How to Teach About Snow and Ice Using Literature and Science
Winter is a great time to use the cold weather--including the elements of snow and ice--to teach some fun activities. It is challenging to connect literature and science to the season, but it can be a very creative endeavor that adds a broader perspective to a classroom lesson.
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Instructions
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Read at least one fiction book aloud to the class. Two great books about snow are "Owl Moon" by Jane Yolen and "The Snowy Day" by Erza Jack Keats. After you finish reading the book, discuss it with the class. On a large piece of paper, have them make a list of wintry images that come to mind--from both the story you just read and their own experiences. Tape the list to a bulletin board where students can read it.
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Hand out pencils and paper to all the students. Tell them to write a five-line poem using the list of winter images and ideas you have discussed. The poem has to be about snow, snowflakes, ice and winter themes. Give the students at least 20 minutes to compose the poem. Tell them that, after they have finished writing the poem, they can illustrate it. You can have colored pencils available to those that want to illustrate the poem. The poem does not have to rhyme, but it can. When everyone is finished, you can read the poems aloud and then discuss them.
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Choose a nonfiction book about snow and Ice to read aloud to the children. The book should teach some scientific facts about the subject. Three good books are "Snow and Ice" by Philip Steele, "Rain, Snow and Ice" by Ted O'Hare and "Snow and Ice" by Stephen Krensky. If you want, choose a section of the book to read and have some of the students read the book aloud, too. After you have finished the book, discuss the science of snow, ice and snowflakes. Again, make a list of some interesting scientific facts about snow, ice and snowflakes. Hang the list where the students can see it.
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Pass out two pieces of paper to your students. Tell them to research a short paper on the science of snow, ice or snowflakes. They should choose only one topic. Some good websites are Snow Crystal.com, the National Snow and Ice Data Center, and Ice and Snow. (Links are provided in Resources.) The students should take notes on the subject from the websites or books to write the paper. Tell them to take detailed notes and not print out any information on the printer. Give them at least 30 minutes to research the paper using online and print sources.
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After they have researched their topic, have the students write a 1-page paper on it. The paper should have a title and at least two paragraphs about the selected topic. It should be original and written in their own words. After they have written their papers, they can type them in Microsoft Word and print them out. You can discuss the revealed facts about snow, ice and snow flakes after the papers are complete, to reinforce the points of the lesson.
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