Ocean, Atmosphere, and Climate Phenomena Poster Set

Help students investigate how the ocean and atmosphere interact to influence weather and climate with this engaging Ocean, Atmosphere, and Climate phenomena resource.

This six-poster collection uses visually rich science phenomena to encourage students to observe patterns, analyze evidence, compare systems, and develop explanations about ocean currents, air movement, energy transfer, temperature differences, and climate.

Students move beyond simply identifying weather patterns and begin thinking about how large-scale interactions between Earth’s oceans and atmosphere shape conditions around the planet.

What’s Included

This resource includes six individual full-color portrait phenomena posters.

Each poster includes:

A high-interest phenomenon question

A detailed science visual, model, or Earth system scene

“What do you notice?” observation prompts

“What do you wonder?” discussion questions

Key science vocabulary

A “Try This Thinking” activity or challenge

A CER Starter for Claim, Evidence, and Reasoning practice

A concise science statement reinforcing the main concept

Explore Ocean and Atmosphere Interactions

Students investigate how the ocean and atmosphere are connected parts of Earth’s climate system.

The phenomena provide opportunities to examine how heat moves through the ocean and atmosphere and how differences in temperature can contribute to patterns of air and water movement.

Students begin seeing weather and climate as the result of interacting Earth systems rather than isolated events.

Investigate Energy Transfer

Energy from the sun does not heat every part of Earth equally.

Students can consider questions such as:

Why are some parts of Earth warmer than others?

How does energy move through the atmosphere?

How does the ocean store and move thermal energy?

What happens when warm and cool air interact?

How can differences in temperature affect movement?

How might these patterns influence climate?

These questions help students connect energy transfer to larger Earth system patterns.

Explore Ocean Currents

The ocean plays an important role in moving thermal energy around the planet.

Students can examine patterns in ocean currents and consider how moving water can transport energy from one region to another.

The visual phenomena help students connect ocean circulation with differences in temperature and regional climate conditions.

Investigate Atmospheric Circulation

Students explore how temperature differences can cause air to move.

The posters provide opportunities to investigate rising warm air, sinking cool air, convection, wind patterns, and other forms of atmospheric circulation.

Students can use these patterns to explain how energy moves through the atmosphere.

Connect Ocean Patterns to Climate

Ocean conditions can have important effects on nearby land and regional climates.

Students can investigate how coastal and inland locations may experience different temperature patterns and consider how ocean currents can influence conditions far from where the water originally moved.

These comparisons help students understand climate as the result of many interacting factors.

Build Earth Systems Thinking

The phenomena encourage students to examine relationships among the sun, ocean, atmosphere, and land.

Students can identify components of the system, trace the movement of energy, and consider how changes in one part of the system may affect other parts.

This systems perspective helps students develop more complete explanations for large-scale climate patterns.

Develop Observation and Questioning Skills

Each poster includes structured Notice and Wonder prompts that encourage students to examine the phenomenon before developing an explanation.

Students can:

Identify temperature patterns

Compare locations

Trace movement of air and water

Analyze models

Look for relationships

Generate scientific questions

Make predictions

Develop and revise explanations

These routines support inquiry-based learning and meaningful classroom discussion.

Strengthen Science Vocabulary

Important science vocabulary is embedded within meaningful phenomena.

Students encounter concepts related to atmosphere, ocean currents, climate, thermal energy, convection, circulation, temperature, density, wind, energy transfer, and Earth systems while actively using those terms to explain what they observe.

Displaying the posters throughout the unit provides students with an ongoing visual science vocabulary reference.

Support CER Practice

Each poster includes a student-friendly CER Starter.

Students practice making a Claim, identifying Evidence from a phenomenon or model, and using Reasoning to explain how that evidence supports their scientific explanation.

Repeated CER opportunities help students develop stronger explanations about the relationships among ocean conditions, atmospheric movement, and climate.

Analyze Models and Patterns

Many ocean and atmospheric processes occur at scales too large for students to observe directly.

The posters provide visual models that allow students to examine these systems, compare conditions, and identify patterns.

Students can use those models to develop explanations and revise their thinking as they gather new evidence.

Great for Classroom Use

Use these posters for:

Whole-group science instruction

Phenomenon launches

Science focus walls

Notice and Wonder routines

Small-group instruction

Science centers

Science notebook responses

Vocabulary development

CER practice

Earth systems modeling

Ocean current investigations

Atmospheric circulation discussions

Climate pattern analysis

Partner conversations

Unit introductions

Review and reinforcement

Classroom displays

Revisit the Phenomena Throughout the Unit

Introduce each phenomenon before students have developed a complete explanation and collect their initial ideas.

As students investigate energy transfer, ocean currents, atmospheric circulation, and climate patterns, return to the posters and ask them to revise their thinking.

Students can identify new relationships, incorporate additional evidence, and use increasingly precise scientific vocabulary in their explanations.

Make Large-Scale Earth Processes Easier to Understand

Ocean circulation and atmospheric movement happen across enormous areas and can be difficult for students to visualize through text alone.

These posters provide concrete visual models that help students trace energy, recognize patterns, and connect interactions among Earth’s systems.

By combining engaging phenomena with structured questioning, systems thinking, vocabulary development, and CER practice, this resource provides meaningful support throughout an Ocean, Atmosphere, and Climate unit.

Important Disclaimer

This resource is independently created and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, sponsored by, or produced by Amplify Education. The use of “Amplify” in the product title is intended only to help educators identify the curriculum topic with which this supplemental resource may be used. Amplify Education owns its respective trademarks and curriculum materials.