Snowflake Bentley
Name: _____________________
Look at the sign on the board. Make an exact copy of it here:
Activity 1
Think about it:
What is snow?
What places on earth get snow? Go to the table beside you and ask a person. Write down their answer here:
Places that get snow: _____________________
What places do not get snow? Go to the table beside you and ask a person. Write down their answer here:
Places that DO NOT get snow: ______________
What season does snow “mostly” come in?
a. summer
b. fall
c. winter
d. spring
What shape are snowflakes?
What would you have to do to be a snowflake expert?
How do snowflakes form?
What are some unique “properties” of snow?
Active Listening:
Next, we are going to read the story Snowflake Bentley. While I am reading to the story you need to listen to figure out why Mr. Bentley is an expert on snowflakes.
Look at the front of the book. What special thing do you notice? (Gold Medal) What do you think that this stands for?
After Reading:
1. Why is Mr. Bentley considered an expert on snowflakes?
2. Write down two challenges that Mr. Bentley faced as he tried to learn about snowflakes:
1. ___________________________________________
2. ___________________________________________
3. Do you think that you would be good at taking pictures of snowflakes? Why or why not?
Creating Unique Snowflakes
We learn in the book that Mr. Bentley expected to find whole snowflakes were the same, but he never did; no one design was ever repeated. We can’t test his theory, but let’s use some paper to make our own snowflakes to see how they are different.
Draw a quick picture of your unique snowflake:
Activity 2
Geography
1. In what stated did this story take place?
a. New York
b. West Virginia
c. Vermont
d. North Carolina
2. Located this state on the map. Think about what it would be like to live there. Would it be hot? Would it be cold?
3. How are winters in this state? Describe it in 3 words
______________, _______________, and _________________
4. Think about it. Why would people want to visit this State?
Winter Topics
For the next activity, I am going to say a “winter” word. I want you to write down the first thing that comes to mind. For example, if I said boots you might say snow.
1. __________________
2. __________________
3. __________________
4. __________________
5. __________________
6. __________________
7. __________________
8. __________________
9. __________________
10. __________________
In this story, Mr. Bentley photographed snowflakes. He had to look very closely to see the “physical characteristics” of snowflakes. We are going to use microscopes to look at objects “close up”.
Directions: Circle all of the geometric shapes that you see.
Slide 1: Triangle Circle Square Rectangle Hexagon
Slide 2: Triangle Circle Square Rectangle Hexagon
Slide 3: Triangle Circle Square Rectangle Hexagon
Slide 4: Triangle Circle Square Rectangle Hexagon
Activity 3
Photo Essay
You are going to create a photo essay. You will randomly draw pictures out of Ms. Webb’s Mystery Box. You will mount this picture in your photo album, and then you will write a one or two sentence “caption” at the bottom to explain what is going on in the picture.
1st Grade: 1 sentence
2nd Grade: 2 sentences
Check out Mrs. Webb’s example. This is actually really fun once you get started!
Name: ________________________________________
Snowflake Bentley
Photo Essay
Date: ______________________
Name: ________________________________________
Snowflake Bentley
Photo Essay
Date: ______________________
Picture
______________________________________________________
______________________________________________________
______________________________________________________
______________________________________________________
______________________________________________________
Picture
______________________________________________________
______________________________________________________
______________________________________________________
______________________________________________________
______________________________________________________
NAME: ____________________________________
Snowflake Bentley Vocabulary
Synonym Sheet
VOCAB WORD SYNONYM
1. microscope
2. pelted
3. moisture
4. experiment
5. evaporate
6. intricate
7. masterpiece
8. failure
9. pneumonia
10. twitched
