Lynn Handshy
Apple This is Lynn Handshy. Lynn teaches first grade at Tularcitos Elementary School in Carmel Valley, California. She has writen about the major activities and projects of her classroom. We feature those projects here on Leslie's website.

"Oh, look at the clouds!"

By Lynn Handshy

This time of year the Carmel Valley sky is resplendent with spectacular cloud displays. The children in my class learn about different cloud formations. They are fascinated by the scientific names, (cirrus, cumulous, stratocumulus), how the various configurations form and what the clouds do. To reinforce their identification process, we LOOK at clouds. Of course the inevitable happens, they find pictures in the shapes. I read Charles Shaw's almost classic book, It Looked Like Spilt Milk. The repeated refrain in the book is: It looked like a ______ but it wasn't a ______. Each blank is filled with a word to describe the cloud picture, examples, a heart, a dog, a dragon, a castle.

Following a cloud viewing from the playground, I have children make their own cloud picture book. This is how we do it.

1. At the bottom of a piece of copy paper print the frame sentence:

2. Copy enough for a five-page booklet for each student in your class. Use blue copy paper.

3. Staple together 5 sheets to make a horizontal booklet.

4. Give each child a small piece of white chalk.

5. Have children hold the chalk with the side placed on the center of the page.

6. Have children close their eyes and move the chalk to make a shape.

7. Open eyes and look carefully to find something in the shape.

8. Outline the shape they see with a pencil.

9. Fill in the blanks to complete the sentence with the words that describe the picture and the name of the cloud type.

Have fun with this project,

Lynn

Click here to download the PDF page for this project.

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