The Mass. Studies Project

Return to "Our Town" Home page
Return to MSP Homepage

What's Our Weather Like? Using Climographs

Source: Edwin J. Houston, The Elements of Physical Geography, for the use of Schools, Academies, and Colleges.
(Philadelphia: Eldredge & Brother, 1891)

  Introduction

Every location on earth has characteristics that distinguish it from all other places. Geographers describe a place in terms of physical and human or cultural characteristics. Climate is an essential part of a place's physical characteristics; it can influence many of the rest of a place's traits, such as vegetation, wildlife, cultural landscapes, and lifestyles.

One of the best and easiest ways to describe a place's climate is to use a "climograph". Although a climograph does not provide complete climate information, it does portray two of the most important elements of climate- precipitation and temperature. Many characteristics of a place can be inferred by interpreting the climograph.

Different places on Earth have different types of weather. Some places are dry, some are wet, some are hot, some are cold, and some are a little of everything!

You can find out what the weather is like where you live by looking out the window or by stepping outside. Weather refers to temperature, precipitation (rain and snow), and the wind's direction and speed. Scientists who study the weather collect information from different places on Earth and come up with averages, or typical types of weather, for a particular place. This average, or typical type of weather that occurs during a year, is called the "climate."

A quick way to get an idea of the climate of a particular place is to look at a "climate-graph," or "climograph." A climograph is what scientists create to show a particular location's average temperature and precipitation during the year.

The goal of the lesson is for students to be able to:

• Define geographic terms relating to climate.

• Differentiate between weather and climate

• Describe an essential physical feature of a place by plotting a climograph of it.

• Make inferences about a place based on interpreting data on a climograph.

Grades 8 - 12

Language Arts:

Grades 3-4: 13.7. Identify and use knowledge of common graphic features (charts, maps, diagrams, illustrations).

Grades 3-4: 13s.8. Identify and use knowledge of common graphic features (for example, charts, graphs, maps, diagrams, captions, illustrations).

Grades 5-6: 13.14. Identify and use knowledge of common graphic features (charts, maps, diagrams, captions, illustrations).

Grades 7-8: 13.19. Identify and use knowledge of common graphic features (charts, maps, diagrams).

Mathematics:

Grades 11-12: Select and use appropriate statistical methods to analyze data.

Grades PK-K: K.D.1. Collect, sort, organize, and draw conclusions about data using concrete objects, pictures, numbers, and graphs.

Grades 1-2: 2.D.2. Organize, classify, represent, and interpret data using tallies, charts, tables, bar graphs, pictographs, and Venn diagrams; interpret the representations.

Grades 3-4: 4.D.3. Construct, draw conclusions, and make predictions from various representations of data sets, including tables, bar graphs, pictographs, line graphs, line plots, and tallies.

Grades 5-6: 6.D.1. Describe and compare data sets using the concepts of median, mean, mode, maximum and minimum, and range.

Science and Technology

Grades 3-5: 6. Explain how air temperature, moisture, wind speed and direction, and precipitation make up the weather in a particular place and time.

Grades 3-5: 7. Distinguish among the various forms of precipitation (rain, snow, sleet, and hail), making connections to the weather in a particular place and time.

Grades 3-5: 9. Differentiate between weather and climate.

Information Technology

Grades 9-12: 1.49. Customize formatting of charts or graphs created in spreadsheet.

Duration: 1 or 2 class periods

PROCEDURE:

Discuss with students the difference between climate and weather. Write definitions on the chalkboard:

weather - day to day atmospheric conditions (precipitation and temperature) in a particular place for a short period of time.

climate - average of precipitation and temperature patterns over a long period of time (usually 111 years of data are used by the U.S. Weather Bureau to establish normal patterns.)

precipitation - moisture in form of rain, snow, or sleet.

temperature - measure of heat and cold.

climograph - a chart that shows a place's yearly climate patterns.

Have the students look up monthly precipitation and temperature data for their own community on www.weather.com. If they cannot access local data, use Handout #1, sample data from Boston.

Give the students Handout #2 (blank climograph worksheet) and Handout #3 (Questionnaire.) .

Go over the data on precipitation and temperature with the students. You should tell students that an "average monthly temperature" would be an average of all the high and low temperatures for a month.

Plot the information. Show the monthly precipitation data as a bar graph using the inches scale on the right of the climograph. Show the temperature data as a line graph using the Fahrenheit scale on the left. For clarity, you can have students use one colored pencil to plot precipitation and another colored pencil to plot temperature. Students may use a spreadsheet application like MS Excel to plot and generate the bar/line graph.

After students have completed making the climograph, have them complete the exercise, Analyzing a Climograph (Handout #3).

Copies of the blank climograph worksheet

Copies of Weather Data, if you do not have access to local data

Colored pencils or computers with spreadsheet application (MS Excel)

Rubric (spreadsheet or PDF format)

Handout #1: Weather data (click here for printable version)

Handout #2: Blank Climograph (click here for printable version)

Handout #3: ANALYZING A CLIMOGRAPH

Use the information on the climograph of Boston you have just made to answer the following questions:

1. What two months in Boston average below freezing temperatures? In which months might the precipitation come in the form of snow?

2. What is the warmest month in Boston?

3. What is the difference in degrees between the coldest and warmest months?

4. Does Boston have a "dry season"? Why or why not?

5. Which business would you rather own in Boston, air conditioning or heating?

6. When would most crops be planted? Why?

7. Would grapefruits and oranges be grown? Why or why not?

8. Would you expect to find a seasonal change of clothing? What kinds of different clothing might be needed?

9. Would you expect to find skiing near Boston? Ice skating?

10. Would you play hockey indoors or out?

11. Would it be common to find outdoor swimming pools? Why?

12. How might houses in this area be built? Would roofs be flat or pitched? Why?

13. Looking at the climograph, how can you tell Boston is located in the Northern Hemispere?

14. Add all of the months' average precipitation. What would be Boston's average yearly rainfall in inches? What is its average monthly rainfall?
    

This exercise contributed by the Massachusetts Geographic Alliance, with worksheets revised by the Mass. Studies Project

The Mass. Studies Project	These curricular modules were developed with support from the John H. and H. Naomi Tomfohrde Foundation. The "Our Town, Our City" Curricular Resources Project is an initiative of the Massachusetts Studies Project, Institute for Learning and Teaching, University of Massachusetts, Boston The lesson plan formatting is based on The WebQuest template.