Air & Weather Freebies, Day 1 – Clouds

Welcome to the first of four days of Air & Weather freebies!  Today’s focus is all about clouds!

Living in the Pacific Northwest, clouds can be found almost every day in the spring, which is why it’s the perfect time to teach this unit.  One of the first things we do is fill out the first two columns of this KWL chart about clouds {courtesy of Kristen Smith}:

Once I have gathered data about what students already know, we move onto gathering more information.  Some of my favorite cloud books:

Some people see animals and pictures in clouds.  The ancient Greeks believed that Hermes, the messenger of the gods, once stole the sun’s cattle, which were clouds. In this unique picture book, Tomie introduces some of the most common types of clouds, as well as the myths and legends inspired by their shapes.  Simple, whimsical illustrations show the variations in shape and color that herald changes in the weather.

The clouds drift across the bright blue sky–all except one. Little Cloud trails behind. He is busy changing shapes to become a fluffy sheep, a zooming airplane, and even a clown with a funny hat.

Clouds come in all sorts of types, including cumulus, cumulonimbus, stratus, and cirrus. Learn how to tell each cloud type apart.

The white shape silhouetted against a blue background changes on every page. Is it a rabbit, a bird, an ice-cream cone, or just spilt milk? In this childhood classic, kids are kept guessing until the surprise ending, and they’re encouraged to improvise similar games of their own.

Last year we made this booklet for clouds {courtesy of Traci Clausen}:

I’m not going to lie – these books are a bit thick once the cotton balls are added, but the kids LOVE them!  If you’re looking for something a little bit simpler, we’ve also made these in the past to fit in our science notebooks:

You can also do a variation of this with a flip-flap book:

I love to tie Science in with my other subject areas.  Since second graders always need practice writing paragraphs, clouds make a great topic.  I have the kids organize the information they want to share on a web before we start writing our first drafts:

Need something extra?  Something special and eye-catching?  Check out this craft {courtesy of First Grade Blue Skies}:

Looking for something a little different?  My students created these torn paper collages after reading, It Looked Like Spilt Milk:

Need a little science experiment?  Have your students watch the clouds until it rains:

{Source: Reading Confetti}

Once my kiddos can distinguish between the different types of clouds, I have them use their cloud viewers each day.  We record the data each day and graph it at the end of our unit.

Click on the picture below for today’s freebies:

Need a weather calendar?  Here’s one we have used to track the weather and temperature daily.  You could also use it to track the types of clouds.  Just click on the picture below to grab a blank copy:

I hope you have gathered some great resources.  Come back again tomorrow for more freebies!