Hi, friends! You'll never believe that we are still getting snow over here.... in April! I know! Crazy, right?! I'm dying for some springtime weather, but that isn't keeping my kiddos from learning all about rain and the water cycle!
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When we begin our rain unit, I always like to discuss the water cycle with the kiddos. First, we read the story Splish! Splash! by Josepha Sherman.
As we were reading, we created an anchor chart of the water cycle.
We even read our very own booklet all about the water cycle!
To complete the experiment, I gathered the necessary supplies. You might also want another container for the hot water.
First, I heated up some water on the stove. If you don't have access to a stove at school, you could always heat the water on an electric burner or in the microwave. As the water was heating, we discussed how the stove represented the sun and how the water represented the lake, ocean, river, etc. Once the water was boiling, we could see steam. We discussed how the warm stove (i.e. sun) was causing the water to evaporate.
Next, we dumped the ice into a large, circular container. I chose to use a metal cake pan, but you could also use a large plate or even pie dish. The ice represents the clouds, or cold air way up in the sky.
We waited for the evaporated water to begin to cool back down and condense, causing droplets to form.
If we watched closely, we could see the evaporated water traveling up to the sky and condensing. As the drops became larger, they fell down as precipitation, or rain.
This experiment can also be completed using a jar of hot water. Simply heat the water, either on the stove or in the microwave. Make sure your glass jar is warm enough to withstand the hot water if you are pouring it into the jar. Place the tray of ice on top of the jar and wait for the evaporated water to condense on the bottom of the tray.
Once we finished our experiment, we labeled the steps in the water cycle.
Now, my kiddos are experts on the water cycle!
We will be finishing up our nonfiction studies with the books Down Comes the Rain and The Rainy Day.
Later this week, the kiddos will be completing this "Rainy Facts" mobile and their "All About Rain" books.
Plus, we still have a few more vocabulary words to learn and add to the kiddos' "My Rain Dictionary."
We will even be further extending our learning with some of my favorite fiction stories about rain.
We've already began some of our fiction activities. After reading The Itsy Bitsy Spider, we tackled cause and effect.
Of course, we had to practice sequencing the story.
We finished up our studies with this book by completing a text-to-self connection craftivity.
The story Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs will also perfect for practicing cause and effect and sequencing, as well as a little opinion writing.
Plus, we'll even practice counting syllables during our phonics instruction.
We'll use the story Storm Is Coming to practice making predictions, sequencing the events of story, and identifying the cause. I'll be back with more pictures later this week!
The kiddos have also been integrating their learning during math and ELA.
Phew, it's been a jam-packed week, so we'll be finishing up some of these activities this coming week!
If you're looking for a fun poem about rain, head over to my post about "Poetry Activities for the Primary Classroom."
Plus, you can read all about our "Rain Jar Experiment" here.
Don't forget to check out my "Spring" board on Pinterest for more engaging springtime activities!
Here's to hoping this snow goes away and spring finally makes an appearance!
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