[{"_1":2,"_207":-5,"_208":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4},"pages/Activity.page",{"_5":6,"_7":8},"origin","http://mizzen.org","dehydratedState",{"_9":10,"_11":12},"mutations",[],"queries",[13,42],{"_14":15,"_16":17,"_36":37,"_40":41},"dehydratedAt",1756465392180,"state",{"_18":-5,"_19":20,"_21":22,"_23":-5,"_24":25,"_26":25,"_27":25,"_28":-5,"_29":-5,"_30":31,"_32":33,"_34":35},"data","dataUpdateCount",1,"dataUpdatedAt",1756465392164,"error","errorUpdateCount",0,"errorUpdatedAt","fetchFailureCount","fetchFailureReason","fetchMeta","isInvalidated",false,"status","success","fetchStatus","idle","queryKey",[38,39],"activity-collections","featured","queryHash","[\"activity-collections\",\"featured\"]",{"_14":15,"_16":43,"_36":203,"_40":206},{"_18":44,"_19":20,"_21":15,"_23":-5,"_24":25,"_26":25,"_27":25,"_28":-5,"_29":-5,"_30":31,"_32":33,"_34":35},{"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_32":53,"_54":55,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":76,"_77":78,"_79":80,"_91":92,"_122":123,"_124":125,"_133":134,"_145":146,"_170":202,"_70":46},"id","ccd58124-9c12-4499-9e8d-6d2c470ff428","createdAt","2025-07-28T19:34:54.791Z","updatedAt","2025-08-13T21:05:56.336Z","title","What is Climate?","PUBLISHED","partner",{"_45":56,"_47":57,"_49":58,"_59":60,"_61":-5,"_62":-5,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":31,"_68":69,"_70":69},"c00d524e-c970-4817-8c8c-6c0560a0b241","2025-07-28T19:03:44.735Z","2025-08-18T23:50:52.504Z","name","The Nature Conservancy","contact","profilePhoto","logo","59fe283c-36e4-4b24-a2da-7ccd00fb81fd","visible",true,"deleted","slug","the-nature-conservancy","slugOrId","overview","Students use data to explore the difference between climate and weather and to derive definitions of the two.","duration",60,"gradeFrom",9,"gradeTo",12,"tags",[81,82,83,84,85,86,87,88,89,90],"stem","climate change","environment","weather","measurement","data analysis","problem solving","collaboration","science","earth science","heroImage",{"_45":93,"_47":94,"_49":94,"_59":95,"_96":-5,"_32":97,"_98":99,"_100":31,"_101":102,"_103":102,"_104":105,"_106":95,"_107":108,"_109":110,"_111":112,"_113":95,"_114":97,"_115":102,"_116":-5,"_117":-5,"_118":119,"_120":121},"241c2841-4f9e-4e15-b377-03416b6200a3","2025-08-05T17:33:52.165Z","hero-image-clgfjjlv80eyk0703ei3w5x7q","note","ACTIVE","type","FILE","isAttachment","fileUuid","fa90fce8-7f55-4422-9627-235b7415e2b6","fileS3Key","fileS3Bucket","mizzen-platform-asset-uploads-production","fileName","fileExtension","jpeg","fileMimeType","image/jpeg","fileSize",1547640,"legacyFileKey","fileAutoThumbnailStatus","fileAutoThumbnailUuid","linkUrl","thumbnailUuid","fileUrl","https://ucarecdn.com/fa90fce8-7f55-4422-9627-235b7415e2b6/","thumbnailUrl","https://ucarecdn.com/fa90fce8-7f55-4422-9627-235b7415e2b6/-/resize/1000x/","template","DEFAULT","categories",[126,129],{"_45":127,"_59":128,"_70":81},"60f1b41b-bc3e-4b54-b4c3-b9e49a519625","STEM Lab: Build, Tinker, Explore",{"_45":130,"_59":131,"_70":132},"d0751edd-5459-41ca-94b0-89953c105eeb","The Natural World","natural-world","learningStandards",[135,141],{"_45":136,"_47":137,"_49":137,"_59":138,"_139":140},"16fe72be-6351-44cd-b5d5-0acdc5005d82","2025-07-28T19:03:40.574Z","Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS)","description","",{"_45":142,"_47":143,"_49":143,"_59":144,"_139":140},"55b2ff53-9253-4254-9989-e3fca5ca5925","2025-07-28T19:03:40.573Z","Common Core (ELA)","collections",[147],{"_45":148,"_47":149,"_49":149,"_150":151,"_172":173,"_199":25,"_200":46,"_201":174},"13147bc9-4e14-4183-890c-ac9150e5cb0c","2025-07-28T21:53:08.839Z","activity",{"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_32":53,"_54":56,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":76,"_77":78,"_79":152,"_153":154,"_155":156,"_157":158,"_159":160,"_161":140,"_162":163,"_164":140,"_165":140,"_166":167,"_91":93,"_122":123,"_124":168,"_133":169,"_170":171,"_70":46},[81,82,83,84,85,86,87,88,89,90],"learningObjective","

Describe the difference between climate and weather using real data.

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For each student:

Pencil
Scrap paper
White paper
Ruler
Colored pencils

Weather Shift website

","preparation","

Read through the activity.

Post the Introductory Activity information.

Print out and then cut the Data Dredging slips into individual pieces.

Print several copies of the Seattle Chart and Data Table.

","worksheets","

Observed and Normal Low and High Temps for Seattle Chart

Data Dredging Slips

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Introductory Activity (5 minutes):
- Distribute scrap paper and pencils.
- Place students in groups of twos and threes.
- On a board, write two categories of text.
- Have students combine one element from each category to create a word. Tell them that the correct combination will yield the session’s topic.
- Provide students with 3 minutes to work.
- Ask students to share responses. Guide students towards identifying the word ‘Climatologist.’ No other combination of elements should form a real word. TIP: If available, allow students to type words onto a Google doc or Word document to check whether it is a real word.
- Explain that they just completed a problem-solving process used by scientists, reading and understanding data to answer a question or generate a solution.
What does a Climatologist do? (5 minutes):
- If students recognized the meaning of the Root and French words, immediately have the groups create a definition of the term climatologist. If they did not, provide them with the meaning of each data piece (climat – climate and ology – any science or branch of knowledge) before releasing them to define the term.
- Students’ definitions should resemble – ‘a scientist that studies the factors that influence the weather, and the influence the weather has on the environment.’
- As students are constructing definitions, on the board write: “Climatologists study three aspects of climate: (a) weather patterns, (b) relationships between aspects of weather and (c) the way weather changes over time.
- Once completed, share what you just wrote on the board with students.
- Explain that for today, students will act as novice Climatologists who are learning how to identify and analyze weather patterns.
Climate or Weather? (25 minutes):
- Write the words ‘Climate’ and ‘Weather’ on the board.
- Tell students climatology involves two key terms, climate and weather. The terms are related, and though often used every day interchangeably, they are different.
- Their job is to determine what the two terms mean and how they are related through a game of Data Dredging.
- After 5 rotations, have the students work with the person facing them to craft definitions for climate and weather.
- Then, pair the pairs. With each new pairing, students should clarify and refine their definitions. Repeat until students are in one big group.
- Be sure to listen into conversations and clarify thinking.
- Write the student-generated definitions on the board.
Reading Observed and Normal Low and High Temps Graphs (15 minutes):
- Restate that Climatologist examine weather trends to better understand normal patterns verses anomalies. Because weather patterns are established over time and changes in those patterns can happen at a relatively slow pace, Climatologists must look at various aspects of weather. First, they examine the high and low temperatures within a given year.
- Tell students that the next layer is to look across years. To do this climatologist average sets of data, the highs, the lows, and all the average across the day’s temperatures. Because temperatures fluctuate throughout the day, averages give us the central value, or the central temperature in a year, but averages are not perfect.
- Show the Weather Shift website, selecting the Climate Change tab and then entering your area in the dropdowns.
- Review the three trends with students, each time asking:
- Draw students’ attention to the light grey line referring to the average temperature of the year.
- Ask:
- Allow students to select other regions and analyze the shown graph. For each selected region, have students guess the climate. Conduct a quick search on Google Images to determine whether their guess was correct.
- Distribute the Seattle Chart.
Closing Activity (10 minutes):
- Distribute white paper, rulers, and colored pencils.
- At the top of the paper, students should add one of the following titles: Consistent Climate or Changing Climate.
- Directly underneath, students should create a subtitle that speaks to what they want the data to show. For example, if it’s a Consistent Climate that is warm with little variation in temperatures, students could write, ‘Warm, Comfortable Climate.’ If it’s a Changing Climate that is moving from cold to hot, they could write, ‘Increase in Hotter Temperatures.’
- Give students time to create a graph that matches their title and subtitle. Students should include average annual temperatures and trendlines using the colored pencils.
- Once a student is finished, have them pass their chart to a peer. Peers should mark a star if the title and the graph match. If they do not, peers should mark a question mark.

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If students are already familiar with the difference between Climate and Weather, only complete steps 4 and 5, spending more time on each.

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What is Climate?

What is Climate?

What is Climate?

Overview