Students can practice observing climate patterns by making and interpreting different kinds of graphs. Ask students to work in groups of three, and have each student pick a city in the United States to study. Each student should use the Internet to find climate information and record the data for his city, including temperature, wind, precipitation and air pressure. He should look at the visual aids to observe possible relationships between the variables; for example, lower air pressure usually correlates with higher amounts of precipitation. He should then make a line graph or visual aid to display the data. Each group of students should then compare the results from the three cities that each studied and see if the climate in the cities has changed over time.
Have students study the different types of cloud formations, including stratus, cumulus and cumulonimbus. Students can research the conditions under which each cloud forms and which clouds are characteristic of certain climates. Using plastic bottles, hot water and ice cubes, have groups of students see if they can derive the right conditions for cloud formation. Ask each group to pour hot water into the bottle so that it is halfway filled and quickly screw on the cap. Discuss how the air in the bottle now contains moisture. Have the group unscrew the cap, place an ice cube over the opening of the bottle and watch as a cloud forms due to the presence of moisture and cooling air.
The Köppen classification system describes the climate in a given area based on temperature and precipitation. Students can use the Köppen system as a guideline to classify a country, city or region into a climate type based on the temperature and precipitation of that area over a long period of time. Students can practice using various resources to discover climate information, including the Internet, almanacs and encyclopedias. They record the average temperature and precipitation and classify the region in a climate type based on this information. Have students present their "climate brief" to the class.
Ask students to select an area of the globe with a certain type of climate, for example, tropical, Mediterranean or subtropical. Ask students to study the climate type that they chose and how it affects a specific region. Students can examine how the climate affects agriculture, animal life, trade, transportation and culture in the region. Ask students to compile a poster that illustrates how climate affects society and the environment with magazine pictures and data tables. Students can also study how the climate has changed in the region over several decades and how the change has affected society.