What’s the weather like today?
Weather is what the air outside is like right now. Is it sunny or cloudy? Hot or cold? Rainy, snowy or windy? Weather can change from day to day, and even from hour to hour.
Kinds of weather
| Weather | What you notice | What to wear |
|---|---|---|
| Sunny | Bright, warm | Hat, sunscreen |
| Cloudy | Grey sky | A light jacket |
| Rainy | Water drops falling | Raincoat, boots |
| Snowy | White flakes falling | Snowsuit, mittens |
| Windy | Trees sway; leaves blow | A jacket that zips |
| Stormy | Thunder and lightning | Stay inside! |
Measuring weather
Weather watchers use tools.
- A thermometer tells the temperature, how hot or cold it is.
- A rain gauge measures how much rain fell.
- A wind sock or flag shows which way the wind blows.
You can keep a weather chart. Draw a sun, a cloud or a raindrop for each day. After a month, count which weather happened most!
The four seasons
A year has four seasons. Each one has its own weather.
| Season | Weather | What happens |
|---|---|---|
| Spring | Getting warmer; rain | Flowers bloom; baby animals are born |
| Summer | Hot; long sunny days | Plants grow big; people swim |
| Fall (autumn) | Getting cooler | Leaves change colour and fall; birds fly south |
| Winter | Cold; short days; snow in many places | Some animals sleep; trees are bare |
The seasons happen in the same order every year: spring, summer, fall, winter, and then spring again.
The Sun
The Sun is a star. It is very far away, but it gives Earth light and heat. Plants need sunlight to grow. Without the Sun, Earth would be dark and frozen.
Never look straight at the Sun. It can hurt your eyes.
Day and night
Earth spins around like a top. When our side of Earth faces the Sun, it’s day. When our side turns away, it’s night. Earth takes one whole day to spin around once.
The Sun seems to move across the sky. It rises in the east in the morning and sets in the west in the evening. But really, it’s Earth that’s spinning!
The Moon
The Moon travels around Earth. It doesn’t make its own light. It shines because sunlight bounces off it.
The Moon seems to change shape over about a month. These shapes are called phases.
- New moon: you can’t see it.
- Crescent: a thin curve.
- Half moon: half of a circle.
- Full moon: a whole bright circle.
Sometimes you can see the Moon during the day too!
Stars
At night you can see stars. Stars are huge balls of hot, glowing gas. They look tiny because they’re very, very far away. The Sun is the closest star to Earth.
People long ago connected stars into pictures called constellations, like the Big Dipper.
Common mistakes
- Thinking the Sun moves around Earth. Earth spins, making the Sun look like it moves.
- Thinking the Moon makes its own light.
- Thinking stars are small. Many are much bigger than our Sun!
Try it yourself
- Keep a weather chart for two weeks. Draw the weather each day.
- Go outside in the morning, at lunch and after school. Where is the Sun? (Don’t look right at it!)
- Look at the Moon each night for a week (with an adult). Draw its shape.
Quick recap
- Weather is what the air is like outside right now.
- A thermometer measures temperature.
- The four seasons are spring, summer, fall and winter.
- Earth spins, giving us day and night.
- The Moon reflects sunlight and changes shape; stars are faraway suns.