#396. Clouds

Science, level: Elementary
Posted Fri Jun 11 11:47:33 PDT 1999 by Genny Van Dorn ().
Black Hawk Elementary, Waterloo, U.S.A.
Materials Required: access to Internet, paper, pencil, blue shower curtain, fiber fill
Activity Time: 10 lessons of 45 minutes each (at least)
Concepts Taught: clouds-identify, height, possible weather

Clouds

Objectives:
To learn how to use the Internet as a static information collection tool
To enhance the water cycle benchmark
To enhance the literature stories on the weather
To learn how to use the calculator
To learn the 3 types of clouds, height and possible weather

Preparation Steps:

1. Locate sites on clouds and bookmark them. They're listed in the daily
lessons.
2. Create 4 graphic organizers-KWL chart, Scavenger Hunt, written report, and
comparison chart . These are on the following page.

2. Graphic organizers:
KWL Chart:
Clouds

Name__________________________________Date_______________________

What you know What you want to know What you learned

Scavenger Hunt on the Internet:

Name_____________________________Date____________________

Directions for Scavenger Hunt:

Listed here are some bookmarks for you to use.
Observing Clouds
Clouds
Clouds
Dan's Wild Weather Page Clouds
PSC Meteorology Program Cloud Boutique

Use these to fill in your Scavenger Hunt worksheet.

If you don't find all your needed information here, you may need to use the encyclopedia or ask for more sites.

______________ Cloud

__________________________________________________________________
Written report on the cloud:

Name_____________________________Date____________________

A cloud is ____________________________________________________

___________________________________________________. The three types of

clouds are_________________, ____________________, and ________________.

One cloud is ____________________________. It looks like __________________

______________________________________. ___________________ is ______

feet/ __________miles from the ground.

The weather one can expect when seeing

this cloud is ________________________

_________________________. This is

what my cloud looks like.

Compare the Three Types of Clouds

Name_______________________________________Date__________________

Compare the Three Types of Clouds

What conclusion can you make from this chart? _____________________________

______________________________________________________________ ?
3. Implementation

A. Teacher will model how to go to the bookmarks and use the graphic
organizers.

B. Students will be assessed on knowledge of clouds and what they want to
learn about clouds.

C. Teacher will help students in pairs to use the bookmarks, read the
information, and fill in the first graphic organizer.

D. Students will fill in second organizer with partner and present a written and
oral report.

E. Students will as a group make a mural of their clouds.

F. Students will compare the the attributes of the clouds.

Overview of Project

This project will be used with 20+ third grade students in a classroom that has 1 computer connected to the Internet. This will be their first experience on the Internet. In language arts students will read 4 stories on weather. They are Bringing the Rain to Kapiti Plain, Tornado Alert, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, and Storm in the Night. The water cycle will be taught in science. In math we will be learning to divide and use calculators.

The sites for the Internet are at the end of the lesson plans. There is a parent letter with these sites, so children can use it at home.

The KWL chart will be completed before we start this unit. A list of clouds was prepared and students were assigned in pairs to do a Scavenger Hunt on a cloud with teacher help. The sites were bookmarked. Students would write the needed information on the graphic organizer. They would use calculators to change feet into miles. Then they would do the a written report with their partner. This would be orally presented to the class. Finally the partners would take fiber fill and make a cloud similar to theirs and place it at the correct height on a blue plastic shower curtain which has been marked off in miles. The students could add objects that would be at various heights such as airplanes, hot air balloons, and birds. To assess this, the students would use their reports, the mural, and memory of the oral reports to fill in a comparison chart(graphic organizer).

Daily Lesson Plans

Day 1

Read and discuss Bringing the Rain to Kapiti Plain. Stress author's purpose and main idea of story. (entertain and how Kipat got it to rain) What was important in the story?(a cloud)

Day 2

Read and discuss Tornado Alert. Stress author's purpose and main idea of story. (inform and how tornadoes are formed and what to do in case of a tornado)

Day 3

Read and discuss Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs. Stress author's purpose and main idea of story. (entertain and how food falling from the sky affected the lives of people)

Day 4

Read and discuss Storm in the Night. Stress author's purpose and main idea of story. (entertain and storms are scary even to adults)

Day 5

Discuss how all the stories are alike. (talk about weather, clouds) Ask where information about weather and clouds can be found.(encyclopedia, science books, weather books, Internet) Ask students if they have Internet at home, and if so, do how do they use it. Explain what the Internet is. Fill in the the first two columns of the KWL. chart . Talk about the graphic organizer for the research project. Show how to use bookmarks.

Days 6,7,and 8

With teacher help, pairs of students will do a scavenger hunt of one of the clouds- cirrus, cirrocumulus, cirrostratus, altostratus, altocumulus, stratocumulous, cumulus, cumulonimbus, status, or nimbostratus. Then they could start writing their written reports.

A simple description of clouds and their heights are given in Observing Clouds.
http://paos.colorado.edu/~wxp/labs/localobs/ObservingClouds.html

In Clouds the following clouds are discussed altocumulus, altostratus, cirrus, cirrostratus, cumulonimbus, cumulus, nimbostratus, stratocumulus, and stratus
http://www.urich.edu/~ed344/97/weather/clouds.html

When using Athena Curriculum Weather(clouds) site, information on what clouds are, the three types cirrus, cumulus, stratus of clouds, descriptions of cirrus, cumulus, stratus, cumulonimbus, Nimbus, nimbostratus and pictures of some of the clouds.
http://athena.wednet.edu/curric/weather/pricloud/index.html

Dan's Wild Wild Weather Page- Clouds defines a cloud, how clouds are formed, and a chart on height and characteristics of clouds.
http://www.whnt19.com/kidwx/clouds.htm
PSC Meteorology Program Cloud Boutique Gives cloud classification such as altitude, appearance, or origin. It also has pictures.
http://vortex.plymouth.edu/clouds.html

Weather Watchers is a site that students could go for fun after the project is over to find out weather in different regions of the world.
http://www.itdc.sbcss.k12.ca.us/curriculum/weather.html

Science K-2 lessons plans site could be used to teach other weather basics.
http://www.c-com.net/~kboyle1/home.html

In Excite Reference: Almanac: Encyclopedia classifies the clouds and gives position in the atmosphere.
http://www.excite.com/reference/almanac/?id=CE011572

Cloudy Skies: Learn how to identify the clouds groups clouds according to position in sky.
http://www.cloudyskies.net/clouds.html

Cloud Photos show the clouds found in the above site.
http://www.cloudyskies.net/photos.html

Ask Jeeves tells about low, middle, and high clouds. You will need to search for clouds.
http://www.askjeeves.com/

UIUC Cloud Catalog give information about the clouds in the 3 positions of the sky.
http://covis.atmos.uiuc.edu/guide/clouds/

Clouds gives a description of how clouds look.
http://www.angelfire.com/ky/CLOUDS/

Clouds gives a poem about the clouds and pictures of clouds.
http://www.uwf.edu/~coehelp/studentaccounts/mmerritt/melynda.html

CR | Weather | Meet Clouds by Name gives definitions of clouds.
http://chainreaction.asu.edu/weather/clouds.html

Day 9

Finish writing report. Use calculator to figure miles. Students will give oral reports.

Day 8

Students will make a model of their cloud using fiber fill and place it on the blue shower curtain in the correct position. This would hang in room for students to learn more.

Day 9

As a class finish filling out the KWL chart. Discuss.

Day 10

Students take last comparison graphic organizer and compare the clouds. Assess this.
Dear Parents,

These are some of the web sites we are using to find out what a cloud is, what different clouds look like and the distance different clouds are from the ground. I have given a brief description of each site. I hope those of you that have Internet can help your child find some of the following sites:

A simple description of clouds and their heights are given in Observing Clouds.
http://paos.colorado.edu/~wxp/labs/localobs/ObservingClouds.html

In Clouds the following clouds are discussed altocumulus, altostratus, cirrus, cirrostratus, cumulonimbus, cumulus, nimbostratus, stratocumulus, and stratus
http://www.urich.edu/~ed344/97/weather/clouds.html

When using Athena Curriculum Weather(clouds) site, information on what clouds are, the three types cirrus, cumulus, stratus of clouds, descriptions of cirrus, cumulus, stratus, cumulonimbus, Nimbus, nimbostratus and pictures of some of the clouds.
http://athena.wednet.edu/curric/weather/pricloud/index.html

Dan's Wild Wild Weather Page- Clouds defines a cloud, how clouds are formed, and a chart on height and characteristics of clouds.
http://www.whnt19.com/kidwx/clouds.htm

PSC Meteorology Program Cloud Boutique Gives cloud classification such as altitude, appearance, or origin. It also has pictures.
http://vortex.plymouth.edu/clouds.html

Weather Watchers is a site that students could go for fun after the project is over to find out weather in different regions of the world.
http://www.itdc.sbcss.k12.ca.us/curriculum/weather.html

Science K-2 lessons plans site could be used to teach other weather basics.
http://www.c-com.net/~kboyle1/home.html

In Excite Reference: Almanac: Encyclopedia classifies the clouds and gives position in the atmosphere.
http://www.excite.com/reference/almanac/?id=CE011572

Cloudy Skies: Learn how to identify the clouds groups clouds according to position in sky.
http://www.cloudyskies.net/clouds.html

Cloud Photos show the clouds found in the above site.
http://www.cloudyskies.net/photos.html

Ask Jeeves tells about low, middle, and high clouds. You will need to search for clouds.
http://www.askjeeves.com/

UIUC Cloud Catalog give information about the clouds in the 3 positions of the sky.
http://covis.atmos.uiuc.edu/guide/clouds/

Clouds gives a description of how clouds look.
http://www.angelfire.com/ky/CLOUDS/

Clouds gives a poem about the clouds and pictures of clouds.
http://www.uwf.edu/~coehelp/studentaccounts/mmerritt/melynda.html

CR | Weather | Meet Clouds by Name gives definitions of clouds.
http://chainreaction.asu.edu/weather/clouds.html

If you find other sites that would be good to use, please let me know.

Sincerely,

Third Grade Teachers