Clouds
Overview: In this lesson, students will begin by listening to children’s stories about clouds, and ends with them making clouds, observing clouds, and recording information about them. The correct terms for certain clouds will also be introduced.
Materials: Little Cloud, Sky Dragon, and It Looked Like Spilt Milk, cotton balls, sheet of blue paper for each student, pencils
Objectives:
Procedure:
1) Read three children’s books.
2) Students share about times when they looked for shapes in the clouds.
3) Teacher shows three dimensional cloud chart made with cotton. Model depicts cumulus clouds (puffy, cauliflower shapes), cirrus (wispy), stratus (sheet of dull gray) and altocumulus (patches of puffy clouds) and cumulonimbus (thunderheads rising up high). Teacher reads, students repeat. Show how cotton balls can be stretched and glued to paper to make cloud shapes.
4) Using the overhead projector, the teacher writes: “Sometimes it looked like a _______, but it wasn’t a ________.” This is from “It Looked Like Spilt Milk.”
5) Students write this on their page and then form their cotton balls into a shape on their paper and fill in the blanks appropriately.
6) Students share if there is time available.
7) Optional: Students create a model for what the cloud type is that day, recording the type on the page also. Next, students can make models of the other cloud types too by taking the blue paper folded to make 4 sections.
Assessment and how this lesson fits into the unit: This lesson fits into the “cloud” portion of the unit. It introduces students to the different types of clouds. It is also a fun way for students to create their own cloud addition to the story. It also gives students practice in sentence writing and also gives them a chance to be creative and have fun at the same time. Students are assessed by the effort put forth in creating an appropriate addition to the story.