• Quick retrieval from earlier learning (Types of weather). Students answer on mini whiteboards.
• Show answers together and note who needs support in the main task.

1. What kind of weather would you wear or take wellington boots (rain boots) for? (a sunny, hot day / a rainy day / a snowy, cold day) → a rainy dayPrompt: Does it keep you cool, dry or warm?
2. What is snow? (frozen water falling as soft ice crystals / clouds on the ground / white rain / cold wind) → frozen water falling as soft ice crystalsPrompt: It only falls when it is very cold.
3. What would you take on a rainy day? (shorts / a scarf / gloves / wellington boots (rain boots)) → wellington boots (rain boots)Prompt: Think about keeping cool, dry or warm.

• Show today's forecast and ask what it means for the class and how forecasters know.
• Share the objective: Severe weather and staying safe. Read the success criteria together.

• Work through the example out loud, saying why you do each step, not just what you do.
• Example: What is a drought?
• Step 1: In a drought, there is not enough rain, so water runs short.
• Step 2: So the answer is: a long period with very little rain
• Answer: a long period with very little rain
• Pause after each step and ask a student to say what comes next.

• Do these together. Students try each step on whiteboards before you reveal it.
• Use the hints as prompts rather than giving the answer.

1. Why do weather forecasters warn people about storms? (so people can prepare and stay safe / to scare people / to make it rain / to stop the storm) → so people can prepare and stay safePrompt: What could you do if you knew a storm was coming?
2. Which kind of severe weather is this: several days much hotter than normal? (flood / tornado / blizzard / heatwave) → heatwavePrompt: Is it about water, wind, snow or heat?

• Students work on the student sheet. Circulate and check the first two answers of every student early.
• Students who finish: write a question of their own for a partner, with the answer.

The 6 questions are on the student sheet below, with answers in the key.

• Two questions on their own. Sort answers into got it / nearly / not yet to plan the next lesson.

1. Severe weather: which statement is NOT true? (Lightning can strike tall objects such as trees. / Flood water can be dangerous even when it looks shallow. / Sheltering under a tree is safe in a thunderstorm. / Weather forecasts help people prepare for storms.) → Sheltering under a tree is safe in a thunderstorm.Prompt: One sentence is a famous myth about lightning.
2. What is a hurricane? (an earthquake / a huge, powerful storm with very strong winds and heavy rain that forms over warm oceans / a sunny day / a light shower) → a huge, powerful storm with very strong winds and heavy rain that forms over warm oceansPrompt: It is also called a typhoon or tropical cyclone in some places.

Free online practice with hints and printable worksheets for this skill: eurekami.com/science/grade-1.