My message today could be about weather or idioms, right? Because you are not really on cloud nine when we use that phrase.
I have several things to share that are all about weather and, believe it or not, one of them does have some idioms in it! Keep reading!
Weather, Weather Everywhere
I don’t know about you, but I loved teaching weather-related lessons in my third-grade classroom. We live in a small valley and sometimes our weather is really crazy. Windy, rainy, thunderstorms, occasional snow- we have all of it. Some of these projects were created just to enhance the study of weather, but also to address the weather extremes we sometimes have.
- Weather Booklet
- Weather Task Cards
- Weather Flipper Book
- Weather Print and Read
- Weather Escape Room
Which one of these has idioms hiding in it?
Weather Booklet
This resource was created to satisfy a need for working on nonfiction text features. I was working with a small group that needed extra lessons on using text features and came up with this idea.
Here is how it works- students read a short passage about a weather topic. The passage is illustrated with something related to the topic but it is also related to a text feature.
Next, the students take their booklet and find the page that corresponds to the topic. We compose a short summary of the passage we just read. On the same page of the booklet students cut out a meaning for the text feature and glue it in place. The last thing they do is illustrate their writing and use the text feature. How fun is this!
The booklet kit has posters of each text feature, the reading passages, and the writing pages. There are 9 passages! We end the study by adding a booklet cover so this is definitely something students can save.
Weather Task Cards
So, one year I invented an Escape Room for Weather and discovered that students didn’t know as much as they needed to about weather tools and vocabulary. Well, this was an easy fix. I added these amazing task cards to our study and we completed these before the Escape Room. Students loved the cards! The set has 48 cards with multiple choice and short answers. Students use weather vocabulary, identify types of weather, and examine weather tools. There are also task cards with open-ended explorations that we completed in teams of two. So much fun!
Weather Flipper Book
I would have to say that making little flipper books is one of my favorite things- coming in second only to STEM Challenges! This one is all about Weather Tools! (Remember, I mentioned that my third graders needed more help with this!) The flipper book will have 7 pages when they finish. They write about the anemometer, rain gauges, the barometer, the hygrometer, a thermometer, and more! My third graders love coloring all the parts of these booklets. This resource also comes with weather posters to display as the book is completed!
Weather Print and Read
I love these sets. I am always looking for ways to add something for my early finishers, students that need extra help, or for homework. And, best of all, these sets are perfect for sub days- and I know we all understand that!
I started making these newspaper article pages a long time ago. We loved getting a Time for Kids magazine, but it did not always have topics we needed. So, I started making my own. My Print and Read sets all have a newspaper-style page with articles for students to read.
The Weather set has 4 reading passages with topics of hurricanes, funnel clouds, storm chasers, and stormy weather. The newspaper includes a weather map. Each reading passage has a comprehension sheet. And it is so easy- just print and read!
Weather Escape Room
Finally, we are at the resource that has idioms involved with the tasks! We had so much fun with this one!
What could be more perfect for your weather study than an Escape Room mission and a STEM Challenge! Students work through tasks to find lock codes to open locked boxes. The culminating activity is a STEM Challenge!
Unlocking Box 1 will be solved by students matching images of weather instruments to descriptions of the tools. They will have a Weather Tools Dictionary to help them with the matching.
After unlocking the box, they grab the items for Task 2. This one will have students completing a math paper that solves a weather riddle. The riddle’s answer will lead students to the lock code for Box 2.
Task 3 has students matching idiom meanings to sentences that use the idioms correctly. If this is done correctly they will spell a word that leads to a poster and the lock code for the last box. Did you notice the idioms? My students loved matching those phrases to what they mean!
At the end, the STEM Challenge is to build an anemometer!
I know you will love these time-saving resources as you work through your units on the weather! Click on any of the images to see more details.
