Our Weather and Water (God's Design for Heaven and Earth) - Using the sections on weather only, our weather unit lasted approximately 10 weeks. We covered topics like atmosphere, water cycle, clouds, precipitation, storms, and weather instruments.
These three weather instruments were easy to make from easily accessible supplies. My second grader learned how to tell wind direction with a wind vane, measure precipitation with a rain gauge, and determine wind speed (no/slow/fast) with an anemometer.
anemometer (measures wind speed)
The weather instruments were the highlight of the unit for my son. However, he did enjoy the other activities as well.
- Layers of the Atmosphere Worksheet - While studying the layers of the atmosphere, students in my co-op class drew various objects found within each atmospheric layer on a worksheet. For instance, precipitation was drawn in Troposphere, and the Northern/Southern Lights were drawn in the Thermosphere.
- Water Cycle Lift the Flap Project - Inspired by this idea, I created a worksheet which followed the basic idea of this lift the flap water cycle.
- Cold Air Activity - Using this activity, students learned about air pressure.
- Cloud Examples - While studying cloud formation, students made their own cloud types out of cotton balls, which were glued to a piece of blue construction paper. (Idea found here.)
- Cloud in a Jar
- Rain in a Jar - This idea was found here.
- Thunder Demonstration - By blowing up a small brown lunch bag and clutching the end shut, we formed a balloon shaped bag. Next we popped the bags. It sounded sharp, a bit like thunder.
- Making Lightning - We tried several ways. This one seemed the most successful.
- Tornado/Hurricane - Using two 2L bottles, a washer, loose glitter, water, and duct tape, we made a storm in a bottle. The students had a blast making the water tornado.
- Weather Report - Each student was given a weather chart and asked to observe the weather for one week. We used these free ones.
- Thermometers - This is one activity, we did not get around to! However, next time, I will be incorporating this homemade one.
- Earth and Space: What Makes It Rain? by Susan Mayes and Sophy Tahta
- It's Raining! by Gail Gibbons
- Pink Snow and Other Weird Weather, by Jennifer Dussling
- Kingfisher Readers: Weather, by Anita Ganeri
- Extreme Weather, by Ann O. Squire
- Little Cloud, by Eric Carle
- The Cloud Book, by Tomie de Paola
- Clouds, by Anne Rockwell
- It's Snowing! by Gail Gibbons
- Snow is Falling, by Franklyn M. Branley
- Community Helpers: Meteorologists, by Sandra J. Christian, M.Ed.
- The Magic School Bus at the Waterworks, by Joanna Cole
- Close to the Wind: The Beaufort Scale, by Peter Malone
- National Geographic Kids: Storms, by Miriam Busch Goin
- The Magic School Bus Kicks Up a Storm: A Book about Weather, by Nancy White
- Tornadoes, by Gail Gibbons
- Twisters! by Lucille Recht Penner
- Tornado Alert, by Franklyn M. Branley
- Wild Weather: Tornadoes! by Lorraine Jean Hopping
- Hurricanes, by Gail Gibbons
- The Magic School Bus: Inside a Hurricane, by Joanna Cole