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Is the Windy City windy? Talking about the weather with It's

An A1 ESL lesson plan on talking about the weather in English, today and in every season.

Grammar
It's + adjective (It's windy. It isn't hot.), the question What's the weather like?, weather adjectives from nouns with -y (sun, sunny; fog, foggy) and temperatures in °F.
Topic
Chicago, the Windy City, season by season, from snowy January to hot, sunny July, with weather vocabulary such as cloudy, windy, umbrella and scarf.
Activities
A visitor page on Chicago's weather, a dialogue and a radio weather report, self-checking drills, a chat with a friend in Chicago, a spin wheel, open-box questions and a message to write.

What's inside

  1. Chapter 1Hello, Windy City!

    • PictureUnlock
    • Spin the wheel and answerSpin the wheelUnlock
    • Study the words: the weatherVocabularyTry it
    • Look at the pictures and chooseChoose by pictureUnlock

  2. Chapter 2Let's read: Chicago weather

    • Look at the photo: ChicagoPictureUnlock
    • Read the visitor pageReal-life documentTry it
    • Read and mark true or falseTrue or falseUnlock
    • Read again and choose the right answerQuizUnlock

  3. Chapter 3Let's listen: Chicago or San Diego?

    • Listen to Olivia and JackListeningTry it
    • Transcript, for the teacherUnlock
    • Listen and choose the right answerQuizUnlock
    • Listen to the radio: the weather in ChicagoListeningUnlock
    • Transcript, for the teacherUnlock
    • Listen again and choose the right wordChoose the optionUnlock

  4. Chapter 4Grammar: It's windy!

    • Study the scheme: It's sunny! It's windy!Grammar schemeTry it
    • Choose the right wordChoose the optionUnlock
    • Fill in the gaps: make the adjective (sun → sunny)Fill in the gapsTry it
    • Fill in the table: yes, no and questionsFill in the tableUnlock
    • Choose the right sentenceQuizUnlock

  5. Chapter 5Let's talk: what's the weather like?

    • Choose the right replies: a message from OliviaChatTry it
    • Open a box and answerOpen the boxUnlock

  6. Chapter 6Homework

    • Drag the words into the gaps: a weather chatDrag and dropUnlock
    • Match the words and the meaningsMatchUnlock
    • Write a message: the weather in my townWriting, checked by the teacherUnlock
    • Record a voice message: the weather where you liveSpeaking, checked by the teacherUnlock

25 exercises in 6 chapters. Start a 7-day free trial to open all of them, copy any part into your own lessons, and teach the lesson live.

Weather vocabulary

10 words and phrases from the lesson, each with a picture and audio in edio.

+7 more with pictures and audio in the lessonMore words

  • cloudy
  • windy
  • rainy
  • snowy
  • umbrella
  • scarf
  • coat

Grammar: weather adjectives with It's

In English, weather sentences start with it, even though it names nothing: It's windy. Moving through Chicago's four seasons, learners describe the weather with It's and an adjective, ask What's the weather like?, make weather adjectives such as sunny from nouns, and give temperatures in degrees Fahrenheit.

What's the weather like? It's windy!

Talk about the weather with It's + adjective. Say temperatures in °F.

It's + adjective: sunny, windy, cold

The weather takes It's (It is) or It isn't and an adjective: It's sunny today. It isn't hot. It's cool. The it is never left out, and the noun never takes the adjective's place: Is windy and It's wind are both wrong.

The weather: It's + adjective

It's (= It is) / It isn'tsunny, windy, cold, hot…

It's sunny today.

It's cold and windy in Chicago in winter.

It isn't hot. It's cool.

Start with It, then the adjective

The weather needs It: It's windy. (Not: Is windy.) After It's, say the adjective, not the noun: It's windy. (Not: It's wind.)

What's the weather like?

What's the weather like? asks about today or a whole season: What's the weather like in Chicago in winter? It's cold and snowy. A yes/no question puts is before it, and a short answer puts them back in order: Is it windy? Yes, it is. No, it isn't.

QuestionAnswer
What's the weather like today?It's sunny and warm.
What's the weather like in Chicago in winter?It's cold and snowy.
Is it windy?Yes, it is. / No, it isn't.
What's the temperature?It's 75 degrees.

Sun, sunny: adjectives from weather nouns

Weather nouns become adjectives with -y: wind, windy; rain, rainy; cloud, cloudy; snow, snowy. Sun and fog double their last letter first: sunny, foggy. The nouns stay for sentences of their own: The wind is strong.

Noun (a thing)AdjectiveExample
sunsunny (+ n + y)It's sunny. It's a sunny day.
windwindyIt's windy. The wind is strong.
rainrainyIt's rainy. Take an umbrella!
cloudcloudyIt's cloudy. The sky is gray.
snowsnowyIt's snowy. I like snow!
fogfoggy (+ g + y)It's foggy. I can't see the street.

Temperatures in degrees Fahrenheit

In the US, temperatures are in degrees Fahrenheit (°F): It's 75 degrees. It's 20 degrees Fahrenheit. After a number like 75, say degrees, with -s. As a rough guide, 32°F means ice, 75°F is warm and nice, and 90°F is hot.

Temperatures in the US: °F

In the US, temperatures are in degrees Fahrenheit (°F): It's 75 degrees. It's 20 degrees Fahrenheit. 32°F: very cold, ice! 75°F: warm and nice. 90°F: hot!

Common mistakes

  • It is sun.

    It's sunny.

    It's + adjective (sunny), not the noun (sun)

  • Is windy today.

    It's windy today.

    the weather: start with It

  • How is the weather like?

    What's the weather like?

    What's the weather like? or How's the weather? (no like)

  • It's 75 degree.

    It's 75 degrees.

    75 degrees: + s

Try the weather exercises

Try them yourself: these are the same exercises your students do in edio.

More exercises

What's in the lesson

  • 12 auto-checked exercises
  • 2 games
  • 2 teacher-checked tasks
  • 1 real-life document
  • 1 grammar scheme
  • 1 set of word cards
  • 2 audio clips
  • 2 pictures
  • 2 transcripts

The main objectives of this lesson are to:

  • describe the weather with It's and an adjective: It's sunny. It's cold and windy. It isn't hot.
  • ask What's the weather like? and Is it windy?, and answer Yes, it is or No, it isn't
  • turn weather nouns into adjectives with -y: rain, rainy; sun, sunny; fog, foggy
  • give a temperature in degrees Fahrenheit: It's 75 degrees. At night, it's about twenty degrees.

Lesson 5 opens Weather and seasons, the second unit of English A1.2 · Out and About. It builds on lesson 3 of English A1.1 · Hello, World, which taught yes/no questions with be and their short answers, now asked about the weather: Is it windy? Yes, it is. Lesson 6 moves on to questions with does. Chicago's nickname makes Is it windy? the natural first question, and its four very different seasons call for the whole set of weather adjectives.

Students spin a wheel of weather questions, then learn ten words, from blow and feel to umbrella and scarf, with pictures and audio. The reading is a visitor page on Chicago's weather in four seasons, with true-or-false and multiple-choice questions after it. Olivia and Jack compare Chicago with San Diego in an AI-voiced dialogue, and a radio host gives the weather for a cold winter day. After the scheme, four exercises check each answer, among them a gap-fill that turns nouns into adjectives and a table of yes, no and question forms. In the speaking chapter, students reply to Olivia's messages from Chicago, then open boxes about the weather where they live.

Homework begins with two self-checking tasks: a weather chat to complete by dragging words, and words to match with their meanings. Students then write Olivia a message about the weather in their town and record a voice message about it for the teacher.

Grammar:
It's + adjective (weather) · What's the weather like? · Is it windy? Yes, it is. · sun → sunny, wind → windy · degrees Fahrenheit (°F)
Topic:
Chicago · the Windy City · weather · seasons · temperatures

Teaching tips

  • Begin with the real weather: ask What's the weather like today?, write the class's answers on the board and underline the It's that starts each one.
  • Group the -y adjectives by spelling before the gap-fill: four nouns simply add -y, while sun and fog double their last letter.
  • Show a weather app in °F and point at a few temperatures; students read each one aloud as a sentence, It's 75 degrees, and say whether it's hot, warm, cool or cold.
  • Use the radio report as a model: after listening, pairs write a short weather report for their own town, with a temperature, and read it to the class.

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The whole course: English A1.2 · Out and About

32 lessons that pick up where English A1.1 ends, in simple American English, from the present simple with he and she to was and were. Eight units cover shopping, the weather, getting around, celebrations, health, animals and nature, jobs and weekends. Pictures and definitions replace translations, and the practice exercises check themselves.See the course

  1. Unit 1 Shopping

    clothes and colors, he and she in the present simple, sizes and prices, paying in a store

    1. Lesson 1What does she wear on Aloha Friday?Present simple with he, she and it
    2. Lesson 2A basket on wheels?Present simple negatives with don't and doesn't
    3. Lesson 3What size are these boots?What questions and a pair of
    4. Lesson 4Can I try it on? The Santa Fe Indian MarketRequests and permission with Can I and Can you

  2. Unit 2 Weather and seasons

    the weather, seasons and months, the present continuous, how often it rains or snows

    1. Lesson 5 · you're hereIs the Windy City windy?Weather adjectives with It's
    2. Lesson 6Does it rain in the desert?Yes/no questions with does
    3. Lesson 7Baseball at midnight?The present continuous for now
    4. Lesson 8Is it always windy on Mount Washington?Adverbs of frequency and their place

  3. Unit 3 Getting around

    transport, timetables, where places are, tickets with want and need

    1. Lesson 9How do you get to work?By + transport, take the bus and on foot
    2. Lesson 10What time does the ferry leave?Wh- questions with does
    3. Lesson 11Where's the streetcar stop?Between, behind, in front of and across from
    4. Lesson 12Do you need a ticket?Want and need with a noun

  4. Unit 4 Celebrations

    dates and holidays, in and on, party invitations, object pronouns

    1. Lesson 13Why is it called Juneteenth?Ordinal numbers for saying dates
    2. Lesson 14Never on a Sunday? The Rose ParadeIn, on and at for dates and times
    3. Lesson 15Come to our Lunar New Year party!Some and any with plural nouns
    4. Lesson 16Thank you, teacher!Object pronouns me, you, him, her, it, us and them

  5. Unit 5 Healthy me

    the body, how often, at the pharmacy, steps with first and then

    1. Lesson 17Does your back hurt?Hurt and hurts with parts of the body
    2. Lesson 18How often do you walk?How often questions and expressions of frequency
    3. Lesson 19What's the matter?Have and has for health problems
    4. Lesson 20Clean hands in five stepsSequence words with imperatives

  6. Unit 6 Animals and nature

    there is and there are, what animals are doing, parks, a, an and the

    1. Lesson 21Which frog sings its name?There is and there are for what's in a place
    2. Lesson 22What's the bear doing now?Present continuous questions and negatives
    3. Lesson 23Are there any horses on the beach?Questions with is there and are there any
    4. Lesson 24Where do the baby turtles go?A, an and the for first and second mention

  7. Unit 7 Jobs people do

    jobs and workplaces, the present simple and continuous, job interviews, possessive pronouns

    1. Lesson 25Who makes the sounds in movies?Present simple vs present continuous
    2. Lesson 26Nurses on horses?At, in and on with workplaces
    3. Lesson 27Can you be a lifeguard?Verbs with prepositions
    4. Lesson 28Whose hat is this?Possessive pronouns from mine to theirs

  8. Unit 8 Weekend stories and plans

    was and were, how long and how tall, and, but and or, camping food

    1. Lesson 29Why do we have two days off?Was and were, the past of be
    2. Lesson 30How long is a blue whale?How + adjective questions about size
    3. Lesson 31A cow made of butter?And, but and or for joining ideas
    4. Lesson 32What do you need for s'mores?Containers and quantities with of

Questions about this lesson

How do you answer "What's the weather like?"
Answer with It's and a weather adjective: It's sunny. It's cold and windy. It isn't hot, but it's warm. For more detail, add the temperature (It's 75 degrees.) or a place and a season: In Chicago in winter, it's cold and snowy. The question works for today and for a whole season, so What's the weather like in July? is just as natural.
How do you talk about the weather in English?
To talk about the weather in English, make it the subject and use be: It's windy. It isn't cold. Is it snowy? Ask What's the weather like?, answer with an adjective such as sunny, cloudy or rainy, and give the temperature: It's 18 degrees. In the US, that number is in Fahrenheit, so 18 degrees means a very cold day.
How do you make weather adjectives from nouns?
Many weather nouns become adjectives when you add -y: rain, rainy; wind, windy; cloud, cloudy; snow, snowy. A short noun that ends in one vowel and one consonant doubles the consonant: sun, sunny; fog, foggy. In Is the Windy City windy?, an A1 lesson on edio.ai, a gap-fill gives the noun in brackets and asks for the adjective, eight times.
How do you say the temperature in English?
Say It's, the number and degrees: It's 75 degrees. It's 20 degrees Fahrenheit. Ask with What's the temperature?, and keep the -s, since 75 degree is a common slip. In the US, temperatures are in Fahrenheit: 32°F is ice, 75°F is warm and nice, 90°F is hot. The visitor page in the A1 lesson Is the Windy City windy? on edio.ai gives Chicago's January as 19°F to 32°F.
Is it "It's sun" or "It's sunny"?
The right one is It's sunny, because weather after It's takes an adjective. The same goes for every weather word: It's windy, not It's wind; It's cloudy, not It's cloud. Keep the noun for sentences of its own: The sun is hot. The wind is strong. I like snow!
Is it "How is the weather like?" or "What's the weather like?"
Say What's the weather like? or How's the weather?, but don't mix the two: How is the weather like? is wrong. Like belongs with what, and how needs nothing after the weather. Both questions take the same answers: It's cloudy and cool. It's very windy! A chat in Is the Windy City windy?, an A1 lesson on edio.ai, offers How is the weather like there? as a wrong reply.
Why do you say "It's windy" and not "Is windy"?
English sentences need a subject, so weather sentences use an empty it: It's windy today. It's snowy in January. Learners whose own language drops the subject often say Is windy, and that's the slip to watch for. In a question, it moves after the verb but stays: Is it windy? Yes, it is.
What are the basic weather words in English?
The basic weather words are adjectives for the sky and the temperature: sunny, cloudy, windy, rainy, snowy and foggy, then hot, warm, cool and cold. Their nouns are useful too (sun, wind, rain, snow), with the verbs blow (The wind blows a lot.) and feel (I feel cold.). For the clothes, add umbrella, scarf and coat.
How do I teach talking about the weather to beginners?
Start from today's weather outside the window, so the first answer is real: It's cloudy. It isn't cold. Then add What's the weather like in…? for other places and seasons, the -y adjectives, and temperatures. Is the Windy City windy?, an A1 lesson on edio.ai, moves from word cards and a visitor page through a dialogue and a radio report to the scheme, four drills and a chat.
What's a good game for practicing weather vocabulary?
A spin-the-wheel game of weather questions gets everyone talking: a student spins, answers in a full sentence, then asks the next player. Prompts such as What's the weather like today?, Do you like windy days? and What's your favorite season? suit beginners. This lesson's wheel opens with them, and its open boxes later ask It's 90°F. Is it hot or cold?
What's good homework for practicing the weather in English?
Good homework is a short message about the weather where you live, today and in winter: Today, it's cloudy and cool. It's 55 degrees. In winter, it's cold and rainy, but it isn't snowy. A voice message practices the same sentences aloud. In the A1 lesson Is the Windy City windy? on edio.ai, both follow a drag-and-drop weather chat and a word-matching game that check themselves.
Are there interactive exercises for weather adjectives?
Yes: gap-fills and chats that check every answer suit weather adjectives well. This page plays four parts of Is the Windy City windy?, an A1 lesson on edio.ai, with no account: the Chicago visitor page, a dialogue comparing Chicago and San Diego, a gap-fill that turns sun into sunny and fog into foggy, and a chat with a friend in a cold, windy Chicago. The other exercises are locked.
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