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The weather is infinitely variable, and no two days are exactly alike. The effects of the weather can be in the sky and on the ground, in puddles, plants, and people.

Topics and Connections:

• Different types of weather
• Art and communicating visually

Materials:

• disposable camera with enough exposures for the entire class

Directions:

Teacher:

• After everyone has had a shot, develop the film. Mark on the back of the pictures what day each was taken, so you can put them in order later.
• Go over the pictures in class and discuss: How many different types of weather are shown in the pictures. What different ways did students photograph the same sort of weather. Can you observe anything changing as the season went on. What does and doesn't a photograph tell you about the weather.
• Give one picture to each student, making sure none gets his/her own shot. Have each of them write down how it shows an aspect of weather.
• Use the photos to create a calendar showing the weather over the weeks the students were photographing it.

Students:

• Each day, (at home or at school) take a single photo which shows the weather on that day the way you think it shows best.
• When you bring the camera in the next day, give it to the next student.
• Keep a classroom log of the actual weather during those days, from a newspaper or just by your own observation.

Follow Up:

• Bring in pictures of artwork that show weather (Winslow Homer, Monet, Van Gogh). Discuss what these artists were trying to show about the weather and how they depicted it.
• Each day take photos of the clouds on that day. After the film is developed, have them use a cloud chart to identify what types were in the sky on different days, and then compare the clouds to what the weather was on that day. Discuss temperature, precipitation, humidity, etc. to discover what cloud types can say about the weather.

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