Weather and Climate Phenomena Poster Set

Help students explore patterns in weather and climate with this engaging Weather and Climate phenomena resource.

This six-poster collection uses visually rich science phenomena to encourage students to observe weather conditions, identify patterns, compare data, ask questions, and develop explanations about how weather changes over time and how climate describes long-term patterns in a region.

Students move beyond simply naming weather conditions and begin thinking about how scientists collect evidence, compare information, and use patterns to better understand the atmosphere.

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 or real-world 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 Weather Patterns

Students investigate changing weather conditions and begin identifying patterns in temperature, precipitation, wind, clouds, and other observable conditions.

The visual phenomena help students recognize that weather can change from day to day while still showing patterns that scientists can measure and describe.

Students can compare different conditions, look for similarities and differences, and use observations to begin making evidence-based explanations.

Develop an Understanding of Climate

The posters provide opportunities for students to distinguish between short-term weather and longer-term climate patterns.

Students can consider questions such as:

How is today’s weather different from the usual conditions in a place?

What weather patterns occur repeatedly?

Why do different regions experience different conditions?

How can scientists use many weather observations to describe climate?

These discussions help students develop a stronger understanding of the relationship between individual weather events and long-term climate patterns.

Practice Reading and Comparing Weather Information

Weather science naturally provides opportunities for students to work with information such as temperatures, rainfall amounts, wind conditions, maps, and repeated observations.

The phenomena encourage students to compare evidence and look for patterns rather than relying on a single observation.

This supports both scientific reasoning and data literacy.

Build Observation and Questioning Skills

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

Students can:

Describe observable weather conditions

Identify patterns

Compare locations or time periods

Generate scientific questions

Make predictions

Revise explanations as new evidence becomes available

These routines make it easy to create meaningful student-centered science discussions.

Strengthen Science Vocabulary

Important science vocabulary is embedded directly within the phenomena.

Students encounter concepts related to weather, climate, temperature, precipitation, wind, patterns, atmosphere, forecasts, and observations within meaningful contexts.

Displaying the posters throughout the unit gives students an ongoing visual reference for academic science vocabulary.

Support CER Practice

Each poster includes a student-friendly CER Starter that encourages students to construct an evidence-based explanation.

Students practice making a Claim, selecting Evidence from the visual or information provided, and using Reasoning to connect that evidence to their scientific ideas.

Repeated CER opportunities help students become more confident explaining weather and climate patterns using evidence.

Great for Classroom Use

Use these posters for:

Whole-group science instruction

Phenomenon launches

Science focus walls

Notice and Wonder routines

Weather discussions

Small-group instruction

Science centers

Science notebook responses

Vocabulary development

CER practice

Partner discussions

Data analysis practice

Unit introductions

Review and reinforcement

Classroom displays

Revisit the Phenomena Throughout the Unit

These posters work especially well when students return to them as their understanding develops.

Introduce a phenomenon before instruction and record students’ initial ideas. After additional investigations and learning, return to the same poster and ask students to revise their explanations using new evidence and more precise scientific vocabulary.

This makes the posters useful throughout the learning process rather than simply serving as classroom decoration.

Make Weather and Climate Concepts Meaningful

Weather is something students experience every day, making it a natural starting point for scientific investigation.

These posters help students transform everyday observations into deeper scientific thinking by encouraging them to identify patterns, compare evidence, ask questions, and explain what they observe.

The combination of engaging visuals, structured questioning, vocabulary development, and CER support makes this resource a versatile addition to any Weather 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.