We start our lesson on temperature by making a thermometer. A link for a simple thermometer is HERE found at Havefunteaching.com. I make one so kids can color a red strip and tape it together so it is long. Then we cut “slits” in the top and bottom of it and our red strip becomes the rising and falling temperature in our thermometer. 
On the thermometer there is Hot, Warm, Cool, and Cold. The kids can easily learn what degrees are “hot” degrees, and which ones are cool and cold. We practice moving our “red strip” up and down as we say, “now it’s HOT! So what’s the temperature today? Now it’s cold, what’s the temperature today?”
Then I show the kids pictures of bathing suits, coats and gloves, tank tops and shorts and sweatshirts and ask what weather and degrees they would wear each piece of clothing in? They have to flash me one of 4 words with degrees shown below on our papers. They color and cut them out and wave them to me as I show the sweatshirts and tank tops.
 |
| weather temps and thermometer…. |
That’s always a fun activity and it helps the kids memorize the different temperatures a bit better. I teach them what we would do and wear in 1) 90 degree HOT weather, and 2) 70 degree WARM weather, 3) 50 degree COOL weather and 4) 30 degree COLD weather.
| hats and raincoats…what kind of weather? |
Wacky Weather POETRY WRITING:
I’ve used the book title “Oh Say Can You Say…What’s the Weather Like Today?” as a beginning line for rhyming poems. Kids brainstorm the words that will rhyme with today. (play, May, ray, clay, they, pray, tray, way, say, day, they etc). Then they write funny rhymes. It is wacky but fun.
This year we did Weather Words by Gail Gibbons and we made “rain” poems using our 5 senses. When it rains I see, When it rains I hear, When it rains I smell, touch, taste etc. We brainstorm lists under the words hear, see, smell, touch, etc. Then the kids write a sloppy copy. I walk around and edit for spelling. Then they rewrote them on cute stationery with rain clouds above. Pics are below….
 |
| Here’s a finished thermometer |
They turned out very pretty. Then we did a water cycle wheel and we talked about all the vocabulary like accumulation, precipitation, and evaporation. Our rain poems go right along with the water cycle! We are just about done with weather! Woo Hoo!
<><><><><><><>
 |
| 5 Senses Poetry |
 |
| Rain Poems….. |
Water Cycle Music (tune: “It’s Raining, it’s pouring)
It’s raining, it’s pouring,
The oceans are storing
Water from the falling rain
While thunderclouds are roaring.
The rain now is stopping,
The rain’s no longer dropping.
Sun comes out and soaks up water
Like a mop that’s mopping.
The water’s still there now,
But hidden in the air now.
In the clouds it makes a home
Until there’s rain to share now.
It’s raining, it’s pouring…
Meish Goldish
 |
| Here are the Water Cycle Wheels we made….super great for a visual understanding… |
It’s always fun in my class to sing to percussion instruments. I’ve got drums, wood blocks, tambourines, shakers, boomwhackers, xylophones and sticks. So when it’s time to do a rap or sing, we do percussion too.
POETRY: Weather is Hot, Weather is Cold RAP! ,
Weather is hot, (snap your fingers as your recite it together)
Weather is cold,
Weather is changing
As the weeks unfold.
Skies are cloudy,
Skies are fair,
Skies are changing
In the air.
It is raining,
It is snowing,
It is windy
With breezes blowing.
Days are foggy,
Days are clear,
Weather is changing
Throughout the year!
by: Meish Goldish
Well that’s the end of our weather unit for this year. I only wish the actual weather was better by now! It snowed again!