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Category: Weather (Page 1 of 3)

#Nonfiction Monday #kidlit: Soar with Breaking Through the Clouds

March 7, 2022 / / 0 Comments

Right in time for Women’s History Month, we have a wonderful new picture book biography,  Breaking Through the Clouds: The Sometimes Turbulent Life of Meteorologist Joanne Simpson by Sandra Nickel and illustrated by Helena Perez Garcia.

Joanne Simpson’s story is one of perseverance. When she was a girl, Joanne discovered the joy of watching clouds. As she sailed in her boat– or flew in her plane in later years– she learned the importance of paying attention to the weather.

Joanne went to the University of Chicago about the same time World War II broke out. They needed someone to teach Air Force officers about winds, and Joanne an aptitude for weather, so they asked her to take over. Once the war ended, however, and Joanne decided to continue her studies, her professors didn’t agree. They told her:

“No woman ever got a doctorate in meteorology. And no woman ever will.”

Joanne wasn’t willing to give up. She worked hard.

She discovered so many important things that she was able to achieve her dreams.

Breaking Through the Clouds is a perfect choice for Women’s History Month, as well as for budding historians and budding scientists. Get inspired by a copy today!

Related Activities

1. Keep a weather journal.

Writing in a journal is a wonderful habit to start. You can keep a journal that is devoted to the weather or you can keep weather records in other kinds of journals.

This Scishow video discusses how to keep a journal and gives a few basics about weather.

 

2. Learn to identify clouds.

Being able to recognize and understand clouds can help in many careers that rely on the weather, from aviation (as mentioned in the book) to agriculture.

Some clouds form thin sheets high in the sky, like altostratus and cirrostratus.

Other clouds are piles, like cumulus clouds.

You can find guides online. For example, NASA has a Cloud ID sheet and activity guide to download (PDF).

Books, like the Peterson Field Guide To Weather (Peterson Field Guides) by Jay Anderson and John A. Day, may also help.

Want to learn more? Visit our growing list of children’s books about weather at Science books for Kids.

And for Women’s History Month, delve into some of the wonderful biographies of women scientists at Science Books for Kids.

 

Sandra Nickel says that story ideas are everywhere; you just have to reach out and grab them.  She holds an MFA in writing for children and young adults from Vermont College of Fine Arts. Her first book, Nacho’s Nachos: The Story Behind the World’s Favorite Snack, was awarded a Christopher Award and was a Golden Kite Award finalist. Sandra lives in Chexbres, Switzerland, where she blogs about children’s book writers and illustrators at whatwason.com. To learn more, visit her website.

Twitter:  @senickel
Facebook: @sandranickelbooks
Instagram: @sandranickelbooks

Check out the book trailer and activity/discussion sheets on the resource page!

 

Reading age ‏ : ‎ 6 – 9 years
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Abrams Books for Young Readers (March 8, 2022)
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1419749560
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1419749568

Disclosure: This book was provided by the publisher for review purposes. Also, I am an affiliate with Amazon so I can provide you with cover images and links to more information about books and products. As you probably are aware, if you click through the highlighted title link and purchase a product, I will receive a very small commission, at no extra cost to you. Any proceeds help defray the costs of hosting and maintaining this website.

 


Looking for more children’s nonfiction books? Try the Nonfiction Monday blog.

Weather: Evaporation Activities for Kids

July 3, 2015 / / 1 Comment

Our post today was inspired by Clouds: A Compare and Contrast Book by Katharine Hall.

Young readers explore the concept of comparing and contrasting, while at the same time learning about different kinds of clouds and how to describe them.

Some clouds are big and fluffy;
others are thin and wispy.

The simple picture book book is illustrated with a series of two-page spreads filled with gorgeous color photographs of different types of clouds, like the one on the cover.

The real treasure, however, is the “For Creative Minds” in the back matter. This section has four pages of interactive activities to reinforce learning. Examples include experiments with evaporation, a cloud match exercise, and information about how clouds are connected to weather prediction.

Because evaporation is the source of water that ends up in clouds, let’s try some evaporation experiments of our own.

Water Evaporation

Evaporation is a chemical process that involves a change of state from liquid to gas.

1. Observation opportunity for youngest scientists

To study evaporation, you will need water, sponges or paint brushes, and a sidewalk or other flat surface on a sunny, hot day. Simply paint the water onto a flat surface and watch it evaporate. Try different surfaces, different amounts of water, different patterns of application, etc. Use sidewalk chalk to draw around a large wet patch and then revisit the site to emphasize how the wet area has been reduced over time.

If the children ask, explain that the liquid water is turning into a gas or vapor as it disappears and is rising up into the air.

2. Simple evaporation experiment for young scientists

Can you prevent evaporation with plastic wrap?

Gather:

  • Water
  • Measuring cup
  • Plastic wrap
  • Timing device (optional)
  • Level, flat, hard surface like sidewalk or driveway
  • Rocks to hold down plastic wrap (optional)

Create two similar-sized and similar-shaped wet areas by pouring a measured amount of water onto a flat, level surface (1/4 cup of water works well). Note:  If the surface is sloped, the water will tend to roll off and form irregular shapes.

Cover one of the spots with plastic wrap and hold down with rocks, if necessary.

evap-expt-beforeWait a few minutes (time will vary with temperature, sunlight, and humidity).

Return and assess which spot has evaporated the most.

evap-expt-after-3Why?

3. Evaporation challenge for middle-grade scientists

Gather:

  • Shallow plates or bowls
  • Bottles or jars, preferably with narrow necks
  • Measuring cup(s)
  • Timing device(s)
  • Thermometer(s)
  • Cotton balls or tissues
  • Markers
  • Paper
  • Scales to weigh bowls and jars

Challenge the children to come up with questions about evaporation and then generate a hypothesis. Using the materials provided, design and carry out an experiment to test their hypothesis.

Some suggestions:

  • Measure the rate of evaporation of 1/4 cup of water in a shallow plate or bowl versus in a narrow-necked jar (For example:  weigh the bowls and jars with water before and after evaporation).
  • Measure the rate of evaporation in a shallow dish in the sun versus in a shady location (mark the levels before and after evaporation with a marker).
  • Measure the rate of evaporation of 1/4 cup of water open in a shallow dish versus 1/4 cup of water soaked into tissue or cotton balls in a shallow dish.
  • Take the temperature with the thermometer on a sunny surface. Then place a wet tissue or cotton ball over the base of the thermometer. How does the temperature change over time?

Discuss their results.

Older engineers will likely enjoy the evaporation-powered engine we discussed in the STEAM festival post about engineering.

 Further resources:

The book publisher, Arbordale Publishing, offers a number of resources, including a free 17 page Teaching Activities Guide to accompany Clouds (see right sidebar).

Weather-books-for-kidsWe have a growing list of weather-related children’s books at Science Books for Kids.

Children interested in weather? They might enjoy this wind map of the U.S. How would the amount of wind effect evaporation?

___________________________

Disclosures: The book was from our local library. Also, I am an affiliate for Amazon. If you click through the linked titles or ads and make a purchase, I will receive a small commission at no extra charge to you. Proceeds will be used to maintain this self-hosted blog.

Come visit the STEM Friday blog each week to find more great Science, Technology, Engineering and Math books.

Exploring the Water Cycle

July 5, 2013 / / 0 Comments

Once children have begun to be aware of how important water is to our planet and to living things, it is time to investigate how water recycles.

the-water-cycle

Our post today was inspired byWater Cycle (Pebble Plus: Earth and Space Science) by Craig Hammersmith, which is a picture book that introduces many important concepts and vocabulary words pertaining to the water cycle, such as evaporation, condensation and precipitation. Along with a glossary and an index, there are instructions for making a “mini-earth” in the form of a terrarium. (A review copy of this book was provided by the publisher, Capstone.)

The first step to understanding the water cycle in understanding the states of matter. Water is an ideal substance to study because it exhibits three of the four states of matter (solid, liquid, gas) at relatively normal temperatures.

Solid Water (ice, hail, snow):

Gather:

  • Plastic tubs of different sizes, food molds, ice cube trays, clean milk cartons, etc.
  • Access to freezer
  • Water
  • Food coloring (optional)
  • Spray bottle (optional)
  • Springs of herbs, flower petals (optional)

Put some water in different-shaped containers and freeze it. Allow the children to help pick containers and fill them. For added enjoyment, add a few drops of food coloring to the water. Or you can add bits of edible flowers such as roses, or leaves of herbs as decorations. Explain that the liquid water is going to become solid.

On a warm day, take the ice outside and use it to build ice sculptures. Remove the ice from the containers by briefly immersing in water if it won’t just slip out. If you don’t have time to make special shapes, simple ice cubes can work great for this, too.

Have the children pile the ice to make buildings, animals or abstract forms. You can lightly mist the finished products with water containing food coloring. Then watch the sculptures melt. Predict how long it will take. Explain that the solid water is becoming liquid water by melting.

Older children can design inventions to protect the ice from melting, and then build and test their invention by seeing how long it takes for the ice to melt inside the device versus unprotected.

(See a previous post about snow science, too.)

icicles

 

Liquid Water:

Learning how to make a water siphon is a fun and useful way to learn about some of the properties of liquid water.

Gather:

  • Small amount of tubing, such as clear plastic aquarium tubing – about 18 to 24 inches long
  • Water
  • Two bowls or other containers large enough to hold tubing submerged, or even a large glass and a sink
  • Food coloring (optional)

Fill one of the containers with water. Add a few drops of food coloring (optional). Submerge the tubing under the water and jiggle to remove air bubbles until the tube is filled with water. Place your thumb tightly over one end of the tube and move it to an empty container, ideally slightly lower than the first. Release your thumb and the water should start moving from the filled bowl to the empty one via siphon action. It may take some practice if you have never done it before.

You can also put two straws together to use instead of tubing, as shown in the first video (Note: there is a pop-up ad):

 

The video below by Doctor C shows how a siphon works using a chain model. (Note:  The narrator takes a sip of the water at the end. You might want to turn the video off before you reach that point to prevent copycat behavior.)

 

For older children, time how long it takes to fill a container of known size and calculate rate of flow. Figure out how long it would take to empty a ten gallon fish tank with your siphon. How about an average swimming pool?

pool-water-texture

(Pool Water Texture by Petr Kratochvil)

Water as a Gas
:

To study water in the gas form, you will need water, paint brushes and a sidewalk or driveway on a hot day. If you must stay indoors, a chalkboard will work too. Simply paint the water onto a flat surface and then time how long it takes to evaporate. Explain that the liquid water is turning into a gas as it disappears and is rising up into the air. That is called evaporation.

To show the gas water turning back into liquid, set out a glass full of ice water on a warm day. The gas should condense into liquid around the outside of the glass after a few minutes, creating droplets. This is called condensation.

Water_cycle

The USGS has a great deal of child-friendly information about the water cycle.

If you would like to make a terrarium as a model of a water cycle, see our previous post.

See how a man kept a plant in a bottle for years without adding water or air (Note:  website has numerous ads and images that might not be child-appropriate).

You could spend a lifetime studying water. Next week we’re going to find out where the the water in your home faucet comes from and how it gets to the tap.

Water Cycle (Pebble Plus: Earth and Space Science) by Craig Hammersmith

Age Range: 4 and up
Publisher: Capstone Press (August 1, 2011)
ISBN-10: 1429671424
ISBN-13: 978-1429671422


Disclosures: The book was provided for review purposes. Also, I am an affiliate for Amazon. If you click through the linked titles or ads and make a purchase, I will receive a small commission at no extra charge to you. Proceeds will be used to maintain this self-hosted blog.

 

Come visit the STEM Friday blog each week to find more great Science, Technology, Engineering and Math books.

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