Weather affects us every day. It determines what clothes we wear, what vehicles we may or may not drive, and if we spend the day outdoors or indoors. Weather can bring wonderful things like plentiful crops that we can enjoy in abundance as well as devastating things like droughts which leave many people hungry. Behind all the wonders of weather, we can see God at work and trust that He is using the weather to carry out His plan and purpose. Sometimes it is hard to understand this, like when a hurricane destroys a whole city, but as Christians we know that while sin is evident in the whole, God never leaves us or forsakes us. 

                The 8^th grade teaching team believes weather holds important messages students in Middle School can learn to help them become knowledgeable Christians who are able to work competently in Christ’s kingdom. The subject of weather consists of a large amount of topics, many of which students encounter directly in their lives. Students will learn about weather patterns, kinds of weather, mathematics used in weather, and how weather affects our world significantly both in the past and the present. Students can see where weather played significant roles in Bible Times and how we can see God through the weather in our lives today. Different kinds of weather produce different emotions in students; just as weather can represent different things in literature, is used in a variety of ways in music and is monitored through a range of technologies. Physical activities, like sports are scheduled based on the weather, and it is important that students learn not only different activities to do in various kinds of weather but also how to stay safe in severe weather situations. Students can also see how weather impacts them socially, allowing them to rejoice in good times and to support others in hard times.

                To help students further recognize the influence of weather in their lives and how interconnected it is to most areas of life. The final project for this two-and-a-half-week unit will synthesize the knowledge students have acquired in their various classes. Students will form teams that report news dealing with the weather, including weather reports (such as forecast and probabilities), human interest pieces, facts on weather, and current weather events. We intend that our students will be engaged and challenged to discover how important weather is to them. We also desire our students to have a deeper understanding of our sovereign God. “Sing to the Lord with thanksgiving: singing praises to our God on the lyre, who covers the heavens with clouds, who provides rain for the earth, who makes grass grow on the mountains” we read in Psalm 147:4-8. God is in control over everything. Through the weather, we see one way God’s hand is working in our everyday lives.