Description

Do you ever wonder what clouds are called?  The Clouds Activity teaches the Child about the ten major cloud types produced and where to find them in the troposphere.

Definition of the troposphere:  the lowest, densest part of the earth’s atmosphere in which most weather changes occur.  Temperature generally decreases rapidly with altitude, which extends from the earth’s surface to the bottom of the stratosphere at about 7 miles (11 kilometers) high.

Learnings the Child gains from Clouds Activity:

• how clouds are formed,
• correct nomenclature of ten basic cloud types,
• the shapes of the different clouds,
• the altitude at which these clouds hover,
• location,
• what type of precipitation is formed; and what happens to it at each level,
• the composition of the precipitation.

Based upon the altitude of the cloud’s base above the Earth’s surface, clouds can be divided into approximate groups – high / medium / low.  However, some clouds, i.e. Cumulonimbus and Cumulus, cover more than one level.

Contents of the Clouds Activity:

• Control Mat – 55 x 35 cm / (21″ x 14″)
• Working Mat – 67 x 35 cm / (26″ x 14″)
• cards displaying beautiful images of the 10 clouds, (2 larger, and 8 smaller images), used with the working mat
• labels identifying the 10 clouds, used with the working mat
• 8 header cards, – 10 x 6 cm / (4″ x 2.5″), used with the definition cards and the matrices
• 10 cards, each displaying an image of a cloud – 10 x 10 cm / (4″ x 4″), used with the definition cards and the matrices
• 22 definition cards, describing clouds.  Each definition has 2 cards, 1 control card, the other, a duplicate card, with a redacted word, used with the header and image cards
• 8 mix and match label cards for use with the matrix activity
• Booklet – 12 double-sided, beautifully illustrated pages
• Store these contents in the transparent, plastic A4 envelope provided.

Activities, suitable for a group of children, or the individual child, are listed below. This product suits the 6 to 9 environment, and forms part of the Montessori curriculum.

Suggested Activities for the Clouds Work:

1. Using the control mat as a control of error, child/ren place the images of each cloud at the correct altitude level on the working mat.
2. The Child places a label under each cloud on the working mat, using the control mat as a control of error.
3. Study the control definition cards.  Once the Child is confident, they move onto working with the cards that have a redacted word, by writing the redacted word on a separate sheet of paper.
4. Place the header cards on a working mat.  The child/ren build a matrix of the images of clouds, (from the definition cards), under the relevant title on the header cards.
5. Placing the header cards on a work mat, the child/ren match the mix and match labels under the title on the header cards.
6. Once the child/ren have mastered the activities, they can use their new-found knowledge and the mix and match labels to make up the name of other clouds.
7. The booklet provides the guide with an overview of the material.  The child/ren or the guide can use the booklet as a control, to check information and, as reading practice for the Child.
8. The Cloud Viewer, sold separately, can be used together with this material, to take the Child from the images to viewing the clouds in real life.

This new weather vocabulary stimulates the Child’s imagination to investigate further and to broaden their vocabulary.