What's the Weather?

Purpose:    To teach and review vocabulary (adjectives) related to weather, using the board in the classroom

Prep time:  5-10 minutes

Materials:  white board, markers

Prep:  On a piece of paper, do a mock-up of the images you plan to draw on the board, both to clarify the number of vocabulary words you want to teach and to make sure your drawings are simple, yet clear.  Choose no more than 6-10 new words.  You may decide to incorporate a few words the students already know.  Weather words could include: cloudy, partly cloudy, sunny, rainy, windy, calm, stormy, snowy.

Procedure:

1) Draw a large grid on the board with 6-10 sections.  In each box, draw a simple picture (a cloud, a sun, a cloud with rain falling, a tree blowing in the wind, etc.).

2) Under each illustration, write the word or phrase that describes the weather depicted.

3) Point to each illustration and pronounce the accompanying word.  Have the class as a whole repeat the word and then have individuals repeat it.  Do this with each illustration and word.

4) When the students have had enough practice with the new words, erase the terms.  Point to each picture in turn and ask, “What’s the weather?”

Extensions:

• Erase the pictures instead of the words and ask students to draw the corresponding picture.
• Redraw the pictures in a different order and ask students to supply the terms.
• Recycle this activity by changing the theme: facial expressions, clothing, colors, animals, food, etc.