Last semester, when I was a Graduate Assistant at the Early Childhood Development Center at the College of Charleston, the children had jobs that would rotate every week, and one of the jobs was the “weather reporter”. The kids were excited to go check the weather outside and then write a sentence that described the weather outside. (i.e. “It is cloudy and sunny.”) I wrote the following lesson plan based on this idea of having a class “weather reporter” that would rotate daily. Children absolutely love the opportunity to be able to use a camera. The children always have a big smile on their faces when they are given the chance to take pictures. It allows them to feel very grown up!

Part One: The Weather Reporter

In my lesson the student who is the weather reporter will be instructed to go outside and take a picture that accurately answers the question of the day about the weather. I liked this idea because it is a good balance between guidance and freedom. Also, since the questions change every day of the week, the pictures will show different aspects of the weather over time. These pictures will be pasted onto a poster board calendar that will represent that month. In kindergarten, the weather and the calendar are both part of the curriculum and this is a great way to combine two into one. By the end of the month, the children will produce a calendar that is full of pictures of the weather for that month. This will be added to a wall in the classroom that will be labeled “the weather wall”.

Part Two: The Weather Quilt

At the end of the month after the poster board calendar is taped up on the “weather wall”, the children will be instructed to draw their own pictures that represents the weather for that month. They may use the digital pictures as a reference. After the children have drawn their pictures, a classroom weather quilt will be made and added to the “weather wall”. I know this will be a great lesson to do with kindergartners and over the course of the year, give them the opportunity to see actual pictures of the weather and their own interpretations that they created. As the year goes on, the class will talk about how the weather changes from day to day and season to season. The children will learn a lot and of course have fun using the digital camera and creating their own illustrations!

I. Standards: SC STATE STANDARDS
KINDERGARTEN SCIENCE
Seasonal Changes
Standard K-4: The student will demonstrate an understanding of seasonal weather changes. (Earth Science)
Indicators
• K-4.1 Identify weather changes that occur from day to day.
• K-4.2 Compare the weather patterns that occur from season to season.
• K-4.3 Summarize ways that the seasons affect plants and animals.
KINDERGARTEN VISUAL ARTS
Exploring Content
Standard 3: The student will examine the content of works of visual art and use elements from them in creating his or her own works.
Indicators
• VAK-3.1 Identify and describe content used by artists.
• VAK-3.2 Select and use appropriate subject matter, symbols, and ideas to communicate his or her ideas through works of visual art.
II. Resources and Materials
• Digital camera
• Poster board with an outline of the month
• Glue
• Markers
• Papers
• Scissors
• Hole punch
• Yarn
• Tape
• Weather wall

III. Objectives
• The student who is the weather reporter of the day will answer the assigned weather question for that day by capturing a digital image that correctly answers the given question. These particular questions are assigned so that the students will be able to identify weather changes from day to day, as well as, compare seasonal changes as the pictures accumulate.
• By using the digital images as a reference, each student will create his or her own picture that illustrates one aspect of the weather within that particular month. Each student will be asked to identify and describe the content of his or her visual art, as well as, explain how it represents the weather for that month.
• As the year goes on, the students will have classroom discussions at the end of each month. During these discussions, they will be asked to summarize their observations about the weather patterns that occur from day to day and season to season. They will also be asked to discuss how the seasons affect plants and animals.
IV. Assessment
• The student who is the weather reporter is able to successfully capture a picture that clearly answers the question of the day about the weather.
Example: On Mondays, the weather reporter will take a picture of the sky that accurately captures what the weather was like for that day.
• Each student will create an original piece of artwork that they drew to illustrate one aspect of the weather that has occurred within that month. They will have the digital images as a reference if they so choose; but they will have the freedom to draw anything that has to do with the weather for that month. The main criterion for their drawing is that it must be within the appropriate subject matter and that the student is able to verbally communicate his or her ideas to the teacher.
Example: It could be a picture of clothes that one would wear within that month, the sky, the tress ECT. The picture needs to show that each student has a clear understanding of one aspect of weather within that month.
• At the end of each month, the students will be asked to have a class discussion. They will be expected to make correct and logical connections between the digital pictures, their drawings, the actual weather patterns, seasonal changes and how the weather affects plants and animals.
V. Details of Instruction
A. Introduction/Motivational
1. At the beginning of the year, the teacher will lay out the entire project to the students. The teacher will explain how there will be a different weather reporter every day and be sure to include that everyone will have a turn. The job of the weather reporter will be to ask the teacher what the question of the day is, then go outside and capture an image that correctly answers the question of the day about the weather.
2. Explain what the guiding questions are, then model how they can be answered through the pictures that the students will take.
3. Show the students how to use the digital camera.
4. Show the students how and where they are going to paste the digital pictures onto the poster calendar.
5. Explain the “weather wall”. Explain how this will be a yearlong project and that every month the class will add a new poster calendar with digital images to the “weather wall”.
6. Explain how at the end of every month each student will draw their own picture that illustrates one aspect of the weather, as well as, be asked to tell the teacher how their drawing represents the weather for that month.
7. Explain how the class is going to have group discussions at the end of every month on how the weather is changing from day to day, month to month, season to season and how the weather is affecting the plants and animals.
B. Procedures:
1. Have the student who is the weather reporter for the day; observe the weather and nature each day of the week using the guiding questions for day. They will take a picture that represents the answer to the question for that particular day.
Monday: Take a picture of the sky today.
Tuesday: Take a picture outside of a classmate to show what they wore to school today.
Wednesday: Take a picture of the trees today.
Thursday: Take a picture that shows what the weather is like today.
Friday: Take a picture of anything you want to outside today.
2. Have the weather reporter use a digital camera to document these pictures. Then, the teacher will print them out and the student will cut and paste them onto the poster calendar.
3. After the month is complete the students will be asked to draw a picture that represents the weather for that month. They may use the pictures that have been taken over the month as a reference. The students will be asked to verbally explain to the teacher how their drawing represents the weather for that month.
4. When everyone is finished the teacher will put together a class weather quilt to represent that month’s weather. The teacher will use a hole punch to punch a hole in all four corners of the children’s drawings and use yarn to tie the picture together to make the weather quilt.
5. The teacher will use tape to hang up the weather quilt and add it to the “weather wall”.
C. Conclusion
*This will be repeated every month so that the students can observe actual photos of the weather, as well as, their own visual representations of the weather. The children will have a monthly group discussion about the connections they are making between the digital pictures, their drawings, the actual weather patterns, seasonal changes throughout the year and its effect on plants and animals. The digital picture calendar and their drawings will be added to the “weather wall” for observation throughout the entire school year.
VI. Addressing Individual Differences
1. Early Finishers- If a students finishes early, they may add more detail to their drawing or if they are able to, write a word or sentence to describe their drawing.
2. Struggling Students- If a student does not complete their work during class time, they may take it home to complete it.
3. Special Education- If a child has special needs within the class, the teacher will help them use the digital equipment and talk them through taking the pictures. The teacher will also help guide them in drawing a picture of the weather and help them create their own picture (if necessary).
4. English Language Learners- If a student does not speak English well then, the teacher can translate the guiding questions into that student’s native language and try their best to communicate the question of the day orally to the student in their home language.
5. Culturally Diverse- The assignment gives students a lot of freedom to draw any part of the weather that fits within that month. For example, if a student is from another country, they are free to draw a picture of clothing that they would wear in their home country (as long as it fits within the season of that country). This can be an opportunity to talk about how different countries have different seasons than the United States.