They can draw the moon's shape for each evening on a calendar and then determine the pattern in the shapes over several weeks. These understandings should be confined to observations, descriptions, and finding patterns. Attempting to extend this understanding into explanations using models will be limited by the inability of young children to understand that Earth is approximately spherical. They also have little understanding of gravity and usually have misconceptions about the properties of light that allow us to see objects such as the Moon. Although children will say that they live on a ball, probing questions will reveal that their thinking may be very different.
Students can discover patterns in weather during the year by keeping a journal.
Younger students can draw a daily weather picture based on what they see outside. Older students can keep simple charts and graphs from data they collect at a school weather station. Emphasis in grades K-4 should be on developing observation and description skills. Younger children should be encouraged to talk about and draw what they see and think. Older students can keep journals, use instruments, and record their observations and measurements.