School level

Will it be a White Christmas?

A white Christmas is when a snowflake is observed falling in the 24 hours of 25 December. What will the weather be like where you are this Christmas?
Meteorology is the study of weather. Students can complete this White Christmas Fact Finding Mission based on the material posted by the Met Office on the likelihood of a white Christmas this year.

Prior Knowledge: 
Students should have previous knowledge on the topics of climate, atmosphere, weather and map-work. The following notes can be used to prepare students for the material covered in this collection.


Weather Recording Activity
Met Éireann maintains a 24 hour, 7 days a week, 365 days a year weather watch. Forecasters in both the General Forecast and Aviation offices work all day and night to produce forecasts for the general public, specialist customers, airports and the emergency services. They can accurately forecast if snow is likely on any given Christmas day up to five days beforehand.

It might be useful to install the Met Eireann app and follow it with your classes. This will keep you up to date with weather activity in your area and to help alert the school community if a White Christmas is on the way.

The following weather recording sheet can be used with classes to keep track of your area’s weather and to look for patterns

It can be filled out using data from your school’s weather station or recorded information from local or national weather forecasts

Classroom Activities 
The following activities are perfect for a Christmas themed geography lesson. The worksheet activities encourage students to think about the following questions:

  • Is a White Christmas a weather event or a natural part of the Irish climate?
  • Can winds have an impact on the creation of a White Christmas in Ireland?
  • Are accumulation and ablation important in the creation of a White Christmas?

Afterward, get your class to predict the most likely location for snowfall in Ireland over the coming weeks.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Weather Vs Climate Photograph Challenge

https://www.scoilnet.ieuploads/resources/28849/28585.pdf Added: 02 Dec 2018 Contributor: Tara Fitzharris Resource type: Worksheet

This worksheet can be used with classes to revise the differences between weather and climate and to help them recap the main points about the Irish Climate. The images in this worksheet can help to bring a real-world element to material covered in the classroom.

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How it maps to the curriculum

JC
Geography

Strand: 1. Exploring the Physical World

Strand unit: 6. Global Climates, Irish Climate

Suggestions for use: This resource could be set as a paired activity with students. It could also help to stimulate follow on discussions examining the impact that Climate Change is having on the Irish Climate.

Key Skills: Communicating Managing Information and Thinking Working with Others Literacy Numeracy

Asset type: Document
Language: English
Rights: Attribution Creative Commons
Special Needs:


Ireland's Prevailing Wind Worksheet

https://www.scoilnet.ieuploads/resources/28850/28586.pdf Added: 02 Dec 2018 Contributor: Tara Fitzharris Resource type: Worksheet

This worksheet can be used with classes to revise the main wind types that affect the weather that Ireland experiences throughout the year and to help explain why it is so changeable.

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How it maps to the curriculum

JC
Geography

Strand: 1. Exploring the Physical World

Strand unit: 6. Global Climates, Irish Climate

Suggestions for use: This resource could be set as a paired activity with students to help them revise the material covered in class on the Irish Climate. Or it could be set as a homework activity to reinforce the material covered on the topic.

Key Skills: Communicating Managing Information and Thinking Working with Others Literacy

Asset type: Document
Language: English
Rights: Attribution Creative Commons
Special Needs:


Accumulation Vs Ablation Revision Notes

https://www.scoilnet.ieuploads/resources/28852/28588.pdf Added: 02 Dec 2018 Contributor: Tara Fitzharris Resource type: Guide/notes

These revision notes can be used with classes to examine the concepts of accumulation and ablation. This activity will help students to understand the processes needed for the creation of a White Christmas in Ireland. The images in this worksheet can help to bring a real-world element to material covered in the classroom.

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How it maps to the curriculum

JC
Geography

Strand: 1. Exploring the Physical World

Strand unit: 5. Erosion, Deposition & Transportation

Suggestions for use: This resource could be set as an individual or paired activity with students to help them revise the material covered on glaciation in class. Students are also using their geographical skills to answer the questions on the worksheet.

Key Skills: Communicating Managing Information and Thinking Working with Others Literacy

Asset type: Document
Language: English
Rights: Attribution Creative Commons
Special Needs:


Predicting Snowfall based on location Worksheet

https://www.scoilnet.ieuploads/resources/28851/28587.pdf Added: 02 Dec 2018 Contributor: Tara Fitzharris Resource type: Worksheet

This worksheet can be used with classes to plot the most likely location for snowfall in Ireland. It can be used with classes to examine how height is represented on an OS map. This worksheet can help to bring a real-world element to the material covered in the classroom.

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How it maps to the curriculum

JC
Geography

Strand: 1. Exploring the Physical World

Strand unit: 6. Global Climates, Irish Climate

Suggestions for use: This resource could be set as an individual or paired activity with students to help them revise the material covered on OS maps in class. It could also be used to help pre-teach the topic of how height is represented on an OS map.

Key Skills: Communicating Managing Information and Thinking Working with Others Literacy Numeracy

Asset type: Document
Language: English
Rights: Attribution Creative Commons
Special Needs:


Be Winter Ready Leaflet Template

https://www.scoilnet.ieuploads/resources/28854/28590.docx Added: 02 Dec 2018 Contributor: Tara Fitzharris Resource type: Activity

This information leaflet template can be used with classes to create a concise reminder to the school community of the main points of note from this Be Winter Ready booklet. Students could brainstorm the main ideas that they would like to use on this leaflet as a class and then complete the activity individually or in pairs.

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How it maps to the curriculum

JC
Geography

Strand: 1. Exploring the Physical World

Strand unit: 7. Investigating a Significant Weather Event

Suggestions for use: This resource could be set as an individual or paired activity with students. This resource requires access to a digital device to read the original booklet. Students are using their geographical and literacy skills to complete the template.

Key Skills: Being Creative Communicating Managing Information and Thinking Staying Well Working with Others Literacy Numeracy Managing Myself

Asset type: Document
Language: English
Rights: Attribution Creative Commons
Special Needs:


Are there links between climate change and increased snowfall?

What causes climate change? And what are the effects of climate change?

Students should watch this National Geographic video clip to gain an overview on the topic of global warming. It examines the causes and impacts that increasing temperatures are having on our world today.

Challenge students to answer the ten multiple choice quiz questions. Each question is based around the material shown in the video clip.                                                 Take the Quiz

 

Resources created by geography teacher, Tara Fitzharris

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