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The ‘Weather Watchers’ in Cumbria keep a weekly record of various aspects of the weather. They use a thermometer to measure the air temperature, an anemometer to measure the wind speed, a weather vane and compass to work out the direction of the wind, and a rain gauge to measure rainfall. They then record all their results on a computer.

Pupils could set up their own weather monitoring station, like the one they see in the clip. The children could make simple rain gauges and weather vanes from junk materials. Encourage the children to take daily readings and compare them with weather reports published on local and national news websites. They might also check a barometer to see if its predictions accurately match the weather conditions they go on to record. Weather monitoring allows plenty of opportunities for children to read scales and gather data using a range of measures, including length (rainfall is measured in millimetres), temperature and time. Pupils could also practise using compass directions and in recording windspeeds. Members of the class could present their results in a variety of charts and graphs, or enter their findings into a computer database. Challenge your pupils to use a week’s raw data to calculate different averages, such as median temperature, or mean rainfall. Can the children use such data to make predictions of their own?