PBS Teachers™
Science Theme: Weather
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 Go to more science and transportation related thematic units: Science and Transportation Themes Go to thematic units for all subjects: The Monthly Theme Archive |
View:
Caillou - "All Kinds of Weather"
Puppets: Teddy, who is a bit annoyed with the weather, tells Rexy, in a flippant manner, that the
sky is leaking. Rexy hurries to Gilbert to see what they should do. Gilbert explains about the
weather. Rexy has never seen or heard of snow and wonders why on earth the sky goes to all that
trouble. Gilbert explains it's to make the things below it grow. Rexy wonders if it helps Dinosaurs
and Gilbert answers that maybe it does.
George Shrinks - "Small of the Wild"
A wild winter storm has knocked out the power in the Shrinks household. And a tree had fallen in the yard leaving some of the tree-dwelling animals without food or shelter. George and Becky set out into the elements to help their furry friends weather the storm.
Do in Class:
Arthur: Rainy Days - Develop creative skills while exploring the characteristics of rain.
Arthur: Rain Project - Explore rainy-day activities, create poems, pictures and stories about the rain and design a book to store rain predictions and observations.
Arthur: Snow Globes - Make your own snow storm in a jar.
Dragonfly TV: Cloud in a Bottle - Create a cloud in a bottle with this online activity.
Dragon Tales: Coping with the fear of thunder - Talk about thunder and other sounds you might hear.
Dragon Tales: Under the Weather - Discuss different types of weather, what to wear, and what to do.
It's a Big Big World: What's it Like Outside? - Examine pictures of the outdoors and describe the weather that is depicted. Discuss how weather influences the types of clothes people wear outside.
Jay Jay The Jet Plane: Let's Think About... Weather - Try four hands-on activities to
help young children learn about weather.
Reading Rainbow: Bringing the Rain to the Kapiti Plain - Conduct an experiment to find
out if raindrops come in different sizes.
Reading Rainbow: Come a Tide - Make a mini weather station.
ZOOM: ZOOMsci - Tornado in a Bottle - Make a tornado with plastic soda bottles.
Play Online:
Caillou: Dress Caillou - Help Caillou dress appropriately for given weather conditions.
Read:
Cloud Dance
Thomas Locker
Published September 2000 by Harcourt
Anyone familiar with Locker's previous books knows what to expect with a book devoted to clouds. His illustrations resemble the work of the Hudson River painters. Children 4-8 can follow two figures, one old, one young, as they move through a landscape dominated by clouds at different times of the day and under different weather conditions. An appendix provides general information about clouds and images of different cloud types.
Rain
By Manya Stojic
Published May 2000 by Crown Books for Young Readers
"It was hot." So begins Stojic's colorful tale of the rain returning to the African savanna. In
succession, animals use different senses to anticipate the rain. When it comes, life flourishes,
and when it stops and the savanna bakes once again. The last page echoes the first, making this
book for children 4-8 a powerful introduction to cycles in nature.
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