Writing Poems about Clouds

Combining Science and Language Arts

To help children get ready to write a poem(s) about clouds students should first observe clouds in the sky (read yesterday's blog post here) and if possible read some books (fiction or non-fiction) about clouds and observe cloud pictures.

Suggested Formats for Poems

Format 1 - Descriptive Poem

~ Review the names of different types of clouds and their descriptions (read yesterday's blog post here)
~ Brainstorm adjectives used to describe clouds.
~ Brainstorm verbs that are related to clouds and cloud movement.

Format for poem:

• 1st line: Name of cloud
• 2nd line: 3 adjectives that describe the cloud
• 3rd line: 3 verbs related to the cloud
• 4th line: a phrase about the cloud
• 5th line: name of cloud or synonym
• Draw a cloud around the poem!

Format 2 - Acrostic Poem

Use the letters of the word to begin each line in the poem.

C
L
O
U
D
S

Format 3 - Haiku (Japanese Poem)

The topic must be about nature. It has 3 lines.

• 1st line: 5 syllables
• 2nd line: 7 syllables
• 3rd line: 5 syllables

Format 4 - Couplet


2 line poem that usually rhymes


Format 5 - Free Verse

poetry that does not include a patterned rhyme or rhythm

Format 6 - Syllable Cinquain

5 lines

• 1st line: 2 syllables
• 2nd line: 4 syllables
• 3rd line: 6 syllables
• 4th line: 8 syllables
• 5th line: 2 syllables

As a follow up, students could illustrate their poems with pencils, paints, or other arts and crafts materials.




Have fun!

Observing Clouds and Other Cloud Activities

 Observing Clouds

Scientists use the skill of OBSERVATION to learn about new things.

OUTDOOR ACTIVITY

• Take the students outside to OBSERVE and STUDY CLOUDS.
• If binoculars are available students could also use the binoculars to observe the clouds.
• Have students SKETCH pictures of the clouds that they observe in their science notebooks (or they could use drawing or computer paper).
• Have students WRITE brief descriptions of the clouds observed or they could LIST some adjectives that describe the clouds.
• If cameras are available have students take pictures of clouds.

INDOOR Follow Up ACTIVITY

• Discuss with students that clouds are made up of water droplets in the atmosphere. 

• Discuss the 3 BASIC types of clouds. (CUMULUS,CIRRUS, STRATUS)

                   Cumulus - puffy white clouds with a flat bottom   
                   Cirrus - wispy strands high in the sky
                   Stratus - thick horizontal layers of usually gray clouds that blanket the sky

• If science books, cloud books, or the internet are available, students could view pictures and read about the different types of clouds.

• Next have students view their sketches (from earlier) to see if they can IDENTIFY and  LABEL any of the clouds that they observed outside.

Follow-up with some arts and crafts fun!

• Students could tear pieces of white paper to look like the clouds they saw outside and glue the clouds on blue paper.

• Student could use white cotton balls to make clouds on construction paper.

• Students could illustrate and label pictures of the different types of clouds on drawing paper or in their science notebooks.

Other Activities

• Older students could download any pictures that they took with a camera. Then they could identify and sort the cloud pictures into the 3 BASIC types, and make a booklet or slide show with the cloud pictures.

• Older students could research ALL the cloud types: cumulus, stratus, cirrus, nimbostratus, altostratus, cirrostratus, cumulonimbus, altocumulus, cirrocumulus, and stratocumulus. They could write a description for each type and find or sketch an illustration. They could make a poster, booklet, or slide show to demonstrate what they learned.

• Students could view a slide show by Scholastic Study Jams about Clouds and Precipitation, then complete the online quiz. 

                   ~ Click here: Clouds and Precipitation Slide Show

Have fun learning about clouds!

Make a Rain Gauge

Meteorologists use Weather Instruments to measure different weather elements.  A very easy weather instrument that young student meteorologists can make is a RAIN GAUGE.

A Rain Gauge measures the amount of rain that falls.

Materials

• empty dry can (Have an adult remove the lid and make sure there are no sharp edges.)
• ruler

Directions

• Place the ruler inside the can.
• Place the rain gauge outside.
• Check the rain gauge once per day and using the ruler note and record the amount of water in the can.
• Record this data (information) on a chart or in a science notebook.
• Empty the rain gauge each day.

This activity can be followed up with multiple math lessons. Students can total the amount of rain that fell in a week or month. They can compare and contrast the amount of rain on different days or weeks. They can find the average rainfall per day for a week or month. Students can note which day or week had the most rain or least rain. Students could graph the data. Older students could find the mean (average), median, and mode.

Have fun with science!

Magic School Bus Books and Video on Storms

The Magic School Bus Books are a good resource when teaching a science unit with kids.

The Magic School Bus Kicks Up a Storm, a Book about Weather is a resource that you can use and they also have a coloring and activity book.








The book is also available on video!

Here's a link to the video on the Gamequarium website.


~ Magic School Bus Kicks Up a Storm Video






Another weather related book in this series that children might enjoy is The Magic School Bus Inside a Hurricaine.





Have fun learning with Ms. Frizzle!

Weather Books for Kids PreK - 8

There are lots of good books for kids to read to learn about the WEATHER as well as many good read-alouds.

Here is a small sampling:

Weather by Pamela Chanko (PreSchool)



It Looked Like Spilt Milk (Pre-School)




Oh Say Can You Say What's the Weather Today? (Grade K and up)




 The Cloud Book by Tomie dePaola (Grade K and up)






Weather Words and What They Mean by Gail Gibbons (Grades 1 - 3)







The Magic School Bus - Twister Trouble (Chapter Book - Grade 2 and up)







 Weather - DK Eyewitness Book (Grades 3-8)





Weather by Seymour Simon (Grades 3-8)

  Enjoy!

Weather Word Search Puzzle

Most kids like completing Word Search Puzzles. Word Searches are also a good way to INTRODUCE or REVIEW important VOCABULARY for a unit of study.  My website, Learning Workroom, has a FREE Word Search on WEATHER that you can download and print.
 

Click Here: http://www.LearningWorkroom.com

Go to: FREE Worksheets

Weather Unit Introduction

With a new month and a new year (wow!), I'm beginning a new topic for this blog. This month we'll explore WEATHER and CLIMATE!

Weather is all around us. Meteorologists are always predicting the weather and people are always talking about the weather. It certainly is an important topic!

KWL CHART

One way to start a new topic is to create a KWL Chart (a 3 column list) with your students.

Weather

1. In the 1st column, list what the students think they Know about the topic.
2. In the 2nd column, list what they Wonder about the topic. (They can list their questions about the topic here.)
3. Save the chart until the topic/unit is complete.  At that time the students and teacher together can fill in the 3rd column by listing what the children have Learned.

You can visit Learning Workroom's Website for a FREE KWL Chart to download.


Click here: http://www.LearningWorkroom.com
Go to: Free Worksheets

Sometimes children confuse the terms WEATHER and CLIMATE. Here's a great video by Scholastic Study Jams that explains both terms and introduces students to the elements of weather and the different climate zones. There is also a quick quiz children can take after they watch the video.

~ Weather and Climate Video 


Hope the kids will have fun learning about weather and climate.