Seasons and weather where we live
Geography · Key Stage 1 · The School
Four seasons
In the United Kingdom the year has four seasons. SPRING is mild and things start growing. SUMMER is warmest with the longest days. AUTUMN is cooler and leaves fall. WINTER is coldest with the shortest days. Each has its own kind of weather, though any single day can surprise you.
Recording weather
You can record the weather with simple symbols. Draw a sun, a cloud, rain, wind or snow. Use one symbol for each day on a chart. After two weeks, count the rainy days. That is real data. You collected it yourself. Every weather study starts this way.
What weather changes
Weather changes what we do. It changes what we wear. It changes how we travel. It changes what farmers can plant. Heavy rain shuts a park. Snow shuts a school. A hot summer changes what shops sell. Noticing these links is geography. Geography joins the world outside to what people do.
Weather today, climate over years
Weather is what is happening outside now. It is raining. It is cold. It is windy. Climate is different. Climate is what the weather is usually like in a place. You have to watch for many years to know it. Britain has a mild climate. That is why a hot day in April surprises us. A hot day in Egypt does not surprise anyone. One cold week does not change a climate. One warm winter does not change it either. You need years of records first. This is why a weather chart matters. One day tells you almost nothing. A long record tells you a lot.
Write down what a story says summer is. Hot. Sunny. Dry. Now record the real weather every day for two weeks in June or July. You will probably get rain on four or five days. You will get at least one cold morning. Compare your two lists. A season is a PATTERN. Your two weeks of notes are the proof that the pattern is not a promise.