NJ State Climatologist: Monthly Climate Maps

• This interactive map allows students to explore historical climate data for the state of New Jersey. 
• Students can select any month, back to January of 1997, to locate data on mean temperature, mean minimum, mean maximum, extreme minimum, extreme maximum, precipitation, and snow. 

Positives

• This interactive resource gives students an abundance of information to work with in an easy-to-understand way. 
• This resource is an especially great tool for struggling readers, as they can work with the information without being bogged down by text. 

Additional Prerequisites

• Students should understand the terms mean, maximum, and minimum. 
• A general understanding of the geography of New Jersey might be helpful but is not necessary. 

Differentiation

• Social Studies classes could use this resource to explore and discuss the ways geography and climate intersect. 
• After introducing the data in the resource, have students choose a month and year (e.g., when they were born, when they started school, or when they went on vacation) and have them explore the maps. Conduct a class conversation about what students noticed and wondered about the maps. 
• As an extension, have students compare and contrast two of the same months over several years. What do they notice? What is or is not surprising? 
• Other related resources include this interactive map that shows forests and land use, this interactive map of wind energy infrastructure, and this article about the climate of New Jersey. 

This resource addresses the listed standards. To fully meet standards, search for more related resources.