In the Montessori philosophy, learning is seen as a natural progress that children should be able to explore and discover on their own. Weather maps are a perfect tool for this type of learning as they can be used in a variety of ways to engage children and help them develop their understanding of the world around them. For this lesson, we have created a new material, Weather Curriculum, which consists of four large colorful charts that show the weather patterns for a particular region in the United States. The charts include symbols for different weather conditions, such as clouds, rain, snow, and sun. Children can use the charts to learn about the different types of weather, as well as how weather patterns change over time. In addition to the weather maps, there are also task cards that can be used to help children learn more about the weather. The task cards are divided into three parts: Weather Instruments, Advanced Symbols, and Interpreting Maps. In this blog post, you will find a brief explanation of the maps, as well as suggestions on how to introduce the topic!
Materials
Related materials: Weather Instruments Nomenclature Cards (6-9) (Printed), Basic Weather Symbols Wooden Nomenclature Cards (3-6), Calendar & Weather Pocket Chart, Desktop Calendar, Weather Dress-Up, Weather Board, Weather Flip Chart
Understanding the Four Weather Maps
Weather Map 01 – Precipitation and Fronts
The colors yellow and green represent different temperature zones, with yellow indicating warmer areas and green representing cooler temperatures. The symbols represented are: the sun, cloud, and rain. The fronts represented are the blue lines with triangles for cold air moving in, and red lines with semicircles for warm air advancing. The letters H represent high pressure, which is associated with clear, dry weather, whereas the letters L represent low pressure, which indicates storms and precipitation.
Weather Map 02 – Pressure and Wind Patterns
On Map 02, the yellowish shading shows areas of high pressure and relatively stable weather. The symbols used are “isobars,” which are black lines of equal pressure. The closer the spacing between the bars, the stronger the wind. The blue triangles and red semicircles show advancing cold and warm air masses. And again, the H and L represent high and low pressure systems, where high pressure means calm weather, while low pressure often begins storms.
Weather Map 03 – Precipitation and Fronts
Map 03 is mostly light green, which likely indicates precipitation potential. The symbols on the map are rain clouds with snow symbols, blue lines with triangles, and red lines with semicircles (indicating moving weather systems). The map also contains the high and low pressure symbols (H, L).
Weather Map 04 – Temperature Trends
The last map contains forecasted temperatures, highs and lows, for specific major cities. The colors red/orange/yellow represent warmer temperatures, likely in southern regions. The green/blue colors represent cooler temperatures, mostly in the northern regions. The symbols are basic symbols with the sun icons representing clear skies and warm weather and clouds with rain representing locations with precipitation.
How to Introduce the Material
- Gather the children around the working space and say, “Today, we are going to explore some special maps that tell us about the weather. These are called weather maps. Before we explore them, I want to show you the tools that we use to monitor the weather.” Explain that these tools are used to figure out if it’s going to be sunny, rainy, snowy, or windy!
- Select the first section of the task cards and introduce the weather instruments.
- After naming all the instruments, select the second part of the task cards. Introduce some of the symbols. Have learners guess what the symbols could mean before revealing their meaning.
- You may now show them the weather maps.
- Let the children explore the weather maps on their own. Ask questions, “What do you see? What colors are used? What symbols do you notice?“
- Allow children to share their observations. Say, “These symbols and colors help us understand what the weather is like in different places.” Point out the high (H) and low (L) pressure systems, and explain how they influence weather conditions.
- Discuss the different types of fronts (cold, warm) and their symbols (blue triangles, red semicircles, and alternating red and blue lines).
- You may ask learners to point at the different weather symbols and instruct, “Show me a location where it is sunny.”
- Finally, use the third section of the task cards to encourage learners to explore the maps independently.
In conclusion, our new Montessori Weather Curriculum offers an interactive approach to understanding meteorological concepts. By engaging with detailed weather maps, students gain insights into weather patterns, pressure systems, and temperature variations. Overall, our curriculum is a valuable tool sparking interest by making the study of weather both enjoyable and educational. For more exclusive Montessori-aligned materials, visit our website at www.alisonsmontessori.com.
