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Free Butterfly Life Cycle Activities

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⎯ Seasonal ⎯

Rain Activities for the Classroom

‘Tis the season for rain… lots and lots of rain, and these rain activities for the classroom are sure to keep your kiddos engaged, even on the days that it is too wet to go out and play!

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STORM IS COMING

Last year, I stumbled across Storm Is Coming by Heather Tekavec and instantly fell in love.

Storm Is Coming!
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03/08/2024 08:32 am GMT
When farmer tells Dog that a storm is coming, Dog panics and runs to warn the other animals.  After reading the first page, we use the clues from the illustrations on the first page and cover to predict what will happen next.  We even use our schema about rain and storms to help us form our predictions.  First, we rehearse our predictions orally as we tell our neighbor, “I predict…”  Then, we illustrate and write about our predictions.

We also sequence the beginning of the story.

As the animals take shelter in the barn, they anxiously await Storm’s presence.  Cat asks, “And who is Storm?” which sets the stage for the personification that follows.  As Storm gets closer, the sky grows dark.  Dog reassures the animals that dark is good because Storm won’t be able to find them in the dark.  Each part of the storm, which the animals don’t realize is actually their fictitious character named Storm, causes a certain effect.  The wind will blow Storm away.  The rain will wash away the animals footprints so that Storm can’t find them.  The lightning and thunder will scare Storm away.  As we read through the middle of the story, we discuss each cause and effect.

The story ends with the animals thinking Storm never came.  Before I reveal the ending, I read the following passage:  But then everything stopped.  The sky went silent, and so did the animals.  They waited and listened, and Duck flew down to huddle with the others.  Again, we use our schema about storms and the clues from the story to predict what will happen at the end of the story.

THE ITSY BITSY SPIDER

Of course, we also read The Itsy Bitsy Spider by Iza Trapani.

The Itsy Bitsy Spider (Iza Trapani’s Extended Nursery Rhymes)
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03/07/2024 12:14 pm GMT

Then, we complete this simple sequencing activity.

Learn all about rain this spring with over 35 rain activities for kids, including a rain experiment, water cycle experiment, weather crafts, Itsy Bitsy Spider activities, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs craft and lessons, and so many more weather activities perfect for a rainy day!

We continue our discussion of cause and effect with these reading response activities.

Learn all about rain this spring with over 35 rain activities for kids, including a rain experiment, water cycle experiment, weather crafts, Itsy Bitsy Spider activities, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs craft and lessons, and so many more weather activities perfect for a rainy day!

Learn all about rain this spring with over 35 rain activities for kids, including a rain experiment, water cycle experiment, weather crafts, Itsy Bitsy Spider activities, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs craft and lessons, and so many more weather activities perfect for a rainy day!

My most favorite reading response activity are these text-to-self connection spider crafts!  So cute!

Learn all about rain this spring with over 35 rain activities for kids, including a rain experiment, water cycle experiment, weather crafts, Itsy Bitsy Spider activities, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs craft and lessons, and so many more weather activities perfect for a rainy day!

Learn all about rain this spring with over 35 rain activities for kids, including a rain experiment, water cycle experiment, weather crafts, Itsy Bitsy Spider activities, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs craft and lessons, and so many more weather activities perfect for a rainy day!

CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF MEATBALLS

Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs by Judi Barrett has always been one of my favorite rainy day read alouds.

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03/07/2024 09:28 am GMT

It’s perfect for identifying the characters and setting of story.  We also use this story to further discuss cause and effect, as well as problem and solution.

Learn all about rain this spring with over 35 rain activities for kids, including a rain experiment, water cycle experiment, weather crafts, Itsy Bitsy Spider activities, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs craft and lessons, and so many more weather activities perfect for a rainy day!

We even complete a little opinion writing about our favorite food using this adorable meteorologist craft.  Just look at their responses!

Learn all about rain this spring with over 35 rain activities for kids, including a rain experiment, water cycle experiment, weather crafts, Itsy Bitsy Spider activities, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs craft and lessons, and so many more weather activities perfect for a rainy day!

Learn all about rain this spring with over 35 rain activities for kids, including a rain experiment, water cycle experiment, weather crafts, Itsy Bitsy Spider activities, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs craft and lessons, and so many more weather activities perfect for a rainy day!

Learn all about rain this spring with over 35 rain activities for kids, including a rain experiment, water cycle experiment, weather crafts, Itsy Bitsy Spider activities, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs craft and lessons, and so many more weather activities perfect for a rainy day!

During our phonics time, we practice counting syllables with this sorting activity and response sheet.

Learn all about rain this spring with over 35 rain activities for kids, including a rain experiment, water cycle experiment, weather crafts, Itsy Bitsy Spider activities, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs craft and lessons, and so many more weather activities perfect for a rainy day!

Learn all about rain this spring with over 35 rain activities for kids, including a rain experiment, water cycle experiment, weather crafts, Itsy Bitsy Spider activities, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs craft and lessons, and so many more weather activities perfect for a rainy day!

LITERACY RAIN ACTIVITIES

Our rain activities don’t stop with just a few read alouds.  I make sure our literacy centers and phonics activities for the week are also rain themed.  Most of these activities are completed whole group, and then placed in our literacy tubs.

Since we’ve been working on L-blends, I created these self correcting picture puzzles.  After assembling each puzzle, we also complete a response sheet.

Learn all about rain this spring with over 35 rain activities for kids, including a rain experiment, water cycle experiment, weather crafts, Itsy Bitsy Spider activities, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs craft and lessons, and so many more weather activities perfect for a rainy day!

Since we had counted syllables with Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, we continue to practice this skill during center time with this simple “Splashing Syllables” spinner activity.

Learn all about rain this spring with over 35 rain activities for kids, including a rain experiment, water cycle experiment, weather crafts, Itsy Bitsy Spider activities, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs craft and lessons, and so many more weather activities perfect for a rainy day!

My kiddos have also been practicing beginning digraphs, so this “Rainy Day Digraphs” activity is a breeze for them.

Learn all about rain this spring with over 35 rain activities for kids, including a rain experiment, water cycle experiment, weather crafts, Itsy Bitsy Spider activities, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs craft and lessons, and so many more weather activities perfect for a rainy day!

Word families and rhyming have also been on tap, and this “Raindrop Rhymes” activity further reinforces these skills.

Learn all about rain this spring with over 35 rain activities for kids, including a rain experiment, water cycle experiment, weather crafts, Itsy Bitsy Spider activities, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs craft and lessons, and so many more weather activities perfect for a rainy day!

MATH RAIN ACTIVITIES

We also complete numerous rain activities during our math lessons and center time.  This “Cloudy Comparison” whole group activity is an instant hit.  First, I choose two students to scoop “droplets” onto each cloud.  They count their droplets, and the class determines which cloud has the greater number.

We extend this rain activity into our independent learning time with this math center.

The kiddos also determine the parts of a whole with this “It’s Raining Number Bonds” activity.  First, they identify the whole.

Then, they count out the known part, and move these into the top raindrop.

Last, they identify the unknown part and move the remaining “drops” into the bottom raindrop.

This “Showers of Sums” activity is a great independent center for my kiddos.  I simply place the cards around the room, and the kiddos scoot about to complete their response sheet.

Learn all about rain this spring with over 35 rain activities for kids, including a rain experiment, water cycle experiment, weather crafts, Itsy Bitsy Spider activities, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs craft and lessons, and so many more weather activities perfect for a rainy day!

Of course, we have to practice our subtraction skills too with this “Rain, Rain, Go Away” activity.  This activity is first completed using two dice and our number line cards.  After shaking the dice, we place the greater number in the first box and the lesser number in the second box.  Then, we use our little raindrop man to model the subtraction problem on the number line.  Last, we demonstrate our learning with this simple response sheet.

Learn all about rain this spring with over 35 rain activities for kids, including a rain experiment, water cycle experiment, weather crafts, Itsy Bitsy Spider activities, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs craft and lessons, and so many more weather activities perfect for a rainy day!

SCIENCE RAIN ACTIVITIES

Integrating lessons across the curriculum is one of my biggest priorities.  I am very intentional in making sure that our math and literacy activities are tied to our science concepts.  We always begin a unit by discussing any important vocabulary words.  Oftentimes, we make up hand motions to go with each definition.  Then, the words are added to our “Rain Dictionary.”

Learn all about rain this spring with over 35 rain activities for kids, including a rain experiment, water cycle experiment, weather crafts, Itsy Bitsy Spider activities, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs craft and lessons, and so many more weather activities perfect for a rainy day!

Learn all about rain this spring with over 35 rain activities for kids, including a rain experiment, water cycle experiment, weather crafts, Itsy Bitsy Spider activities, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs craft and lessons, and so many more weather activities perfect for a rainy day!

During our nonfiction rain studies, we demonstrate our learning with this “Rainy Facts” mobile.

Learn all about rain this spring with over 35 rain activities for kids, including a rain experiment, water cycle experiment, weather crafts, Itsy Bitsy Spider activities, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs craft and lessons, and so many more weather activities perfect for a rainy day!

We conclude our Rain Unit by creating these “All About Rain” raindrop booklets.

Learn all about rain this spring with over 35 rain activities for kids, including a rain experiment, water cycle experiment, weather crafts, Itsy Bitsy Spider activities, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs craft and lessons, and so many more weather activities perfect for a rainy day!

One of our most favorite rain activities was this “Down Comes the Rain” science experiment.

You can read about this experiment here.

Plus, don’t forget to check out these other posts filled with more engaging rain activities for your classroom!

INTEGRATED RAIN ACTIVITIES

Learn “All About Rain” with this 165 page PAIRED NONFICTION & FICTION INTEGRATED UNIT, which is jam-packed with over 35 math, science, ELA, writing and art activities sure to keep your kiddos engaged as you learn about rain and the water cycle!

DON’T FORGET IT… PIN IT!

Learn all about rain this spring with over 35 rain activities for kids, including a rain experiment, water cycle experiment, weather crafts, Itsy Bitsy Spider activities, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs craft and lessons, and so many more weather activities perfect for a rainy day!

Plus, find more springtime activities on my “Spring” Pinterest board.

Now, hop on over to read all about these other great books for April!


Ashley Sharp Pos Bio Image

Ashley Sharp

As a dedicated Kindergarten teacher for nearly 20 years, I believe the words “fun, play, and creativity” can sit right alongside the words “developmentally appropriate, engaging, and rigorous.” Learning is meant to be fun and messy!

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2 responses to “Rain Activities for the Classroom”

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    BestEva

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  2. Cynthia Avatar
    Cynthia

    Hello I’m trying to see if you have the meteorologist template for it’s cloudy w a chance of……. is it free or a donation?