The students in our class were showing an interest a couple of weeks ago in the weather and the clouds that they saw outside. So we decided to start a unit on clouds and see how interested they were in looking at different kinds of weather. Apparently not very interested because we have decided to end our unit this week because they just didn’t seem to care anymore. That’s okay though because they did get to learn about different kinds of clouds and we did some really fun activities in the week and a half that they showed some interest!
We added weather rocks and a cloud making small world play to our classroom. I added these cloud posters from Jersey Girl Gone South after I took this picture. I love how they explain each cloud!
We used the Rainy Day Sight Words pack to help reinforce sight word recognition. Students had fun picking a sight word, placing it on the work mat and then finding the right raindrop letters to spell the sight word.
We made line of symmetry cloud art. I allowed them to mix their own colours and experiment with making their own clouds, and they turned out fantastic!
We had a mini cloud sensory bin with my Match the Picture! activity. They loved searching through the cotton balls to find all the pictures and matching it up to their beginning sound.
We also discussed the different types of clouds and what clouds we saw outside. This chart paper idea is not mine, I got the idea for it here.
We had a lot of fun with clouds while it lasted, and I can’t wait to find out what they want to learn about next!
I love this book and love how you integrate so many meaningful activities with this one book. What great ideas! Terrific photos too.
Christine at For The Love of Teachers
Thank you! Students enjoyed it while it lasted 🙂
Love this cloud activity! Also love the photos- really makes this activity come to life!
Thank you! I’ve been trying to get better photos of the activities lately 🙂
Okay, first of all, the fact that you adapted your teaching for the sake of your students’ interest, just makes my day. Second, I love “pretend play”, and your little cloud making station is awesome. Third, “Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs” is one of my kids’ favorites! Fabulous book. There’s another book that your post reminds me of. Have you ever read, “It looked Like Spilled Milk”? Charles G Shaw is the author. It would go along with your unit, or side by side. It was a fun story to read to prepare kids to try to see pictures in clouds. Anyway, fun stuff! Thank you for sharing!
Thank you! I haven’t heard of that book but now I will definitely have to check it out!
I love all of these activities! I bet your students learned a lot about clouds through the hands on and visual experiences. The anchor chart on clouds is awesome! But, my absolute favorite is the symmetry paintings! So cool! Like Christina, I also thought of the book “It Looked Like Spilled Milk.” It is a nice simple picture book, but gets kids thinking about pictures in the clouds!
Thank you! They did, love all the activities and I will definitely have to look up that book for next time!