Cloudy Day:

Becca Hatheway and Roberta Johnson

National Earth Science Teachers Association

Boulder, CO

Activities Bridging Cloud Science,

Literacy, and Art

WWW.WINDOWS2UNIVERSE.ORG

Workshop plan…

Classroom Activity: Cloud in a Bottle

Overview of Cloud Science and How Clouds Affect the Weather

Classroom Activities:• Cloud Types and Identification• Clouds in Art• Our Poetic Planet

Online resources from Windows to the Universe

Four activities that make connections between

the science of clouds, art and literacy:

Available at Windows to the Universe (www.windows2universe.org),

a National Earth Science Teachers Association educational project.

Students explore… Classroom Activity…the conditions needed for clouds to

form.Cloud in a Bottle

…the different types of clouds. Cloud Viewer

…clouds in the sky and write poetry about nature, including clouds and weather.

Our Poetic Planet

…how Western artists have represented clouds in landscape paintings.

Clouds in Art

Cloud in a BottleIn this activity, students learn how clouds form by making a cloud in a bottle. There must be three main ingredients present in order for clouds to form:

• Moisture – there must be sufficient water vapor in the air to build a cloud

• Cooling air – the air temperature must decrease enough for water vapor to condense

• Condensation nuclei – tiny particles such as dust provide surfaces on which water molecules can gather and condense into water droplets

Cloud in a BottleUse a Fizz-keeper and matches to create a cloud

1. Record the initial temperature of the bottle.2. Pump the Fizz Keeper 20 times. Record the temperature.

Pump the Fizz keeper 20 more times. Record the temperature. Repeat this two more times so you have recorded the temperature after 60 and 80 pumps.

3. Unscrew the Fizz Keeper and record the temperature of the bottle.

4. Now pour a small amount of water into the bottle. Light a match and drop it into the bottle. Quickly screw the Fizz Keeper on the bottle and repeat steps 1-3 above.

5. What happened after you unscrewed the Fizz Keeper the final time?

* If using air freshener, do not use a match! Keep the matches separate from air freshener when putting out supplies.

Discussion: How Do Clouds Form?

There are four main ways clouds form:• Surface Heating• Mountains and Terrain• Air masses being forced to rise• Weather fronts (cold or warm)

All of these processes involve the cooling of air and the presence of condensation nuclei. Eventually, enough water vapor will condense upon condensation nuclei to form a cloud. The water droplets may fall down to Earth in the form of rain or

snow.

• The sun heats the Earth, which heats the air

• The warm air is lighter and less dense and begins to rise

• When it rises, it expands because of the lower pressures that exist at higher levels in the atmosphere

• When air expands because of a drop in pressure it also cools

• The cooling air can’t hold all the water vapor, so it begins to condense into water droplets

• Eventually, enough moisture condenses out of the air parcel to form a cloud

• Cumulonumbus, cumulus, and stratocumulus clouds form this way

Cloud Formation Due to Surface Heating

• Some clouds form when air encounters a mountain range or other types of terrain

• The air rises over the mountain and cools, and forms a cloud

• Cumulonimbus and cumulus clouds form this way

Cloud Formation Due to Mountains

• Some clouds form when air at the surface is forced to rise. This happens from three different processes

• In a low pressure system, wind moves into the center from all directions (from high to low pressure). When it meets at the center there is no where to go but up.

• Air is forced to rise when it is traveling over land that slopes upward. The air cools as it rises, and eventually clouds will form.

• Weather fronts produce clouds by causing air to rise when the lighter warm air flows over the heavier cool air

• All cloud types are formed by these processes, especially altocumulus, altostratus, cirrocumulus, stratocumulus, and stratus

Clouds Formed by Air Being Forced to Rise

• Weather fronts occur when two large masses of air collide at the Earth’s surface – these can cause clouds to form

• Warm fronts produce clouds when warm air replaces cold air by sliding over it

• Warm fronts produce many types of clouds: altocumulus, altostratus, cirrocumulus, cirrostratus, cirrus, cumulonimbus, nimbostratus, stratocumulus, and stratus

• Cold fronts occur when heavy cold air displaces lighter warm air, pushing it upward

• Cold fronts produce cumulus, cumulonimbus, nimbostratus, stratocumulus, and stratus clouds

Cloud Formation Due to Weather Fronts

Cloud Types

Clouds can be divided into groups mainly based on the height of the cloud’s base above the Earth’s surface

Cloud #1

This is an image of cirrus clouds. These clouds are thin, wispy, and feathery.

Cloud #2

This is an image of cumulus clouds. They are puffy white or light gray clouds that look like floating cotton balls, have sharp outlines, and have a flat base.

Cloud #3

This is an image of stratocumulus clouds. These clouds are low, lumpy, and gray.

Cloud #4

This is an image of altocumulus clouds. These clouds can be in groups or rows.

Cloud #5

This is an image of cumulonimbus clouds. These clouds are large, have an anvil-shaped top, and are associated with thunderstorms.

Clouds in Art

Clouds in Art Interactive

Students explore how Western artists have represented clouds in landscape paintings while honing their cloud identification skills and making their own cloud paintings.

Our Poetic Planet

Students make observations of clouds and weather and write poetry about nature about what they observed.

Our Poetic PlanetPoetry about clouds, weather, and other aspects of the Earth can be very descriptive. Poetry is a form of expression that allows students to write about their observations about the natural world.

• Share published poems with students

• Discuss different types of poetry

• Create a word wall with your class to give them descriptive words to use in their poems (good strategy for learning readers and English language learners)

Examples of Poetry about Weather and Clouds

FOG

The fog comeson little cat feet.

It sits lookingover harbor and cityon silent haunchesand then moves on.

- Carl Sandburg

Examples of Poetry about Weather and Clouds

With rushing winds and gloomy skiesThe dark and stubborn Winter dies:Far-off, unseen Spring faintly cries,Bidding her earliest child arise;March!                       - Bayard Taylor

Examples of Poetry about Weather and Clouds

sun:  the sun is like a gentle golden pony rising in the morning,wind:  the wind is like a happy kitten rustling the branches,rain:  the rain is like a cup spilling over the valley,rainbow:  the rainbow is like a towel wiping up the spill,mountains:  the mountains are sleeping dragons in a long chain.

By Sophie, 2nd grader, Roanoke, VA

Examples of Poetry about Weather and Clouds

Snowflakes fall gently

Fluttering to the ground

Winter is still here.

By Elaine, 5th grader, Boulder, CO

Poetry submissions on

Windows to the Universe

http://www.windows2universe.org

http://www.windows2universe.org/earth/Atmosphere/cloud.html

Three levels of content in two languages

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