Year 1 Science: Weather types and their symbols
Part of the Year 1 Science seasons and weather chapter. Chapter overview · whole chapter on one page · Download worksheet (PDF) · Answers (PDF)
Weather types and their symbols
The weather is what the air outside is like. It changes from day to day, and from season to season. We can describe the weather in a word, and we can show it with a symbol. A symbol is a simple picture.
Here are the five weather types in this chapter. Each one has its own symbol.
Key ideas
- Sunny: the sun is shining. The symbol is a yellow sun with rays.
- Cloudy: clouds cover the sky, but there may be no rain.
- Rainy: rain falls from the clouds. The symbol has raindrops.
- Windy: the wind is blowing. The symbol has lines with arrows.
- Snowy: snow falls, usually in winter. The symbol has snowflakes.
Key words. A symbol is a simple picture that stands for something.
Method. Look at the symbol, then think about what it shows.
- Look at the symbol. Each symbol shows one kind of weather.a yellow sun with rays
- Match it to a weather word. The five weather words are sunny, cloudy, rainy, windy and snowy.a yellow sun with rays is sunny
- Write the answer. sunny
Check. Say the weather word out loud: sunny. Does it fit the symbol? ✓
Watch out. A yellow sun with rays means sunny weather. Check that the picture has rays.
Key words. A symbol is a simple picture that stands for something.
Method. Look at the symbol, then think about what it shows.
- Look at the symbol. Each symbol shows one kind of weather.lines with arrows, showing moving air
- Match it to a weather word. The five weather words are sunny, cloudy, rainy, windy and snowy.lines with arrows, showing moving air is windy
- Write the answer. windy
Check. Say the weather word out loud: windy. Does it fit the symbol? ✓
Watch out. Lines with arrows show the air moving, so it is windy weather.
Method. Think about what snowflakes falling mean.
- Read the clue. Ali sees snowflakes falling out of the window.snowflakes falling
- Match the clue to a weather word. Snowflakes falling means snow, and snow is snowy weather.snowflakes = snowy
- Write the answer. snowy
Check. The symbol for snowy weather has a cloud with snowflakes. ✓
Watch out. A cloud with raindrops is rainy, not snowy.
Watch out
Watch out: a cloud does not always mean rain. Cloudy weather has clouds but no rain. Rainy weather has a cloud and raindrops.
Exam tip
Grown-up tip. Look out of the window together. Ask: “What can you see in the sky? Is it sunny, cloudy, rainy, windy or snowy?” Never look straight at the Sun, even on a sunny day.
Try it at home
- With a grown-up, look out of a window each day for one week.
- Choose the weather word that fits the day.
- Draw the matching symbol on a card and put it on the calendar.
- Never look straight at the Sun.
Exercise 9D Weather types and symbols
Key words. A symbol is a simple picture that stands for something.
Method. Look at the symbol, then think about what it shows.
- Look at the symbol. Each symbol shows one kind of weather.a yellow sun with rays
- Match it to a weather word. The five weather words are sunny, cloudy, rainy, windy and snowy.a yellow sun with rays is sunny
- Write the answer. sunny
Check. Say the weather word out loud: sunny. Does it fit the symbol? ✓
Watch out. A yellow sun with rays means sunny weather. Check that the picture has rays.
Key words. A symbol is a simple picture that stands for something.
Method. Look at the symbol, then think about what it shows.
- Look at the symbol. Each symbol shows one kind of weather.grey and white clouds with no rain
- Match it to a weather word. The five weather words are sunny, cloudy, rainy, windy and snowy.grey and white clouds with no rain is cloudy
- Write the answer. cloudy
Check. Say the weather word out loud: cloudy. Does it fit the symbol? ✓
Watch out. Clouds with no raindrops mean cloudy weather. Look for clouds, and check there are no drops.
Key words. A symbol is a simple picture that stands for something.
Method. Look at the symbol, then think about what it shows.
- Look at the symbol. Each symbol shows one kind of weather.a cloud with raindrops falling
- Match it to a weather word. The five weather words are sunny, cloudy, rainy, windy and snowy.a cloud with raindrops falling is rainy
- Write the answer. rainy
Check. Say the weather word out loud: rainy. Does it fit the symbol? ✓
Watch out. Raindrops falling from a cloud mean rainy weather. Look for the drops.
Key words. A symbol is a simple picture that stands for something.
Method. Look at the symbol, then think about what it shows.
- Look at the symbol. Each symbol shows one kind of weather.lines with arrows, showing moving air
- Match it to a weather word. The five weather words are sunny, cloudy, rainy, windy and snowy.lines with arrows, showing moving air is windy
- Write the answer. windy
Check. Say the weather word out loud: windy. Does it fit the symbol? ✓
Watch out. Lines with arrows show the air moving, so it is windy weather.
Key words. A symbol is a simple picture that stands for something.
Method. Look at the symbol, then think about what it shows.
- Look at the symbol. Each symbol shows one kind of weather.a cloud with snowflakes falling
- Match it to a weather word. The five weather words are sunny, cloudy, rainy, windy and snowy.a cloud with snowflakes falling is snowy
- Write the answer. snowy
Check. Say the weather word out loud: snowy. Does it fit the symbol? ✓
Watch out. Snowflakes falling from a cloud mean snowy weather. Look for the flake shapes.
Method. Find the symbol that shows snowy weather.
- Look at each letter. A has raindrops, B has snowflakes, C has a sun, D has wind lines, E has clouds.A rainy, B snowy, C sunny, D windy, E cloudy
- Find the snowflakes. Snowflakes falling from a cloud mean snow.snowflakes = B
- Write the answer. B
Check. Only B has snowflakes falling from the cloud. ✓
Watch out. Look for the snowflakes, not for the raindrops.
Method. Look at what the symbol shows.
- Look at the clues. Raindrops falling from a cloud show rain.raindrops = rain
- Match the clue to a weather word. Rain is rainy weather, not snowy.rainy, not snowy
- Write the answer. False
Check. Snowy weather has snowflakes. Rainy weather has raindrops. ✓
Watch out. Snowflakes and raindrops look different. Check the shape.
Method. Look at what Priya can see and what she cannot see.
- Look at the sky. Priya can see grey clouds.grey clouds
- Look for rain. No rain is falling, so it is not rainy.no rain
- Write the answer. cloudy
Check. Cloudy weather has clouds, and no rain is falling. ✓
Watch out. Look for the clue that is missing, not just the clue you can see.
Key words. A clue is a fact that helps you find the answer.
Method. Read the clue, then match it to a weather word.
- Read the clue. Look at what the clue describes.Raindrops falling from a cloud
- Match it to a weather word. The five weather words are sunny, cloudy, rainy, windy and snowy.Raindrops falling from a cloud is rainy
- Write the answer. rainy
Check. Say the weather word out loud: rainy. Does it fit the clue? ✓
Watch out. Raindrops falling from a cloud mean rainy weather. Look for the drops.
Key words. A clue is a fact that helps you find the answer.
Method. Read the clue, then match it to a weather word.
- Read the clue. Look at what the clue describes.Lines with arrows showing moving air
- Match it to a weather word. The five weather words are sunny, cloudy, rainy, windy and snowy.Lines with arrows showing moving air is windy
- Write the answer. windy
Check. Say the weather word out loud: windy. Does it fit the clue? ✓
Watch out. Lines with arrows show the air moving, so it is windy weather.
Key words. A clue is a fact that helps you find the answer.
Method. Read the clue, then match it to a weather word.
- Read the clue. Look at what the clue describes.White snowflakes falling
- Match it to a weather word. The five weather words are sunny, cloudy, rainy, windy and snowy.White snowflakes falling is snowy
- Write the answer. snowy
Check. Say the weather word out loud: snowy. Does it fit the clue? ✓
Watch out. Snowflakes falling from a cloud mean snowy weather. Look for the flake shapes.
Method. Think about what makes leaves blow.
- Look at the leaves. The leaves are blowing about on the tree.leaves moving
- Think about what moves them. Wind is moving air, and moving air blows the leaves.moving air = wind
- Write the answer. Yes. Blowing leaves show that the wind is moving.
Check. Still leaves and no wind would not blow about. ✓
Watch out. Look for a clue that shows the air is moving.
Method. Plan a simple way to find out.
- Look at the weather. Look out of a window at the same time each day.look out of a window
- Choose how to record it. Use a word or a symbol from the five weather types.word or symbol
- Write the answer. Look out of a window and record it on a chart each day.
Check. Use the same five weather types each day, so the records can be compared. ✓
Watch out. Write the day next to each record, so you can compare one day with another.