Researching

Sorry it's been a while since we've posted.  We've been super busy!  Since our last post, we learned how to classify clouds.  We sorted pictures of clouds into groups and talked about their characteristics.  We learned about cirrus, cumulus, and stratus clouds.  We'll try to add more about that later.

On to today's activity...

Today we did lots of research using our lap tops!  Mrs. Gaston was a little concerned at first as to how we would handle it but she says we did a great job!  Today, we learned about "precipitation".  We found out that it is "liquid and solid particles that fall from the sky".  We researched to find out about different kinds of precipitation.  Meteorologists need to know these things you know!  Here are some pictures of us doing our research.  (Please excuse the blurry photos...we had some focus issues.)

We did most of our research on "WeatherWizKids.com".  We LOVE that site!  They have lots of cool information, experiments, and weather games!

"Google" is always a trusty resource when you need to find information.

Stay tuned for more weather adventures this week!

Observing Clouds

Have you ever noticed how clouds look different?  We brainstormed a list of ideas about clouds.  We have noticed that some clouds are fluffy, some flat, some long, some short, some white, some dark, some of them are scattered in the sky, and some are close together.  We know alot about the way clouds look.  We went out to observe the clouds today but there was a little problem...we could only see clouds in the distance.  There weren't any close to us.  We didn't let this stop us!  We observed the clouds from a distance and will observe them again another day soon. 

When we finished observing, we came in and made cloud pictures of our own.  We used cotton balls and made a model of a cloud that we've seen before.  After we finished, we wrote about our cloud.  Check out these awesome clouds!

 

Check back tomorrow...we'll be classifying clouds!

Making Puddles

Today in Science we began talking about puddles.  We've all observed puddles before but have you ever wondered where puddles go?  We talked about how sometimes you see a puddle one day but the next day it's gone.  Where did it go?  We made puddles using water and an aluminum pie pan.  We placed them by the window and will be observing them over the next few days to see what happens. 

We're getting really good at labeling our scientific drawings...just like REAL scientists!

Stay tuned for our puddle observations...

Using a Rain Gauge

Today we were scheduled to learn about rain gauges.  We were going to do an experiment by "pretending" it rained and measuring the amount of rainfall...but guess what?  It actually rained today!  This made our lesson so much better!  We talked about meteorologists using rain gauges to measure the amount of rainfall.  We used plastic containers and set them out this morning at 10:39am.  We let them collect rain all day and finally brought them back in at 2:15pm to measure the amount of rainfall.  We used rulers and measured in centimeters to see how much rain had collected over the period of time.  We were very shocked to have only collected about 1 centimeter because it had been raining ALL DAY!  Read some of our notebook entries below to see why we think that happened...

These brave souls volunteered to collect the rain gauges.

 We had to huddle under the overhang to do our observations today.

 We used rulers to measure the amount of rainfall.

We finally came to the conclusion that even though it rained all day it was mostly just drizzling so it would take longer for the container to fill up.  Some students said they thought we should have put the rain gauges in different parts of the playground to see if the rainfall was different.  (I know...they are geniuses!)  

Using Our Tools

The students have been learning how to use different weather tools to measure the weather.  We've been using a thermometer to measure the temperature outside.  We've compared the temperature outside to the temperature inside.  (It's much colder outside.:) )  We've also learned about the Beaufort Scale and made flags to help us figure out if the wind is blowing.  We started using digital cameras this week to help document the weather daily.  (Thanks, Mrs. Dunlap!)  Check out the meteorologists hard at work!  :)

 He's feeling the metal poles to see if they are cold.  Such a smart little fella!

Meteorologists must record their findings!  :)

She's using the flag at the front of the school as a tool to see if it's windy.  We learned that if the flag is straight down there is "no wind".  If the flag is moving a little there is "some wind".  And...if the flag is flying straight out (like in the picture above) there is "strong wind".

 We are collecting data on wind for the next 5 days and graphing our results.

We learned that it is very important to put the date and time on your observations because the weather is constantly changing.

Check back tomorrow for our "Rain Gauge" experiment...