WEATHER

Weather

By Caroline Harris

Kingfisher, 2006

Science Kids series

(in new series to come titled The Discover Science Series)

ISBN: 978-0-7534-6315-4

Grades 1-4

Nonfiction

"What is weather? Weather is all of the changes that happen in the air. Water, air, and heat from the Sun work together to make weather."

Weather is an appealing 48 page book that defines and explains the phenomena of how forces work on the earth to create weather. It delves into the reasons for weather, the specifics created by the sun, air, and water, and the specific events that occur from these forces. From the sun to the water cycle to weather forecasting, this book has it all—neatly compacted into large type, bold photographs, and short text boxes. New vocabulary is found in the border at the bottom of each page.

The book has an extensive table of contents, an index, and four activities relating to weather. Information beside each photo adds to the body of facts presented. The photos are big and bright, adding an air of accessibility to the information. The tornado on the front cover is sure to attract readers, but the facts will keep them reading. I especially liked the activities at the back.

This book is part of Science Kids series, but will be included in the newer Discover Science Series from this publisher. I found the information about it in the current series list on Kingfisher.

Activity

Choose one aspect of weather to follow for two weeks (temperature, humidity, highest wind speed). Create a chart to record your information—maybe a classroom chart or one posted at home. After two weeks, record the data on a line graph to show the changes occurring over time. Look for any trend and write a paragraph summarizing the data from the chart.

This site will give you the graph grid.

This site shows you how to create your own graph.

National science standard: understanding science inquiry; changes in earth and sky

Book provided by publisher