Science is probably one of my favorite subjects to teach. I love it when kids' eyes shine with delight as they make new and wonderful scientific discoveries.
So...I wanted to share with you my latest labor of love ... a science and interactive reading booklet about clouds. Seriously, are you as obsessed with teaching science and reading as I am?
First I started drawing some clipart of clouds.
Then, realizing just how cool clouds were, I designed ... this fun and engaging Clouds Unit! You can get it at my TeachersPayTeachers store by clicking HERE.
Let me tell you a little about it. The unit starts off with...
This interactive book teaches about clouds.
Print the pages out, cut along the dotted lines and staple together. The cover is a really cool flip up cloud!
Each page has a diagram, some information about clouds, and an "add this to the diagram" part to keep kids engaged in the information. For example instructions might say "Draw a plane with a contrail in the sky" or " Draw rain coming from the thick, heavy stratocumulus clouds."
Okay - and I have to admit - I really like the top-of-the-page tabs. And the little "lift the tab" on the front cover. It gives this book that extra little bit of bling that I think your kids will love.
Because I think writing goes hand in hand with reading, I have included a variety of fun writing activities.
They include :
Things I wonder about clouds...
Clouds are, have, can...
Writing an acrostic poem about clouds...
What do you think is the most interesting thing about clouds and why?...
And more!
There are 6 engaging passages with comprehension questions. There are a variety of questions for each passage.
For some questions, the answers come directly from the text.
Others, however, require some inferential thought or ask students to "explain in their own words" some of the ideas from the reading. This will allow your kiddos to demonstrate their true understanding of the topics they have read about - which, in and of itself, is a good thing, right?
Then I got in the "search for pictures to demonstrate what clouds look like" mode.
So I designed some posters.
There are two types of posters. The first type has real pictures of clouds and their descriptions. The second type has colorful drawings of clouds with accompanying descriptions (I had a lot of fun drawing these).
In addition, there are Word Wall cards. These cards have real pictures of clouds on them.
You could use the cards on a word wall.
Or put them in a word chart.
Or maybe use them like a deck of cards - pull one out and see who can give a description for that cloud type.
Or maybe cut the picture and cloud name apart, and have kids match them back together. The pictures on these cards match the ones on the posters, so kids could use the posters to check their work.
Finally, why not wrap up your clouds unit by actually making fog in the classroom?
Now I have to admit that when I first tried this I was hoping to create a gigantic cloud bank in the classroom. But - sad sigh - I only got a little puff of fog in the jar. But hey, it was fog! And it was so cool to see it suddenly appear! So I'm good with that.
This pack is for sale at my Teachers Pay Teachers store. Click => CLOUDS - A fun science/reading unit .
So what about you? Do you have a favorite science unit that you like to teach?Or tips and tricks that have worked for you? Please comment below if you'd like to share!
