Materials
Old bath towels or large piece of cloth
Construction paper
Colored pencils and/or crayons
Instructions
1. Take the children outside and have them place their towels on the ground in a large, openarea.
2. Explain that there are many different kinds of clouds and that scientists study their formationsto predict weather such as rain and snow.
3. Have the children lie down on their towels and look at the clouds. Ask them to pretend thatthey are scientists and try to see things in the clouds. But instead of trying to see weather patterns,they should try to locate a cloud that resembles something else, i.e., a dog or a ship.
4. When the children have each located a special cloud, pass out the construction paper andcolored pencils. Invite them to sketch the cloud formation. Children can repeat this activityand draw several cloud formations.
5. Back in the classroom, encourage children to share their pictures and talk about them. Talkabout why two children looking at the same cloud might see two different things. Discusshow clouds change as air moves them across the sky.
6. Have the children predict how many of the cloud shapes they drew might still be visible inthe sky, then test the predictions by going outside and looking at the sky.More to doMath: Make a graph showing the kinds of animals or objects seen by the children in the cloudformations. Discuss the type of cloud that most often looks like different fluffy shapes (Cumulus).
