During the course, students learn about temperature, air pressure, wind, and humidity. They explore weather patterns and weather forecasting, learn to identify basic types of clouds, and differentiate between weather and climate. They also examine the nature, causes, zones, and changes of climate. Students then explore the climate regions of the United States and identify the 6 major regions on the basis of temperature and precipitation. Each chapter includes a lab investigation.
Students use a handmade sling psychrometer to determine relative humidity.
They graph temperature and precipitation data to classify the climates of cities in different parts of the world. They also use climate information to determine the biomes of the United States. Each chapter contains comprehensive reading sections that introduce major science concepts. The teacher's edition also provides suggestions for teaching, guiding, integrating, and closing lessons, as well as enrichments, extensions, and answers to questions in the student text. The supplementary lab manual provides 5 additional investigations directly correlated with the information presented in the student textbook.