Tuesday, November 11, 2014

What's the Weather?

We have been having so much fun learning about weather and seasons. I think every year my students always love science and this year seems to be no different. I like starting out with weather as our first science unit because the experiments are really easy for the first graders this early in the year and they are all low prep. I am all about keeping it simple.
Our first experiment was after we had learned about the water cycle. I wanted to have them experience evaporation. It's not able to be seen, so this experiment is a great visual for them to gain a better understanding of the concept. All you need is water and chalk. They pour a small cup of water on the concrete trace it with chalk and wait an hour. Depending on the weather, the water should be smaller in size. It was such a nice day out, we only needed to trace it once and within the hour, all of the water had evaporated. I have the write a hypothesis and draw the process, then complete their conclusion.


We made it rain in our next experiment. We talked about the clouds holding the water until it is too much and they "let go". Voila! It begins to rain. This experiment is a crowd favorite. It works better when a little bit of liquid iron is added to the rain. The weight of the iron shows the rain breaking through the rest of the water better. Otherwise. I feel like it pools. Last year, I set this experiment up during Open House, so the kids could redo this experiment and explain to the parents what they have learned about weather. They were so excited.

Another one of our experiments was making a kite. We predicted what the wind would do to our homemade kite. A paperbag, yarn or string and tissue paper cut into thin pieces to use as tails is all you need. Let the kids decorate it and take them our for some exercise and fun.
Learning about the seasons is also part of this unit. We have been talking about what makes each season special. 
Use these freebies as an opportunity to read a poem and talk about the differences of each season. Enjoy!

Grab both of these freebies, here.

If you like any of these experiments, check out my unit. All the printables used in the experiments are included as well as sooooo much more.
Easy, fun experiments! Check it out.
 Take care,

5 comments:

  1. Thank you for these great inspirations! I love your Season and Weather unit.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Can you send an electronic version of the anchor chart you use for the four seasons? I am interested in the one with the four boxes labeled, months, weather, clothing, activities. Thank you!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Hey, Kristen! I'm trying to find a copy of the weather page with the oval in the middle, and the four boxes around it for months, weather, clothes, and activities. Could you direct me to where I can purchase this, please? Thanks!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Nice post. I learn one thing more difficult on completely different blogs everyday. It'll always be stimulating to read content from other writers and follow a bit of something from their store. I’d choose to make use of some with the content material on my weblog whether or not you don’t mind. Natually I’ll offer you a hyperlink in your internet blog. Thanks for sharing. best online casinos

    ReplyDelete
  5. Hello! I just purchased this unit on TpT. It did not have the graphic organizer to make notes for each season. Is it possible to still get that? Thank you!

    ReplyDelete