Editorial/Art Director Karen Sevaly Graphic Designers Yvonne McElhenny Debbie Schultz Look for the entire series of Teachers Friend Early Childhood Theme Books at your local school supplier. Copyright 2001 All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America ISBN 0-439-50009-5 Reproduction of these materials for commercial resale or distribution to an entire school or school/library district is strictly prohibited. Pages may be duplicated for one individual classroom set only. Materials may not be reproduced for other purposes without the prior written permission of the publisher. Early Childhood Thematic Book: Weather Teacher's Friend, a Scholastic Company Table of Contents How to Use This Book . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3 Everything You Need to Know About The Weather . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7 Literature List . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9 Dictation and/or Creative Writing Page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10 Clip Art Page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11 Awards and Certificates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12 Songs, Poems and Fingerplays . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13 Activities and Games . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16 Patterns and Crafts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .33 Bulletin Board Ideas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .38 My Book About The Weather! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .40 Goodies to Make and Eat! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .45 At Home with The Weather! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .48 About the Author Christine Clemente Stack is from a suburban community in upstate New York. She holds permanent certification as a Special Education Teacher. As an educator for over twelve years, she has had the opportunity to spend many hours dedicated to the encouragement and enhancement of the development of young children. She has been engaged in several professional opportunities, including teacher, supervisor, presenter/trainer, facilitator, collaborator, mentor, Early Intervention Specialist, and Child Development Specialist. Her most rewarding aspect of each position has been the time spent with children and their families. She encourages you to enjoy this book and hopes that it will help you to better serve each young child in your care. Safety Warning! Parents and professionals should use their best judgment to determine whether a particular idea or suggestion would be appropriate to use with an individual child or group of children. It is important that children only use materials and products labeled child-safe and non-toxic. Small children should always be supervised by a competent adult and youngsters must never be allowed to put small objects or art materials in their mouths. Please consult the manufac- turers safety warnings on all materials and equipment used with young children. When using food products, make sure that you take into consideration any childrens allergies or food restrictions. Make sure that you take special note of the beliefs, values, and culture of the families you serve. 2 Early Childhood Thematic Book: Weather Teacher's Friend, a Scholastic Company INTRODUCTION 3 This 48 page thematic book about the weather contains a collection of skill-based activities and ideas for children ages 3 to 6 years. The ideas and suggestions are based on the philosophy of developing the whole child through play, exploration and varied experiences. These activities should enhance the childs ability to develop communication, motor/physical, cognitive, social/emotional, and adaptive/self-help skills. The teacher should approach and implement the activities in a way that takes into consideration each childs individual needs and abilities. Many of the activities have been organized to meet the criteria of the interest areas (centers) found in most early childhood classrooms. They include: Art and Crafts Library/Writing Dramatic Play Housekeeping Math and Manipulatives Sand and Water Outdoor Play Music and Movement Computer Center Blocks and Building Table Toys Cooking and Nutrition Opportunities to develop pre-literacy and literacy skills should be apparent in every center in the classroom. Using the activities in this book, children can explore the basic concepts of color, shape, number, quantity and position that naturally occur in a stimulating, early childhood environment. It is essential for early childhood educators to build each childs vocabulary every day. It is one of the basic components needed by children in order for them to become successful learners and literate adults. In almost every activity throughout the day, there will be an occasion to incorporate information related to basic language concepts. With this book, one will discover activities and games which will allow the children to explore ideas and vocabulary which will help them develop essential skills. HOW TO USE THIS BOOK This resource book includes an array of ideas, activities and reproducible pages that you and other early childhood educators can utilize to develop stimulating activities around a given theme. The graphics, clip art, game ideas and other reproducible pages throughout the book are meant to be copied for individual classroom use. You may adapt or modify the ideas or instructions to best meet the developmental level of the children you serve. As a time saver, protect your work by laminating the products or placing the reproducible pages in plastic page protectors. The following describes each section and some helpful tips and hints regarding how to implement the ideas into your curriculum: Everything You Need to Know About This section includes a number of interesting facts or points about the weather in general. It also includes a list of websites that may be used as a resource for additional information on the topic. Dictation and/or Creative Writing Page Use this page for children to write their own words or stories. Make several copies and place them in your writing center with appropriate writing tools. Clip Art There are many uses for these cute, simple thematic illustrations. Each graphic can be enlarged or reduced to meet your individual needs. You can use the clip art illustrations in the following ways: In newsletters and notes In rebus recipe charts In thank you notes On rebus stories or letters On song charts On homemade games In experiential charts or books In each center or area With your calendar As part of your routine chart On charts and bulletin boards On rewards/certificates Library and Writing Early Childhood Thematic Book: Weather Teacher's Friend, a Scholastic Company 4 Awards and Certificates Use these cute, thematic certificates to reward children or thank volunteers. You can use the awards to: Recognize accomplishments Praise good deeds Identify strengths Recognize good sportsmanship Support teamwork Thank volunteers Acknowledge acts of kindness Support positive behavior Acknowledge good choices Thematic Literature List This list of childrens literature with the theme of the weather includes books to read to the class, picture books, and books for beginning readers. A list of vocabulary words pertinent to the theme of the weather is also included. Here are a few tips for reading books aloud: Select good, well written and illustrated books Position yourself so that each child can see the book Review some of the words in the book before you read it Change the intonation of your voice to dramatize the story Read leaving words out to elicit responses from children Point out beginning consonant sounds (phoneme) and connect it with the letter (symbol) Comment on words that rhyme Point out the title, author and illustrator Point to words from left to right and top to bottom, etc. Keep the children on track - listening to the story Ask "wh" questions - "what, where, why, when" Expand on the concepts in the book in other centers Repeat readings of the same story Songs, Poems and Fingerplays Songs and fingerplays are an essential piece of an early childhood curriculum. These simple thematic jingles are set to familiar childrens songs. Short poems and fingerplays are also included in this section. They help children to learn about the rhythm and rhyme of our language. (Copies of the songs and poems can be shared with parents and used at home.) The songs can be written on large poster board so that children, families and volunteers can follow along. Clip art pictures can be added in place of words to create a rebus song chart. Develop a song basket filled with copies of each song. (Song cards can be made by copying each song to a large index card. Glue a clip art pic- ture to the back of each card and laminate for durability. Place the song cards in a large basket for children to easily select a song they wish to sing.) Activities and Games These skill-based activities and games can be used with the entire class, small groups of children or by individual children. The activities have been organized as they relate to interest centers typically found in the early childhood classroom. Use the ideas and activities in each section to facilitate the following skill development and concepts: exploring emotions practicing skills vocabulary development dress-up & make believe sharing & turn-taking using imagination using creativity imitation social skill development acting out life experiences resolving conflicts self-help skills pretend play & role play receptive & expressive language development Library and Writing Music and Movement Dramatic Play Early Childhood Thematic Book: Weather Teacher's Friend, a Scholastic Company 5 & Field Trips exercise exploration gross-motor skills social skills following directions teamwork trying new things fair play & sportsmanship building concepts (Science) using math & science tools following directions time & space social skills cognitive skill development findings & predictions language skills math concepts & properties living & non-living things visual-perceptual skills position, quality & quantity gathering information measurement relationships recording information turn-taking experimentation & exploration learning properties of substances learning about your surroundings number, letter, shape recognition and matching gross-motor development singing & vocal expression beat following directions rhyme & rhythm math skills movement of body parts exploration of emotions pre-literacy skills language skills individual expression imitation literacy skills use of writing tools retelling stories sound-symbol relationships exploring books following directions creative writing self-expression attention span concept & vocabulary development looking at, listening to and participating in stories Patterns and Crafts This section includes several patterns or craft ideas to utilize in your art center. One must always consider that, for the young artist and creator, the process is much more important than the product. The young artist develops skills in several development domains. Use the ideas and activities in this section to facilitate the following skill development and concepts: creativity pre-literacy skills exploration & experimentation unique products learning properties of substances using drawing, writing and cutting tools building self-esteem finding new ways to use materials building fine motor skills manipulation of various materials following directions Bulletin Board Ideas Several suggestions are included for creating interesting and informative bulletin boards based upon the theme of the weather and can be used in a variety of ways in the classroom. Here are a few tips: Keep them neat and professional looking Display childrens unique creations Display photos of kids at play & work Change the boards periodically Display magazine pictures of "real" things Use neat and concise letters & writing Keep them current to theme or activities of the program Display at the appropriate height for childrens viewing Display higher for family members and volunteers Math and Manipulatives Music and Movement Library and Writing Arts and Crafts Outdoor Play Early Childhood Thematic Book: Weather Teacher's Friend, a Scholastic Company 6 My Book About Make copies of the pages in this section to create an interesting book about the weather for your young learners. Simply duplicate the pages, cut and assemble them by number. Attach the pages together with staples or brads. Laminate the front and back for durability. Children will enjoy listening to the story and coloring the pages. Older children may have the skills to color, cut, assemble and read the story for themselves. Having children make their own book helps develop pre-emergent reading skills in early learners. Goodies to Make and Eat! The recipes found in this section are devoted to cooking and nutrition. Clay or dough recipes, which you may use in your art or sensory area, are also included. The recipes can be copied onto poster board, large sheets of paper, or recipe-sized cards so that children, families and volunteers can fol- low along. You may want to add clip art pictures in place of words to create rebus recipe charts. Use the recipes in this section to facilitate these developmental skills: following directions performing activities in sequential order cooperating with others manners and taking turns counting & measurement concepts use of simple kitchen utensils sensory exploration of foods observation of food in different forms pre-literacy and literacy skills practicing different food preparations At Home With This section is meant to provide families with ideas and activities to do at home with their children. These activities will help to encourage communication between family member and child, as well as support the skill development of the child. The activities should be optional for those families who wish to and have the time to participate. Educators may wish to incorporate the ideas into their newsletters or simply attach the "At Home With.." sheet to their notes. Parent/Family Involvement Throughout each theme book, educators will note the various opportunities to encourage parent/ family involvement. Communication between parents and the program is one key to increasing parent involvement. One mechanism to increase communication with parents is through notes or news- letters. Tips for Notes and Newsletters Make them visually appealing add clip art Write blocks of information Be specific when referring to a day or time Typewritten or printed Write about each center, activity, or type of news Make it neat professional Add a response sheet for parents Proof for typing errors Request assistance parent volunteers for at least one activity Keep them easy to read vocabulary/avoid lengthy sections Avoid using last names on general newsletters without permission Add questions for parents to ask their children to encourage conversation Note: All of the patterns and illustrations in this book can be enlarged to better suit the needs of young learners. Library and Writing Cooking and Nutrition Early Childhood Thematic Book: Weather Teacher's Friend, a Scholastic Company EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT..."THE WEATHER" 7 Weather is a topic that early childhood educators may choose to discuss on a daily basis or as a thematic unit. Young learners can grasp the very basic weather terminology as long as it is presented in a concrete manner. The more abstract aspects and terminology related to weather and weather conditions can be explored with children as they get older. These introductory definitions and activities are meant to allow the children to begin to build a basis for future understanding and comprehension of weather. The Weather Basics/Words clouds Clouds are formed when millions of drops of water around tiny dust particles stick together. day Time between sunrise and sunset. The sky is usually lit by the sun and appears blue in color. forecast To predict what may happen to the weather based on statistical data and observations icicles Dripping water that freezes as it falls and forms into a hanging mass moon A white sphere in the sky that revolves around the Earth. It appears to change forms smaller or larger, crescent shapes. night Time between sunset and sunrise. The sky is usually dark, but may be lit by bright stars and the moon. puddles Pools of water that often form on the ground during and after a rainstorm. Puddles disappear as the water is heated and turned back into water vapor, known as evaporation. Early Childhood Thematic Book: Weather Teacher's Friend, a Scholastic Company 8 rain Droplets of water that fall out of clouds to the ground rainbow An arc of colors which forms as the sunlight shines through droplets of water at the end of a rainstorm. The water splits the sun- light into different colors, forming a rainbow. Rainbows can be found in oil spots on wet roads, in pieces of glass, on mirrors, and in soap bubbles. The color arrangement is always the same: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet. Some people use the acronym ROY G. BIV to remember the order. shadows Shadows appear because sunlight does not shine through a solid object. For example, the sunlight cannot shine through your body, so opposite the sunlight, a shadow forms at the side of your body. snow Frozen water that falls out of clouds to the ground. Each snowflake is unique and has six sides. storm To rain, snow, or hail heavily sun The shining body (star) in the sky that provides heat and light to the planets that revolve around it. It appears round in shape and yellow in color. However, during sunrise and sunset, it may appear orangish or reddish in color. temperature The coolness or warmness of air, water, or the body as measured by a thermometer. thermometer Tool used to measure the temperature of air, water, or the body. thunder and lightning Thunder is the loud sound often heard during a rainstorm and accompanied by lightning. Lightning is a flash of light often seen during a rainstorm and accompanied by thunder. wind The movement of air Early Childhood Thematic Book: Weather Teacher's Friend, a Scholastic Company Thematic Literature List 9 Berger, Gilda, and Berger, Melvin. Do Tornadoes Really Twist? Q & A About Tornadoes and Hurricanes, Scholastic Question and Answer Series. Scholastic, Inc., 2000 Bourgeois, Paulette. Franklin and The Thunderstorm. Scholastic, Inc., 1998 Branley, Franklyn. Snow is Falling. Trophy Press, 1986 Branley, Franklyn. Tornado Alert. Trophy Press, 1990 Canizares, Susan. Arctic Winter, Arctic Summer. Scholastic, Inc., 1998 Canizares, Susan. Water. Scholastic, Inc., 1998 Carle, Eric. Little Cloud. Putnam Publishing Group, 2001 Claybourne, Anna. Read About Tornadoes, Read About Series. Millbrook Press, Inc., 2000 Coco, Eugene B. Glow in The Dark Stars, Moon, and Clouds. Western Publishing Co., 1990 Eastman, Philip D. Snow. Beginner Books, 1980 Hoban, Julia. Amy Loves Rain. Scholastic, Inc., 1989 Keller, Holly. Snow is Falling, Lets Read and Find Out Science. HarperCollins Publications, 2000 Mandell, Muriel. Simple Weather Experiments with Everyday Materials. Sterling Publishing Co., 1990 Shannon, David. The Rain Came Down. Scholastic, Inc., 2000 Concepts & Vocabulary clouds cold fog hot lightning moon puddles rain rainbow seasons shadows snow star storm sun temperature thunder tornado weather wind Early Childhood Thematic Book: Weather Teacher's Friend, a Scholastic Company 10 Dictation and/or Creative Writing Page Name Date Early Childhood Thematic Book: Weather Teacher's Friend, a Scholastic Company WEATHER CLIP ART! 11 Early Childhood Thematic Book: Weather Teacher's Friend, a Scholastic Company 12 Date Teacher Date Teacher Name Name Good Job! You are always Prepared! You Really Shine! Teacher Date Name Early Childhood Thematic Book: Weather Teacher's Friend, a Scholastic Company Songs, Poems and Fingerplays 13 Music and Movement Weather, Weather Weather, weather What will it be today? Will it rain? Will it shine? Will it blow? Or will it snow? Weather, weather What will it be today? Twinkle, Twinkle, Rainy Day! Twinkle, twinkle rainy day When will the sun come out to play? Twinkle, twinkle rainy day! Substitute rainy with windy, snowy, and stormy. Rain, Rain Go Away Try this classic rhyme using a child sized umbrella. Pass the umbrel- la to each child around the circle. Substitute Johnny with the childs name. Rain, rain go away! Come again another day. Little Johnny wants to play, Rain, rain go away! Early Childhood Thematic Book: Weather Teacher's Friend, a Scholastic Company 14 Music and Movement Weather Day! It will be a rainy day, Wiggle your fingers downward each Rainy day, rainy day. Time the words rainy day are said. It will be a rainy day, All day long. It will be a snowy day, Hug yourself each time the words Snowy day, snowy day. snowy day are said. It will be a snowy day, All day long. It will be a windy day, Gently wave your arms and blow each Windy day, windy day. time the words windy day are said. It will be a windy day, All day long. It will be a sunny day, Circle arms over head each time the Sunny day, sunny day. words sunny day are said. It will be a sunny day, All day long. (Older children can draw separate pictures of the rain, snow, wind and sun. Have them hold up the appropriate picture each time the words are said.) Rainbow (Teacher can hold up a piece of construction paper for each color named.) I see a rainbow. I see a rainbow Seven colors in a row. Red, Orange, Yellow Green, Blue, Indigo, Violet Yes, I see a rainbow. Early Childhood Thematic Book: Weather Teacher's Friend, a Scholastic Company Music and Movement 15 All Around The World (Tune: The Wheels on The Bus) The rain in the sky goes drip, drip, drip, Drip, drip, drip, Drip, drip, drip, The rain in the sky goes drip, drip, drip all around world. The thunder in the sky goes boom, boom, boom, Boom, boom, boom, Boom, boom, boom, The thunder in the sky goes boom, boom, boom all around world. The lightning in the sky goes flash, flash, flash, Flash, flash, flash, Flash, flash, flash, The lightning in the sky goes flash, flash, flash all around world. The wind in the sky goes wooo, wooo, wooo, Wooo, wooo, wooo, Woo, wooo, wooo, The wind in the sky goes wooo, wooo, wooo all around world. Four Seasons (Use the four illustrations below to depict the seasons as you sing about them.) There are four seasons in each year. Winter brings cold weather I fear. Spring is warm and rain is near. Summer is sunny and clear. And Autumn means the end of the year will soon be here. There are four seasons in each year. Early Childhood Thematic Book: Weather Teacher's Friend, a Scholastic Company 16 Fill the dramatic play area with the following items: flannel board, weather symbols (p. 17), illustration of the United States, thermometers, sports jackets, baseball hat with Weather Forecaster or Camera Operator pin on it, puppet stage or large cardboard box which is cut to look like a television, toy camera, toy microphone, maps, dull pointer stick or wand, weather visual aids and charts (i.e., forecast for the days of the week and list of record highs and lows), news station sign, toy or home made weather equipment, and weather storybooks. Create a weather news station (WXYZ or whatever name your class decides). Encourage the children to pretend to be weather forecasters or weather news reporters or camera operators. Encourage the exploration of weather tools and equipment. Charting the Type of Weather Use these simple illustrations to depict the weather on your classroom calendar for one month. Each day, select one symbol that best describes the weather for the day. At the end of the month, chart the symbols to discover: How many sunny days in (the month)? Snowy day, windy days, and rainy days. Draw the chart below on a heavy piece of paper. Remove the weather symbols from your calendar and line them up as shown. When all the symbols are on the chart, have the children count the number of suns, snowflakes, etc. Dramatic Play ACTIVITIES AND GAMES Weather Chart for APRIL Sunny days Snowy days Windy days Rainy days Early Childhood Thematic Book: Weather Teacher's Friend, a Scholastic Company 17 Weather Symbols Dramatic Play Early Childhood Thematic Book: Weather Teacher's Friend, a Scholastic Company 18 Outdoor Play & Field Trips Field Trip to a Local News Station If you are fortunate enough to be able to bring the children to a local news station or if the station will send staff to discuss the weather with your class, then take advantage of the wonderful opportunity. Invite parents and other family members to come along. After you return from the trip, write a thank you note, create a book (add photos or drawings) or develop an experience chart. Things to do at the news station: look at the different equipment used to measure and record the weather watch a taping of a newscast talk with a weather forecaster Trace Friend's Shadow Take the group outside on a sunny day. Tell the children about shadows and how they are made, then have them pair up and take turns tracing each others shadow using sidewalk chalk. Shadow Dance Take the group outside on a sunny day. Tell the children about shadows and how they are made, then play some music and let them dance to the music and watch how their shadows dance. Variation: Play Freeze Shadow Dance when the music is on, the children dance and, when it stops, the children freeze. See how many children can freeze until the music starts again. Rainbows Simulate the formation of a rainbow by spraying a garden hose or sprinkler, or by blowing bubbles on a sunny day. See how many colors of the rainbow appear. Early Childhood Thematic Book: Weather Teacher's Friend, a Scholastic Company 19 Recording the Temperature Record the temperature each day for a month. If you use a circle shaped thermometer, help the children learn to read the numbers. Record the tempera- tures on a graph. If you use a mercury type thermometer, help the children read the height of the mercury. Fill in the red space on the thermometers to depict the temperature. At the end of the month, review the graph by talking about the weather in relationship to the numbers or level of mercury: low numbers mean cooler days and high numbers mean warmer days, which days had the same temperature, which day was the warmest, coolest, and whether the temperature seems to be going up or down. Variation: pick one day each month to record the temperature and review the graph at the end of the year. Tornado in a Bottle Take two plastic bottles and remove their caps. Fill one bottle about half full of water (you may want to add some glitter as well). Tape the other bottle to the top of the first bottle so that the tops are touching and no water will leak out. Rotate the bottles in circular motion a couple of times and tip them over so that the water is moving from the top bottle to the bottom bottle. Notice how the water rotates like a tornado. Math and Manipulatives (Science) F 0 C -20 -10 0 20 30 40 -10 -30 -20 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 110 120 Early Childhood Thematic Book: Weather Teacher's Friend, a Scholastic Company 20 Clothes Sort Take two shoeboxes and glue the "winter" and "summer" squares to the end of each box. Cut a hole in the lid of each shoebox. Copy and individually mount the pictures on index cards and laminate the cards. The child sorts the 12 pictures by inserting the cards into the box that best depicts the weather for that type of clothing. Math and Manipulatives (Science) Early Childhood Thematic Book: Weather Teacher's Friend, a Scholastic Company 21 Adding Things Up! Look at the picture and count how many in each circle. Write the answers in the blanks below the circles. Math and Manipulatives (Science) Color the pictures. Early Childhood Thematic Book: Weather Teacher's Friend, a Scholastic Company 22 What Is Next? Look at the picture patterns below and draw the next picture in the pattern. Math and Manipulatives (Science) Color the pictures. Early Childhood Thematic Book: Weather Teacher's Friend, a Scholastic Company 23 Math and Manipulatives (Science) Matching Shadows! Look at the pictures below and draw a line from the picture to its shadow. Color the pictures. Early Childhood Thematic Book: Weather Teacher's Friend, a Scholastic Company 24 Music and Movement The Weather Relay You will need at least one piece of clothing for each child. Place them into two or more suitcases at one end of the classroom, the parking lot or paved play yard and draw a straight chalk line. Measure a reasonable distance and draw a chalk starting line. Separate the class into two (or more) teams. The first member of each team runs to their teams suitcase and picks out a piece of clothing to put on and then returns to the starting line and tags the next person to run and repeat the activity. The game ends when all the children have completed the relay and returned to the starting line with their team. Each team member then has to tell what type of weather the clothing he/she is wearing is best suited for: hot/warm (sunny) or cold/cool (snowy). Some suggested items for the suitcases: sunglasses mittens gloves baseball hat winter hat earmuffs boots sandals shorts tee-shirt snowpants wool socks bathing suit coat scarf sunhat (visor) bike helmet snowmobile helmet Twirling, Whirling In The Wind Collect colorful silk type scarves, enough so that each child can have one. Tie each scarf to a shower ring (one scarf per ring). Take the children outside on a windy day. Pass the scarves out to the children and watch how they move in or with the wind. Variation: use pinwheels in place of the scarves and the children can watch the wind blow the pinwheel around. Early Childhood Thematic Book: Weather Teacher's Friend, a Scholastic Company 25 What Type of Weather? It may take some time for you to record sounds from various types of weather scenarios. However, when it is complete, you will be able to use it again and again. Keep a small hand held tape recorder and blank tape in your home or car. When you hear sounds from different weather days, simply record one to three minutes of the sound on the tape. When the next sound naturally occurs, record again until you have collected 10 to 12 different sound bites. You may want to keep a written list of the sounds that you have collected. Once the tape is complete, have the children listen to it and guess what they hear and the weather associated with the sound. If you have them, show pictures of the different types of weather. You may be able to find pictures in magazines, catalogs, or old calendars. Types of things/weather to record: a thunderstorm rain on a house roof or car roof whistling wind birds chirping children playing in water/pool/ocean car splashing through a puddle a hockey game a baseball game a snowplow clearing the snow off the street Also, check your local library, record or book store for environmental tapes/CDs. They may have tracks that you can use to develop this cassette tape, as well as other sound cassettes. These types of activities help to develop the childs sound discrimination skills, as well as receptive language skills. Examples: The Sounds of Nature by the Special Music Company 400 Sound Effects by Sound Effects Music and Movement Early Childhood Thematic Book: Weather Teacher's Friend, a Scholastic Company 26 Library and Writing Day and Night Copy the sun and moon symbols onto construction paper. Ask the children what they do during the daytime and at nighttime. Teacher records daytime responses on the suns and nighttime responses on the moons. Display the suns and moons on a class board with heading the What do we do? Day & Night. What Do We Do? Day Night Early Childhood Thematic Book: Weather Teacher's Friend, a Scholastic Company 27 The Weather Wheel Copy the weather wheel and arrow (spinner) onto heavy paper. Attach the arrow to the wheel in the center with a brad. Each child takes a turn spinning the arrow. The child names the type of day and tells one thing that he/she might do on that type of day. The teacher records the responses on a large piece of paper. Library and Writing Early Childhood Thematic Book: Weather Teacher's Friend, a Scholastic Company 28 The un Wheel Create this toy wheel so that the children can practice pronouncing words which end in un. Copy the sun and letter wheel onto heavy paper. Cut a square hole as shown. Attach the wheel to the back of the sun with a brad so that the letters show through the hole. Play!!! Library and Writing F S R B UN UN F Early Childhood Thematic Book: Weather Teacher's Friend, a Scholastic Company 29 Name It! Look at the pictures and the words. Cut out the words below and glue them in the box underneath the correct picture. Color the pictures. Library and Writing sun snow clouds rain
Early Childhood Thematic Book: Weather Teacher's Friend, a Scholastic Company
30 Rhymes With Cut out the pictures below the dotted line. Look at the pictures and match the rhyming words. Glue the pictures in place. Library and Writing sun moon rain star car spoon train run Color the pictures.
Early Childhood Thematic Book: Weather Teacher's Friend, a Scholastic Company
31 Library and Writing Hanging the Weather Out To Dry! Copy the weather word cards onto heavy paper. Hide the weather word cards around the room. Keep a list of where they are hidden. String a clothesline at child level and place a basket of pinch clothespins next to the clothesline. Give each child a turn to find one hidden word card. They will need to follow a simple verbal direction. As each child takes a turn, the teacher gives a simple verbal direction (clue or hint). For example: behind the bookshelf, underneath the water table, or next to the blocks. When the child finds the weather word, the child brings it back to the group and guesses (reads) what the letters spell using the illustration as a clue. The teacher defines the word (refer to informa- tion on p. 7-8). The child attaches the weather word card to the clothesline by pinching the clothespin. sun s u n snow rain s n o w Early Childhood Thematic Book: Weather Teacher's Friend, a Scholastic Company 32 Library and Writing rainbow puddle clouds wind night day Early Childhood Thematic Book: Weather Teacher's Friend, a Scholastic Company 33 A Picture of Todays Weather (Weather Collage) Give the children construction paper, crayons, markers, magazines, scissors, glue, and arts scraps. Instruct the children to create a weather collage or a picture of todays weather. Painting the Umbrella Copy the umbrella pattern below. Fill small squirt bottles with water and washable blue paint. Tape the umbrella patterns to a wall (thoroughly covered with newspaper or do this activity outside and tape the umbrella to a brick wall or sidewalk). The children squirt the rain onto the umbrellas. Let them dry and display them in the classroom. Patterns and Crafts Arts and Crafts Early Childhood Thematic Book: Weather Teacher's Friend, a Scholastic Company 34 Rainbow Pattern Use this rainbow pattern to create an interesting shaped surface for children to paint, color, write or glue on. The pattern can be enlarged or reduced in size. Each day, have the children use a different mediumpaint, crayons, markers, pastels, tissue paper (torn and rolled into balls), buttons, colored holes (use a hole punch to make colored holes), colored stickers, etc. Arts and Crafts Early Childhood Thematic Book: Weather Teacher's Friend, a Scholastic Company 35 Weather Masks Trace the weather features on construction paper. Cut eye holes in a paper plate and tape a tongue depressor to the back of the plate. Children can draw a mouth and nose, and glue the patterns, as shown. Older children may be able to complete all the steps by themselves. Arts and Crafts Early Childhood Thematic Book: Weather Teacher's Friend, a Scholastic Company 36 Arts and Crafts Early Childhood Thematic Book: Weather Teacher's Friend, a Scholastic Company 37 Weather Mobile Trace the weather symbols onto heavy construction paper. The children use a hole punch to punch holes into the symbols as shown. Tape the cloud onto a hanger and add cottonballs to it. To create sparkling weather symbols, children can dip a cotton swab into glue and spread the glue on the symbols then add glitter. String yarn through the holes in the symbols and attach them to the cloud. Display them around the classroom or school. Arts and Crafts Early Childhood Thematic Book: Weather Teacher's Friend, a Scholastic Company 38 BULLETIN BOARD IDEAS Weather Words Complete the activity on page 31-32 and display the word cards with the heading of We Know About Weather Words! Super Stars Display artwork, creative writing pages, or other handouts on a bulletin board with a Super Stars heading. Cover the board with black paper and add star stickers or construction paper stars to decorate the board! Early Childhood Thematic Book: Weather Teacher's Friend, a Scholastic Company 39 Weather Watchers! Have the children cut out magazine, catalog or calendar pictures which depict different types of weather and display them on a bulletin board with a Weather Watchers! heading. Channel WXYZs Big Weather News! Display weather symbol graph (p. 16), weather or temperature for the day/week and a thermometer, and creative writing or computer weather stories by the children on a bulletin board with a Channel WXYZs Big Weather News! heading. Decorate with photos of the children playing in the dramatic play area! Early Childhood Thematic Book: Weather Teacher's Friend, a Scholastic Company 40 My Book AboutThe Weather!!!! I know about the weather. 1 Early Childhood Thematic Book: Weather Teacher's Friend, a Scholastic Company 41 Some days the sun shines. Some days the sky looks blue. 3 2 Early Childhood Thematic Book: Weather Teacher's Friend, a Scholastic Company 42 Some days it rains. Some days the clouds float in the sky. 5 4 Early Childhood Thematic Book: Weather Teacher's Friend, a Scholastic Company 43 I can fly a kite on windy days. Some days it snows. 7 6 Early Childhood Thematic Book: Weather Teacher's Friend, a Scholastic Company 44 This is my picture of todays weather. 8 My name is ____________________________. I completed my book about weather words on: __________________________________. Early Childhood Thematic Book: Weather Teacher's Friend, a Scholastic Company 45 Goodies to Make and Eat! Cold Day Snack Sunshine Snack Use an ice cream scoop to scoop cottage cheese onto the middle of a plate. Then add sun rays orange colored cheese cut into triangles or triangle shaped crackers or chips. Cooking and Nutrition Step 1 Pour Cocoa Mix into cup. Add milk to cup. Step 2 Step 3 Warm in a microwave about 1 to 2 minutes. Add mini marshmallows. Step 4 Early Childhood Thematic Book: Weather Teacher's Friend, a Scholastic Company 46 Ice Cream Sundae Buffet Ice cream sundaes are a fun way to celebrate a sunny day. Many restaurants serve food buffet style. This activity will allow children to practice skills and manners that they can use again when they go to a restaurant with their families. Make a buffet chart using the illustrations below. First, on poster board, draw a simple chart, as shown below. (Laminate the blank chart so that it can be used again and again for other buffets.) Second, color, laminate and cut the illustrations below and tape them across the top of the chart. Then, write each childs name down the left hand column. On a long table, place each food in its own bowl with appropriate serving utensils. Display the chart at the end of the table. Each child takes a turn selecting from the buffet. When they reach the end of the table, the teacher asks them to complete the chart. The teacher or child places an x in the appropriate boxes to represent what foods the child has selected. The children finish their snacks at the tables. After snack is finished, the teacher reviews the completed chart with the children by adding up the numbers in each food column. (Older children may be asked to solve simple addition problems by adding food columns together. For example: add the number of cherries and sprinkles together or look at the chart and tell me how many children ate ice cream with bananas.) Cooking and Nutrition vanilla ice cream chocolate syrup butterscotch topping chocolate chips nuts (allergy alert) bananas vanilla ice cream chocolate syrup butterscotch topping chocolate chips nuts bananas Sam Victor Pam Teresa x x x x x x x x x x Early Childhood Thematic Book: Weather Teacher's Friend, a Scholastic Company Snowball Dough Pour 1 into a . Mix in 4 . Stir the mixture with a until it forms dough. Mold the soap mixture into snowballs and snow people. Place the snow dough forms on a sheet of to dry for several days. When dry, the snow forms can be used to wash at clean up time. 47 Cooking and Nutrition Early Childhood Thematic Book: Weather Teacher's Friend, a Scholastic Company AT HOME WITH THE WEATHER!!!!! 48 We have been talking about the temperature and reading the temperature on a thermometer. If you have a thermometer at home, read the thermometer with your child in the morning. If you dont have a thermometer, listen to the weather on a radio or television. Talk with your child about the temperature and what types of clothes are appropriate to wear in warm and cold weather. See if your child can pick out clothes to match the temperature for the day. Go to the library and read stories about the weather and seasons. When you are outside with your child, look for and discuss the simple signs of weather. On a sunny day, you might discuss how the sun feels warm on your childs skin or how the sky looks blue in color. On a rainy day, you might discuss how one sees the rain form puddles or how it feels wet on your childs skin and clothes. On a snowy day, you might discuss how the snow looks white in color and how we have to dress in heavy clothes to keep warm because the temperature is very cold. When you are outside with your child on a cloudy day, look up at the clouds. Sometimes they look like things. Point out a cloud that looks like something and say, I see a cloud shaped like. Ask your child, What do you think the clouds look like? Enjoy your childs imagination!!!! Early Childhood Thematic Book: Weather Teacher's Friend, a Scholastic Company
Creating Curriculum Using Children’s Picture Books, Grades PK - 1: A Language-Based Approach for Building Developmentally-Appropriate Curriculum within the Content Areas