online course
Weather Lab
Weather Lab Grades 6 to 8
Free online weather and climate course · 12 weeks
- Grade
- Grades 6 to 8
- Ages
- Ages 11 to 14
- Price
- Free
- Format
- Self-paced online course at learn.lanternlearn.com
About this course
Weather Lab Grades 6 to 8 is a free 12-week online weather and climate course for middle schoolers. Students build a home weather station and keep a daily log, then learn why the Sun heats the Earth unevenly, what air pressure and wind are, how water gets into the air and falls back out as clouds and precipitation, how air masses and fronts change the weather, what thunderstorms, tornadoes and hurricanes are and how to stay safe, how ocean currents shape regional climates, and how NOAA and NASA read the global climate record. The course ends with the student's own one-day forecast and a weather-ready plan for their home.
12-week list
Each week has short lessons Monday to Friday, a hands-on Station Lab, and a Station Day with the family on Saturday.
| Week | Topic | Focus | NGSS |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Weather or Climate? | The state of the air today, and the pattern over many years | MS-ESS2-5 |
| 2 | The Sun Heats the Earth Unevenly | Energy from the Sun, and why some places get more of it | MS-PS3-4 |
| 3 | Air Has Weight | Air pressure, the barometer, and what rising and falling mean | MS-ESS2-5 |
| 4 | Where Wind Comes From | Air on the move, from high pressure to low | MS-ESS2-6 |
| 5 | Water in the Air | Evaporation, condensation and the dew point | MS-ESS2-4 |
| 6 | Reading the Clouds | How clouds form, and what their shapes tell you | MS-ESS2-4 |
| 7 | Precipitation | Rain, snow, sleet, freezing rain and hail | MS-ESS2-4 |
| 8 | Air Masses and Fronts | Where weather changes come from | MS-ESS2-5 |
| 9 | Storms and Staying Safe | Thunderstorms, tornadoes, hurricanes and the family plan | MS-ESS3-2 |
| 10 | Oceans, Currents and Climate Zones | How moving water shapes the climate of a place | MS-ESS2-6 |
| 11 | The Climate Record | How NOAA and NASA measure a warming planet | MS-ESS3-5 |
| 12 | Forecast and Design | Your own forecast, and a weather-ready plan for home | MS-ETS1-1 |