Art Projects on the Weather for the Second Grade

Let students make their own versions of wind socks.

The study of the weather is a significant focus of the second grade science curriculum. While experiments and observations are effective ways to investigate weather phenomena, integrating art projects into weather studies can help foster a greater comprehension of the topic. Such projects engage second-grade students in creative hands-on activities that allow them to get a closer look at different types of weather.

Glittering Snowflakes

Have your students create these classic snowflakes. Provide them with square pieces of white paper. Instruct them to fold the paper in half so that it looks like a triangle and fold it in half again, making a smaller triangle. Have them use pencils to draw different designs along the edges of the paper. Once they are satisfied with their designs, they can use scissors to cut along the lines they drew. When they unfold the paper, the designs will be repeated along each edge of every snowflake. Instruct students to cover their snowflakes with glue and sprinkle blue or silver glitter on them.

Wind Sock

Make wind socks from empty ice cream containers. Clean out empty, cylindrical ice cream containers. Cut out the bottoms of the containers and discard the lids. Have your students cover the outsides of the containers with glue. Lay a piece of construction paper on a flat surface and lay an ice cream container on the edge of it. Roll the container so that the paper wraps around it, and cut off any excess paper. Invite students to decorate the paper with crayons, markers and stickers. Let them cut six lengths of different colors of crepe paper and staple them around the bottom of the container so that they dangle down. Punch two holes in the top of the container, one on either side. Cut a length of yarn and string it through the holes. The wind socks can be hung by the yarn, and children can observe if it's windy or not by observing their wind socks.

Foggy Day Picture

Use wax paper to create foggy day pictures. Let students make any type of landscape picture they wish. They may use crayons, markers and chalk to make their pictures. Once they are satisfied with their creations, have the artists shroud their landscapes in a layer of fog. Line the edges of the picture with glue and place a piece of waxed paper over the picture -- the glue will adhere the wax paper to the picture, making it look like a fog scene.

Thunderstorm Picture

Students use different materials to create a thunderstorm picture. Provide students with white paper, cotton balls, tinfoil and watercolors. Instruct students to glue the cotton balls onto the paper to create clouds. Have them use the watercolors to paint rain and to turn the cotton balls into dark storm clouds. Have them make lightning bolts come out of the clouds by cutting the tinfoil into zigzags and gluing them below the cotton balls.

References

• Amazing Moms: Windsock