"Up" and "Down" in Weather Vocabulary for ESL Students

Among the many phrasal verbs and nouns that learners of the English language will come across in their studies are ones that contain "up" and "down." It seems that there are countless ways to use these two small preposition words in our everyday language. We "count down" to an important event, and "write up" reports for our jobs. When it comes to weather, there are a lot of phrasal verbs to learn, too. It might be "sweltering" or "freezing" outside, or it may even be "raining cats and dogs."

A lesson for English language learners that focuses on phrasal verbs that incorporate both weather and the words "up" and "down" can introduce students to some weather-related vocabulary without overwhelming them with many different types of phrases and nouns associated with weather. Keeping "up" and "down" vocabulary associated with weather together in one lesson can help students better remember and utilize it in their everyday English practice. There is no rhyme or reason to learning phrasal verbs, so learning phrases together by focusing on their common words can be very useful.

Here are a few that English as a Second Language teachers could focus on in their lessons:

brighten up - I'll be glad when it brightens up this afternoon. That storm was horrible.

clear up - The clouds are passing. It's clearing up already.

downpour - The downpour caused a lot of flooding yesterday.

cool down - We are expecting the temperature to cool down this week.

warm up - It's been so cold; we're looking forward to it warming up!

Here are a few other resources that can help students learn some weather-related vocabulary. They're not focused on any one type of weather vocabulary, but they can be good for the student who wants an extra challenge:

There is a great BBC website that answers the question, "What is the difference between rainy and showery?" Some of the vocabulary may be more fit for British English learners than American English students.

This site uses weather-related vocabulary and expands it to other areas of life. This might be most appropriate for students who have a good handle on using the specific vocabulary in the phrases as they relate to weather first.

Here is an interactive crossword puzzle related to weather vocabulary.

For other phrases that use "up" and "down" and that are not related to weather, see the following:

This is a list of some important phrasal verbs that are good for English learners to know. There are several with "up" and "down" in them.

This site focuses on "up" phrases.

You can find interactive an "up" phrase quiz here and a "down" phrase quiz here .