OverviewUsinginformationfromtheElementaryGLOBEbookDoYouKnowthatCloudsHaveNames?andtheirownobservations,studentsconstructaskyscenewithtreesandbuildingsasreferencepointsonthegroundandcloudtypesorderedbyaltitudeinthesky.Studentswilldescribecloudsusingtheirownvocabularyand will then correlate their descriptions with the standard classifications ofcloudtypesusedbyTheGLOBEProgram.
Student OutcomesStudentswillbeabletoidentifycloudtypesusingstandardcloudclassificationnames.Theywillknowthatthenamesusedforthecloudsarebasedonthreefactors: their shape, the altitude at which they occur, and whether they areproducingprecipitation.
Science Content Standard A: Science as Inquiry•Abilitiesnecessarytodoscientificinquiry
Science Content Standard D: Earth and Space Science•Objectsinthesky•Changesinearthandsky
Mathematics Standard: Measurement•Apply a variety of techniques, tools, and formulas for determining
measurements
Geography Standard 4: Places and Regions•Thephysicalandhumancharacteristicsofplaces
•Read the Elementary GLOBE book Do You KnowThat Clouds Have Names? – either read it to theclassorhavestudentsreadittothemselves.Thebook can be downloaded from www.globe.gov/elementaryglobe.
•Makeexamplesofthedifferenttypesofcloudswiththesamematerialsthestudentswilluse. Havingvisual examples will help the students with thisactivity.
Teacher’s Notes
Accurateweatherforecastingstartswithcarefulandconsistentobservations. Thehumaneye representsone of the best (and least expensive) weatherinstruments. Much of what we know about theweather is a result of direct human observationconductedoverthousandsofyears.Althoughbeingable to identify clouds is useful in itself, observingclouds on a regular basis and keeping track of theweatherassociatedwithcertainkindsofcloudswillshowstudentstheconnectionbetweencloudtypesandweather.
Recognizing cloud types can help you predict thekind of weather to expect in the near future. Wewillnotdescribe thoseconnectionshere,but therearenumerousweatherbooksthatcanhelpyouandyour students complete that task. Inviting a localmeteorologist to visit your class and talk with thestudents is a sure way to stimulate interest in therelationshipbetweencloudsandweatherpatterns.
In this activity, allow the students to be creative indescribingthedifferentcloudtypesintheirownwords.Then, provide them with the following informationsotheycanidentifycloudswiththeirofficialnames.ThisbackgroundinformationcanalsobefoundinDoYouKnowThatCloudsHaveNames?
TheGLOBEProtocolsaskyoutoidentifytencommontypes of clouds. The names used for the cloudsare based on three factors: the shape, the altitude
of the cloud’s base, and whether it is producingprecipitation.
Note:Whilebothcumulusandcumulonimbuscloudsmay have their bases starting below 2,000 m, theyoften grow thick enough to extend into the highrange.Thus,theyareoftenreferredtoas“cloudsofvertical development.” Only high clouds are wispyandsothetermcirrushasbecomesynonymouswithwispyaswellasreferringtohighclouds.
3.Clouds whose names incorporate the word“nimbus” or the prefix “nimbo-” are clouds fromwhichprecipitationisfalling.
4.Contrails are linear clouds made of ice crystalsformed around small particles in jet aircraftexhaust.Theword“contrail”isanabbreviationofthe term “condensation trail”. These are indeedclouds,causeddirectlybyhumanactivity,andareof great interest to researchers. We distinguishthreesubtypes:
Short-lived contrails: obvious tail behind a plane;Donotremainafterplanepasses;
Persistent, non-spreading contrails: obviouscontrails (linear, narrow features) that do notappeartodissipatesignificantly,ortoshowsignsofspreading,andthatremainlongaftertheairplanesthatcreatedthemhaveleftthearea;
Persistent, spreading contrails: obvious linearcirrocumulus or cirrus-type clouds with a diffuseappearance.
1.Onawallorabulletinboard,constructaskyscene(likeamural)withtheclassusingposterboardora rollofpaper. Besure to includebuildings thataretoscaleandtreesatthebottomofthescenetoprovidea senseofhorizon. Thiswill serveasa referencetodecide if thecloudsare low,high,or someplace in between. On one side of thescene,labelthedifferentaltitudesinthesky,from0metersto8000+meters. Foryoungerstudents,alsoaddthewords“Low”,“Middle”,and“High”bythealtitudes.
2.Dividethestudentsintogroups(ifyoudividetheminto11groups,eachgroupwillcompleteonecloudtype or contrails for the wall; otherwise you candividethemintofewergroupsandhaveeachgroupdomorethanonecloudtype.)Giveeachgroupacloudtypetoworkon.Shareexamplesofdifferentcloudsmadebytheteacher.
3.Explain to the studentswhat theyneed todo foreach section of the Cloudscape Student ActivitySheet.Theyshouldusetheirownwordstodescribetheircloudineachcategory:
4.Oncethestudentshavecompletedtheirdescription,have them write the name of their cloud on thewhitelabelandtheone-worddescriptionfortheircloudtypeontheyellowlabel. Then,havethemconstructtheircloudoutofsectionsofcottonpillowbattingorothermaterialsprovided.Iftheircloudisn’tjustwhiteincolortheycanusewashablegrey
5.Once all of the groups have completed thesetasks,haveeachgroupmakeashortpresentationdescribing their cloud type and then have themplace their cottoncloudand its labelson theskyscene(seeFigure4).
6.Keep the sky scene up in your classroom so thestudentscanuseitasaresourceeverydaywhenmakingcloudobservations.
props for the students to use. Younger studentsmight like to make individual clouds on their ownsmallpiecesofbluepaper.Theycanaddthemtotheclass’cloudscapeorbringthemhome.
Older students can correlate cloud types with theappearanceofcertaintypesofweather.SeetheCloudWatchLearningActivityintheGLOBETeacher’sGuide.Studentscanalsopayattention to thesequenceofcloudtypesoverthecourseofseveraldaysandcaninvestigatethefactorsthatcausecloudstoform.
Further Investigations
•Cloud Poetry: Have your students write poetryaboutclouds.Usethelistofdescriptivewordstheycreatedforthisactivityandaskthestudentsifthereareanyotherwordstheywould liketo includeinthe list. Thenhave themwritepoetry answeringquestionslikethefollowing:Whatdoesthecloudlooklike?Whatdoesitdo?Howdoesitmakeyoufeel?Theycanalsodrawanillustrationtogowiththeirpoem.
•Memory Game: Create cloud “memory” gamestopracticeidentificationskills.Haveeachstudentcreate a set of index cards that includes each ofthetencloudtypes.Asecondsetofcardsincludesillustrationsofeach type. Havepairsof studentsturnthecardsfacedown.Partnersalternateturningover two cards at a time, attempting to locate amatch.Asuccessfulmatchresultsinanotherturn;playcontinuesuntilallcardshavebeenmatched.Thestudentwiththemostmatchedpairswins.
•GLOBE Cloud Protocol: Start making cloudobservationsasaclasstosubmittoGLOBE.SeetheGLOBETeacher’sGuide(www.globe.gov)formoreinformation on the Cloud Protocols, formulatinga research question, and collecting cloud data.Some good research questions for grades K-2are:Docloudsrelatetotheseasons?Whatistherelationship of rain to clouds? Do clouds alwaysrain?Docloudsrelatetoairtemperature?
