Weather Graph: Third Graders

Weather Graph: Third Graders

How you can help at home: In this activity your child observes the weather and makes a bar graph.

By Miriam Myers , GreatSchools Staff

Have your child observe the weather and make a bar graph of the results. This activity combines math and science to build your child's graphing and observation skills. Your child will observe the weather for a week or more, keep track of weather patterns on a chart and then display the results in a bar graph.

What you'll need:

•Paper

•Pen or pencil

•Graph paper or lined paper for making the bar graph

•Colored markers or crayons

Here's how to do it

Discuss with your child the weather patterns where you live. Talk about the weather at different times of the year and the changes in the weather on a weekly basis. Come up with a list of the types of weather with your child such as sunny, cloudy, snowy and rainy. Have your child make a chart with the types of weather listed on the left with room on the right to tally the weather type. Designate a period of time that your child will tally the weather, such as a week or a month. Each day at about the same time, have your child record the weather. When the designated time is up, have your child tally each weather type.

Review bar graphs with your child. Then have her make a graph to display the weather information. Have her draw a large L. On the vertical line have her write the number of days and write a label such as "Number of Days." On the horizontal line have her write the types of weather and a label such as "Types of Weather." Have her fill in the bars with different colors. Then come up with a title for the graph such as "Daily Weather." Discuss the data with her, asking questions such as, "What type of weather did we see the most and the least? "Is the information easier to read in the bar graph or the tally sheet?"