Air Masses & Fronts Station Lab

This modular, student-led activity will keep your middle schoolers engaged while exploring air masses and fronts. With everything included, you’ll save a ton of prep time while giving your students the opportunity to direct their own learning.

In this interactive lab, students will interpret weather maps that show high and low pressure systems and fronts to identify how global atmospheric patterns influence local weather. Perfect for in-class or virtual learning, this lesson makes weather science relevant and hands-on.

Texas Teachers: This station lab aligns with the 2017 TEKS (not updated for the 2021 TEKS).

Differentiated, Modular, and Student-Centered

Each lab includes eight differentiated core activities plus a bonus challenge station for early finishers. Students work independently or in small groups while teachers guide and facilitate, making the learning environment student-centered.

All signage, resources, and task cards are included. The Explore It! station may require a few simple classroom supplies you likely already have.

The Stations

Input Stations – Build Understanding

• Explore It! – Hands-on demo or digital drag-and-drop in PowerPoint/Google Slides

• Read It! – Differentiated passages (English & Spanish) with comprehension and vocabulary practice

• Research It! – Website-based tasks with facts, visuals, and guided questions

• Watch It! – Short video with comprehension prompts

Output Stations – Show Understanding

• Organize It! – Printable or digital card sorts/manipulatives

• Illustrate It! – Student sketches or diagrams modeling air masses and fronts

• Write It! – Open-ended short-answer prompts

• Assess It! – Task cards + vocabulary-in-context writing

Bonus Station – Challenge It!
Fun extension activities such as crosswords, games, and mini-projects for early finishers and advanced learners

Virtual & In-Class Flexibility

This station lab is fully compatible with Google Slides and PowerPoint, making it simple to implement in both traditional and digital classrooms.

Why Teachers Love It:

• Differentiated for diverse learners

• Multimodal activities that keep students engaged

• Flexible for print or digital use

• Minimal prep required

This resource is also included in the Weather Maps & Air Pressure 5E Lesson Plan, which expands into editable presentations, interactive notebooks, student-choice projects, assessments, and more.

This is a finished product; it will be updated with formatting or corrections as needed. Future improvements and new features will be sold as a separate product.