NGSS · Kindergarten
Use and share observations of local weather conditions to describe patterns over time.
Clarification statement: Examples of qualitative observations could include descriptions of the weather (such as sunny, cloudy, rainy, and warm); examples of quantitative observations could include numbers of sunny, windy, and rainy days in a month. Examples of patterns could include that it is usually cooler in the morning than in the afternoon and the number of sunny days versus cloudy days in different months.
Assessment boundary: Assessment of quantitative observations limited to whole numbers and relative measures such as warmer/cooler.
Why water teaches this standard well
A classroom rain gauge turns this standard into a water lesson: students count rainy days, compare wet and dry weeks, and talk about where all that rain goes. It is the natural first link between weather watching and the idea that a community's drinking water starts as precipitation.
Materials tagged with this code are written to the full standard , including its clarification statement and assessment boundary, and each carries a written note explaining the alignment. See how we review materials.
Kindergarten Lesson plan
Over ten school days kindergartners paint one sky square a day using a shared color and mark code, then sort the squares to find a pattern in the rainy and cloudy days.
Kindergarten Lesson plan
A kindergarten lesson across four short sittings where the class checks the grass on three mornings, charts which ones had dew, and finds where the dew goes.
Kindergarten Lesson plan
A 30-minute kindergarten lesson where students order five picture moments from one rainy day on Lamplight Lane and retell them using first, next, and last.
Kindergarten Lesson plan
A 25-minute kindergarten lesson where students retell the story of a playground puddle in order, from rainfall to sunshine, and dictate a reaction to the water's path.
Kindergarten Lesson plan
A 30-minute kindergarten lesson in which the class tapes a bag of tinted water to a sunny window, predicts what will happen, and narrates the setup in order.
Kindergarten Lesson plan
A 30-minute kindergarten science lesson where students trace a shrinking schoolyard puddle and count two weeks of rainy versus sunny days on a class weather chart.
Kindergarten Worksheet
A kindergarten worksheet where students compare a sunny puddle and a shady puddle measured in paper squares at two times of day and say where the water went.
Kindergarten Worksheet
A kindergarten worksheet where students sort six morning picture cards from a fictional school weather chart into cold and warm piles, count each pile, and compare them.
Kindergarten Worksheet
A kindergarten worksheet where students put four pictures of a rainy day at Aspen Court in order and dictate what happens to the puddle after the sun comes out.
Kindergarten Classroom activity
A kindergarten movement game where students act out four water cycle stations, choosing which stations to play based on that day's real weather chart.
Kindergarten Reading passage
A kindergarten read-aloud about a fictional town whose class rain chart runs almost empty in July, the creek drops, and neighbors find ways to use less water.
Kindergarten Reading passage
A kindergarten read-aloud about the water crew member who measures a town's lake each morning and reports when it drops, with six questions and a key.