Talking About the Weather Lesson Plan

Video: 10 minutes

Lesson: 40 minutes

Pre-viewing • :00 Warm up: Review numbers up to 100. This will be useful when students are asked to express the temperature in Spanish. 2 minutes • :02 Pre-test: Write the following phrases on the board. It is cold It is hot It is raining It is snowing Ask the students to tell you what information each sentence gives (weather conditions). Point out that in English we use “it is,” the third-person singular form of the verb “to be,” to describe the weather. Ask them to what the pronoun “it” refers. Ask them if they know whether Spanish is similar or not. Go over the learning objectives. 4 minutes Viewing • :06 Playing Video: Hand out the Viewing Guide and go over viewing questions and expectations. Tell the students to pay attention to the program and answer the viewing questions while watching. Don’t hesitate to stop the program and review if the students seem confused. Difficult concepts include the use of the verb hacer to talk about the weather. The gerund may also be confusing to some students. 10 minutes Post-viewing • :16 Question & Answer Session: Ask the class for the answers to the viewing questions. See if any parts of the program were difficult or confusing for the students. Ask a few questions to check their understanding of the key topics. 5 minutes Sample Questions 1. What are the two ways to talk about the weather in Spanish? 2. What is a gerund? When is a gerund used to talk about the weather? 3. By what scale is temperature measured in most Spanish-speaking countries? Handouts • :21 Practicing Material: Hand out the Worksheet and give the class 6-8 minutes to complete it. Students are allowed to use their Viewing Guide. Monitor the students’ progress, helping where needed. Go over Worksheet as a class. 10 minutes • :31 Applying Material: Hand out the Activity. Put some students into groups of two or three. Give them 5–6 minutes to prepare, then have students to present their weather report to the class. 10 minutes • :46 Wrap-up: Briefly sum up what has been covered in class, using the students to do the summary. Assign any homework. 4 minutes Viewing Questions Answer Key 1. How would you describe the weather in Spanish if it were 10 degrees Fahrenheit? Hace diez grados Fahrenheit. What if it were 110 degrees Fahrenheit? Hace ciento diez grados Fahrenheit. 2. Why is estar used to describe the weather instead of ser? the weather is a temporary condition 3. ¿Qué tiempo hace? ¿Qué temperatura hace? (Answers will vary.)

Talking About the Weather

Teacher’s Reference Guide Video: 10 minutes

Lesson: 40 minutes

Learning Objectives At the end of the module, students will be able to: • express weather conditions and temperature using the verb hacer • express weather conditions using the verb estar • ask about the weather conditions and temperature • define, pronounce and correctly spell vocabulary words and phrases Materials • Video: vocabulary, using hacer to talk about the weather, using estar to talk about the weather, asking about the weather; 10 minutes long • Viewing Guide: vocabulary, talking about the weather, asking about the weather; 3 Viewing Questions • Worksheet: describing the weather (fill in the blanks), asking about the weather and responding (translation and oral) • Activity Sheet: small group presentation (translation and oral) • Check Your Knowledge: vocabulary, hacer or estar (fill in the blanks), asking about the weather and responding (translation); 50 points

Background Students should understand and be able to apply the rules for proper Spanish pronunciation. Preparation None required.

Extension: Each day, ask your students to describe the local weather conditions. Have them write their answers on the board. As new weather conditions arise, introduce new vocabulary.

Talking About the Weather Viewing Guide VOCABULARY

Exception Alert! The noun clima is masculine even though it ends in a. It is one of those sneaky exceptions to the gender rules el clima. Memorize it!

los calles – streets el calor – heat centígrados – Celsius el clima – weather estar – to be (temporary) Fahrenheit – Fahrenheit frío(a) – cold los grados – degrees granizar – to hail el granizo – hail hacer – to make/to do hay – there is, there are el hielo – ice

llover – to rain malo(a) – bad mucho(a) – much muy – very nevar – to snow no sé – I don’t know qué – what, how el sol – sun la temperatura – temperature el tiempo – weather la tormenta – storm el viento – wind

TWO WAYS TO TALK ABOUT THE WEATHER • Using Hacer Use hace followed by a word descriptive of the weather. Hace is the third person singular form of the verb hacer, which means “to make” or “to do.” Since this form naturally implies “it” or some third-person nonspecific entity, you don’t need to add a noun or pronoun. hace frío – it’s cold hace calor – it’s hot hace sol – it’s sunny hace viento – it’s windy You also use hacer to describe the temperature. hace ____ grados Fahrenheit/centígrados it’s ____ degrees Fahrenheit/Celsius

• Using Estar A few weather expressions use está, the third person singular form of the verb estar (to be), followed by the weather condition in its gerund form. Since this está naturally implies “it” or some third-person non specific entity, you don’t need to add a noun or pronoun. está lloviendo – it’s raining está granizando – it’s hailing está nevando – it’s snowing What the heck is a GERUND, anyway?!?! The English equivalent of the gerund is the “–ing” form of a verb. In Spanish, gerunds are easy to spot because they usually end in “–ndo.”

ASKING ABOUT THE WEATHER • ¿Qué tiempo hace? – What’s the weather like? • ¿Qué temperatura hace? – What’s the temperature?

Viewing Questions 1. How would you describe the weather in Spanish if it were 10 degrees Fahrenheit? What about if it were 110 degrees Fahrenheit? 2. Why is estar used to describe the weather instead of ser? 3. ¿Qué tiempo hace? ¿Qué temperatura hace?

Talking About the Weather Worksheet

A. What’s the Weather Doing? In Spanish, describe the weather condition that best suits the following situations. Example: A great day to work on your tan. Hace sol. 1. It’s time to bundle up and wear your winter coat. 2. Hail the size of golf balls is falling from the sky. 3. It’s kite-flying weather. 4. You’re standing in the shade yet you’re still sweating. 5. The conditions are perfect for snowmen and sledding. 6. It’s good weather for wearing sunglasses. 7. It’s umbrella weather. 8. It’s perfect weather for a trip to the pool!

B. Talking to Yourself Can Be Fun! Write out the following questions and answers in Spanish. Be sure to practice saying each sentence out loud. 1. What is the weather like?

It’s cold.

2. What is the weather like?

It’s raining.

3. What is the temperature?

It’s seventy-five degrees Fahrenheit.

4. What is the weather like?

It’s windy.

5. What is the temperature?

It’s thirty degrees Celsius.

6. What is the weather like?

It’s hailing.

7. What is the weather like?

It’s snowing!

8. What is the temperature?

I don’t know.

Talking About the Weather Worksheet Answer Key

A. What’s the Weather Doing? In Spanish, describe the weather condition that best suits the following situations. Example: A great day to work on your tan. Hace sol. 1. It’s time to bundle up and wear your winter coat.

Hace frío; Está nevando.

2. Hail the size of golf balls is falling from the sky.

Está granizando.

3. It’s kite-flying weather.

Hace viento.

4. You’re standing in the shade yet you’re still sweating.

Hace calor.

5. The conditions are perfect for snowmen and sledding.

Está nevando.

6. It’s good weather for wearing sunglasses. 7. It’s umbrella weather.

Hace sol.

Está lloviendo.

8. It’s perfect weather for a trip to the pool!

Hace calor.

B. Talking to Yourself Can Be Fun! Write out the following questions and answers in Spanish. Be sure to practice saying each sentence out loud. 1. What is the weather like? ¿Qué tiempo hace? 2. What is the weather like? ¿Qué tiempo hace? 3. What is the temperature? ¿Qué temperatura hace? 4. What is the weather like? ¿Qué tiempo hace? 5. What is the temperature? ¿Qué temperatura hace? 6. What is the weather like? ¿Qué tiempo hace? 7. What is the weather like? ¿Qué tiempo hace? 8. What is the temperature? ¿Qué temperatura hace?

It’s cold. Hace frío. It’s raining. Está lloviendo. It’s seventy-five degrees Fahrenheit. Hace setenta y cinco grados Fahrenheit. It’s windy. Hace viento. It’s thirty degrees Celsius. Hace treinta grados centígrados. It’s hailing. Está granizando. It’s snowing! ¡Está nevando! I don’t know. No sé.

Talking About the Weather Activity

Live from the SDTV Weather Center… For this activity, you’ll become a reporter for the SDTV Weather Center. In groups of two or three, prepare a national weather report to deliver to your class. Each report should include the weather conditions and the temperature for all of the cities on the list (at right). If your classroom has a map of the U.S., use it as a visual aid for your weather report. If not, draw one on the board. Use the map below for reference. Tip: First, name the city by saying “En (name of the city),” and then describe the weather. For example, you’d say “En Atlanta, hace calor. Hace ochenta y nueve grados Fahrenheit.”

Weather Conditions Across the Country City

Conditions

Temp (Fº)

Boston, MA

snow

25º

Washington, DC

sunny

65º

San Francisco, CA

windy

60º

New Orleans, LA

hot

89º

Seattle, WA

rain

68º

Chicago, IL

cold

30º

Miami, FL

hot

95º

St. Louis, MO

hail

85º

Dallas, TX

rain

70º

! R R BRR

Talking About the Weather

Check Your Knowledge Total Score

/ 50

A. How Do You Say? Translate the following into Spanish. For nouns, be sure to include the articles. (1 point each) 1. degrees

2. heat

3. ice

4. weather

5. wind

6. Colombian

7. storm

8. I don’t know

B. ¿Hacer o Estar? Using your knowledge of weather expressions, write the correct verb, hace or está, in the blank provided. (3 points each) Example:

hace

frío

1.

lloviendo

2.

nevando

3.

viento

4.

calor

5.

granizando

6.

sol

7.

noventa grados centígrados

C. Asking about the Weather Write out the following questions and answers in Spanish. Be sure to punctuate properly. (3 points each) 1. What is the temperature?

It’s thirty degrees Celsius.

2. What is the weather like?

It’s windy.

3. What is the temperature like?

It’s twenty-five degrees Fahrenheit.

4. What is the weather like?

It’s raining.

5. What is the weather like?

It’s snowing!

6. What is the weather like?

It’s hailing.

7. What is the weather like?

I don’t know.

Talking About the Weather

Check Your Knowledge Answer Key

Total Score

/ 50

A. How Do You Say? Translate the following into Spanish. For nouns, be sure to include the articles. (1 point each) 1. degrees

los grados

2. heat

el calor

3. ice

el hielo

4. weather

los calles

5. wind

el viento

6. Colombian

nevar

7. storm

la tormenta

8. I don’t know

no sé

B. ¿Hacer o Estar? Using your knowledge of weather expressions, write the correct verb, hace or está, in the blank provided. (3 points each) Example:

hace

frío

1.

está

lloviendo

2.

está

nevando

3.

hace

viento

4.

hace

calor

5.

está

granizando

6.

hace

sol

7.

hace

noventa grados centígrados

C. Asking about the Weather Write out the following questions and answers in Spanish. Be sure to punctuate properly. (3 points each) 1. What is the temperature? ¿Qué temperatura hace? 2. What is the weather like? ¿Qué tiempo hace? 3. What is the temperature like? ¿Qué temperatura hace? 4. What is the weather like? ¿Qué tiempo hace? 5. What is the weather like? ¿Qué tiempo hace? 6. What is the weather like? ¿Qué tiempo hace? 7. What is the weather like? ¿Qué tiempo hace?

It’s thirty degrees Celsius. Hace treinta grados centígrados. It’s windy. Hace viento. It’s twenty-five degrees Fahrenheit. Hace veinticinco grados Fahrenheit. It’s raining. Está lloviendo. It’s snowing! ¡Está nevando! It’s hailing. Está granizando. I don’t know. No sé.