Objectives:

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Notes about Lesson Plan

• Students are likely to think in at least two ways about weather and emotion:  
  • (1) Weather X makes me feel emotion Y (causal) 
  • (2) Emotion X is associated with weather Y (e.g., sadness and clouds). (metaphorical) 
  • The lesson plan works for whichever way students are thinking about weather and emotion, but you might keep this distinction in mind as you facilitate. 
• For the Inquiry Building on Matching Activity, you have teacher discretion about how you want to complicate their thinking. Below, this lesson plan offers various categories of questions, and some questions in each category. Be sure to spend time before the lesson internalizing what you want to explore with your students, and be open to their own interests! 

Warm-Up Question 

How does the weather affect the way we feel and behave? 

• Recommendation: Give silent thinking time. Then, have students turn-and-talk to a student next to them about what they think, encouraging student to give reasons for their opinions. Then, invite students to share out whole-class (either their own ideas or interesting thoughts they heard from their partner). 

Matching Weather Events with Emotions 

• Print, cut, and paper clip enough copies so each pair has a weather and emotion set from this document. (It is best if you can print in color, but black and white should work too.) 
• Students will pair a weather event with an emotion based on what they think “goes together.” (e.g. Many students might pair “sunny”+“happy,” “rain”+”sadness,” “stormy”+”nervous,” etc.) 
• Each partner set should have a paper clip set of “weather” slips and “emotion” slips. They will first arrange them on their table. 
• As students finish, invite them to record their opinions on the board/ some other visible resource. 

Inquiry Building on Matching Activity 

• Purpose: The matching activity got students thinking about the connection between weather and emotions in a very simple way (1:1). In this inquiry, the picture becomes complicated as students reconsider their assumptions demonstrated in the matching activity.  
• Note: This part can go in many different directions, depending on teacher and student interests and philosophical level. The suggested “Ways to Complicate” begin with simple reconsiderations, and move to deeper/ more complex. 
  • You should not do every question with your class. Pick questions ahead of time that are most interesting to you and your students, or ones that you think best fulfill the objective of getting students to reconsider how they see things.
• Ways to Complicate 
  • Question Individual Connections 
    • Do storms always have to mean sadness, anger, or nervousness, or can they make people feel other emotions too?
    • Do sunny skies always have to mean happiness, calm, and serenity, or could they bring some other emotions? 
    • Note: modify this question to fit the results of the class 
  • Question Subjectivity and Objectivity 
    • Can the same weather make different people feel different emotions? Why do you think that happens? 
    • Is it true that certain weather always causes the same emotions, or does it depend? 
    • Do people in different parts of the world feel the same way about the same weather, or might it depend on where they live? 
  • Question How Things Change and Combine 
    • Since weather can change quickly, does that mean our emotions are also like storms that pass?
    • Can more than one emotion happen at the same time, like when the sun is shining while it rains? 
    • Besides the weather, what else can change our emotions? 
    • If we can’t change the weather, does that mean we can’t change our emotions, or is it different? 
• Question the Premise of the Activity 
  • Do our emotions really connect to the weather, or is this just a way of speaking? ii. Is there a kind of weather that doesn’t bring up any emotion? What would that mean? 
  • Do you think weather is a good way to explain and understand emotions, or is it sometimes misleading? 
• Question Normative Assumptions 
  • Is there such a thing as “good” or “bad” weather?
    • Do storms or other “bad” weather events have an important job?
    • Is there such a thing as “good” or “bad” emotions? 
    • Do sadness, anger, or other “bad” emotions have an important job? 
  • Can cloudy skies and sadness be as useful as sunshine and happiness? 
  • Should people try to change their emotions, or is it better to let them pass like the weather? 
• Question Epistemic Condition 
  • We use tools like thermometers and satellites to know the weather. How do we know our emotions and other people’s emotions?  
    • How are these similar and different to how we know the weather?
  • If scientists can predict the weather, can we do the same thing for our future emotions?
• Facilitation Suggestions 
  • Have a way for students to see the question currently being discussed to help them follow along and keep the discussion on track. (e.g. Write it on the board in a “question box”) 
  • Habits of discussion: Encourage students to agree or disagree respectfully: (“I disagree with ____’s idea because ____” or “I agree with _____ ‘s idea because _____”). This facilitates respect through active listening and collaborative knowledge building. 
  • It is often useful for the facilitator to repeat the important point a student made. 
    (“What I am hearing you say is…” “What does everyone think about this?” or, “How does that differ from what other people have said?”) 

Reflection about how our minds have changed 

• Frame: Think about our answers to the original warm-up question. (How does the weather affect the way we feel and behave?) 
• Post this question: What is one thing you have changed your mind about or see in a new way after our activity and inquiry? 
  • Suggestion: Go around the room and have every student share one thing in one sentence.

Discussion Questions

Question Individual Connections

• Do storms always have to mean sadness, anger, or nervousness, or can they make people feel other emotions too? 
• Do sunny skies always have to mean happiness, calm, and peaceful, or could they bring some other emotions? 

Note: modify these questions to fit the results of the class

 Question Subjectivity and Objectivity

• Can the same weather make different people feel different emotions? Why do you think that happens?
• Is it true that certain weather always causes the same emotions, or does it depend?
• Do people in different parts of the world feel the same way about the same weather, or might it depend on where they live?

Question How Things Change and Combine 

• Since weather can change quickly, does that mean our emotions are also like storms that pass? 
• Can more than one emotion happen at the same time, like when the sun is shining while it rains? 
• Besides the weather, what else can change our emotions? 
• If we can’t change the weather, does that mean we can’t change our emotions, or is it different? 

Question the Premises of the Activity

• Do our emotions really connect to the weather, or is this just a way of speaking? 
• Is there a kind of weather that doesn’t bring up any emotion? What would that mean? 
• Do you think weather is a good way to explain and understand emotions, or is it sometimes misleading? 

Question Normative Assumptions

• Is there such a thing as “good” or “bad” weather? 
• Do storms or other “bad” weather events have an important job? 
• Is there such a thing as “good” or “bad” emotions? 
• Do sadness, anger, or other “bad” emotions have an important job? 
• Can cloudy skies and sadness be as useful as sunshine and happiness? 
• Should people try to change their emotions, or is it better to let them pass like the weather? 

Question Epistemic Condition

• We use tools like thermometers and satellites to know the weather. How do we know our emotions and other people’s emotions? 
• How are these similar and different to how we know the weather?
• If scientists can predict the weather, can we do the same thing for our future emotions?