biggest change (10 min) Look at the included weather chart and ask which day was warmest, wettest, windiest, or cloudiest.
Step 3 — Compare two days (10 min) Students use the included chart to say how one day was different from another and which two days seem most similar.
Step 4 — Write an evidence sentence (10 min) Students explain a trend using numbers, rainfall amounts, wind speeds, or weather symbols from the included chart.
Step 5 — Share a claim and evidence (10 min) Students practice saying “I know this because the chart shows…” and point to one exact part of the included chart.
Discussion Questions
Why are labels important on a chart or graph?Labels tell what the evidence means.
What trend do you notice in the data?Students may say temperature rose, rainfall increased, or wind decreased.
How can two students use the same chart to make the same claim?They can point to the same evidence in the display.
Why is a chart better than only guessing from memory?A chart organizes evidence clearly.
Extensions
Extension: Turn one row of the worksheet into a simple bar graph and label the trend you notice.
Parent/Teacher Notes
Teaching move: Keep asking students to point to the exact part of the chart that supports their answer.
Important misconception to catch: Students may think the biggest bar or symbol always means “best” instead of simply meaning “more” or “higher.”
Use the included five-day weather chart from this lesson page to answer each question.
Question
Answer from the Chart
What evidence supports it?
Which day was warmest?
Which day had the most rain?
Which two days were most similar?
2️⃣ Describe a Trend
What pattern or trend do you notice in the included five-day weather chart?
3️⃣ Claim + Evidence
Complete the frame: I know __________________ because the included chart shows __________________.
🔑 PARENT ANSWER KEY — Detach before giving worksheet to students
1️⃣ Read the Weather Chart — Sample Acceptable Answers
Warmest day: Thursday, because the included chart shows 74°F.
Most rain: Thursday, because the chart shows 0.8 inches of rainfall.
Most similar days: Tuesday and Friday are a strong answer because both are partly cloudy and both show 7 mph wind.
2️⃣ Describe a Trend — Sample Idea
“The temperature rises from Monday to Thursday and then drops on Friday.”
3️⃣ Claim + Evidence — Sample Response
“I know Thursday had the most rain because the included chart shows 0.8 inches of rainfall on Thursday, which is more than any other day.”
✅ What Success Looks Like
Student reads the included chart labels correctly.
Student compares days using specific evidence from the included five-day weather chart.
Student writes a claim and supports it with an exact number, day, or weather symbol from the chart.
🛠️ Troubleshooting / Teaching Notes
If a student answers correctly but gives no evidence, ask: “Which number, label, or symbol on the included chart proves that?”
If a student misreads the display, slow down and re-check the chart title, day labels, and column labels first.
🥼
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