Sunday, April 3, 2011

Wild About Weather

This was an exciting week in our 1st grade classroom.  As I mentioned earlier in the week, we have been learning about weather.  The kids really seemed to enjoy all of the activities we did.  They already knew a lot about weather and were eager to share their own weather facts and stories.  I have to admit this is the first year I have ever heard the kids talk about a “tsunami”.  I guess they’ve been paying attention to world events.

On Tuesday we learned more about wind.  Being from Kansas we already knew a LOT about wind.  We read Gilberto and the Wind by Marie Hall and then wrote about {good} wind and {bad} wind.   DSCN4630 DSCN4632DSCN4634 

On Wednesday we did a little experiment  to see how rain is made.  With the help of a hot plate we used our imagination and pretended it was the sun heating up.  Then we put a pan full of water on it and pretended it was a lake. weather1We watched closely as the water heated up and began to evaporate.  Just like it does in a lake on a hot day.weather2Then we filled a plate with ice and pretended it was a cold cloud.  We put the cold plate on the pan filled with hot water.  The cold plate caused the moisture in the warm air to condense and form water droplets. This is the same thing that happens in the atmosphere. Warm, moist air rises and meets colder air high in the clouds. weather3Last we carefully lifted the cold plate of ice.  The water vapor condensed on the bottom of the plate and formed precipitation.  We made it rain in our classroom.weather4  We also learned a little more about clouds on Wednesday, too!!  We read a few fun books about clouds and did some creative writing about what a cloud might look like.DSCN4661

We used our imagination and a few cotton balls to make a shape in the sky.  Then we used the following writing prompt . . . to write about what we made.

{Once I looked up in the sky.  I thought I saw a  _______ but it was just a cloud.}DSCN4660

On Thursday we read Thunder Cake by Patricia Pallocco.  Before we read the story we made some predictions about what we thought a Thunder Cake was.  We found out that it was a cake that Patricia made with grandma when she was a little girl.  Like many of us, she was afraid of thunderstorms.  So, her grandma helper her overcome her fear by gathering all of the ingredients and making a cake before a thunderstorm hit.

After we read the story we also got to enjoy some Thunder Cake topped with strawberries thanks to this little cutie {and her mom}.

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We couldn’t even taste the secret ingredient . . . tomatoes!!!

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We wrapped up our week of learning about weather with some rainbow themed activities.  First we met a rainbow expert.  His name is ROY G. BIV and he taught us about the colors of the rainbow.

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Then we read some books about what makes a rainbow.DSCN4696

We also made a torn paper rainbow art project . . .DSCN4706

  AND wrote about what each color of the rainbow reminded us of.DSCN4713DSCN4712

  Our favorite part of the day was when we enjoyed some rainbow Jello cups thanks to these two little cuties and their moms.  They had every color of the rainbow!!!DSCN4708DSCN4710  DSCN4709

We also had fun at our weather themed centers this week reviewing many of the math and language art skills we have been covering in class.weather centers

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

do you think you can email/upload your worksheets/templates? Thanks!

madefor1stgrade said...

They are all available in the weather activities that I have uploaded on TpT. You can check out my other blog for teachers to get a direct link to them.

www.madefor1stgrade.blogspot.com

Kelly

Anonymous said...

thanks so much, I will be sure to get them!

Krissy said...

These are great! Do you have a copy of the poem with the picture of Roy G. Biv? I would love to know what it says! Thanks!!

Anonymous said...

Love your rainbows. I would love to do a few of your ideas with my class. Thanks!

Spring Meadows said...

I'm not sure what this poem says but there is one on the internet:

Roy G. Biv

Roy G. Biv is an

Odd name for a fellow.

But what his name means is:

Red, Orange, Yellow

The G is for Green

Which as you may know

Comes right in the middle

Of every rainbow.

Next: Blue and Indigo

More pale than dark

Then V for violet--

And that completes the arc!

Kate said...

Hi Mrs. Bumgardner

I'm an EFL teacher in Taiwan. I just saw your post of "Wild about weather" and really love these great ideas!! Actually, me and my friends really enjoy reading your blog and appreciating your creative teaching ideas. I am wondering if it is welcome that I share this "Wild about weather" on my page with a photo and a direct link to your blog with other EFL teachers?? It will certainly inspire most of them!

best,
Kate

Anonymous said...

Great weather activities. I love Roy G. Biv. Very cute and a great learning tool!

Unknown said...

Is the Roy G Biv activity and rainbow activity in the Wild about Weather TPT download? It was hard to tell through the description. This is so cute I would love to do it with my first graders.

Thanks,
Karen

Unknown said...

Are the Roy G. Biv and rainbow writing included in the wild about weather packet in TPT? It is difficult to tell from the description. I would love to do these two activities with my first graders, they are so cute.

Thanks!
Karen