Would your family like to learn more about Extreme Weather?Try to find some of these titles:
Extreme Weather, by Margaret Hynes, Kingfisher, 2011 – Full of lots of facts and illustrations and photographs, this is a good book for older kids wanting to learn more about extreme weather.
Extreme Weather, by H. Michael Mogil and Barbara G. Levine, Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2008 – Another good title for older readers that really explains things like tornadoes, lightning, hurricanes etc..
Extreme Weather, by Ann O. Squire, Children’s Press An Imprint [MCB1] Scholastic Inc., 2015 – Part of the TRUE book series, this book starts off with two True or False statements and you will learn the answers by reading the book. Made for the grade 4 to 5 reading level.
Extreme Weather: Surviving Tornadoes, Sandstorms, Hailstorms, Blizzards, Hurricans, and More!, by Thomas M. Kostigen, National Geographic Kids, 2014 – lots of text and facts for older students to read and learn about many different forms of extreme weather from heat waves to water spouts.
You Wouldn’t Want to Live Without Extreme Weather!, Written by Roger Canavan and illustrated by Mark Bergin, Franklin Watts An Imprint of Scholastic, 2015 – Full of facts and wacky illustrations this book helps the reader understand extreme weather in many forms.
Go to your local library with your family to find books about the weather or go online and reserve books in advance!
How to encourage your child to write:
Choose the level of your child:
Toddler/Preschool – discuss the answer(s) out loud first and have your child draw a picture of the answer
Preschool/Kindergarten – discuss the answer(s) out loud first and write the answer down for him/her leaving one word for him/her to write out himself/herself with your help. You could also encourage him/her to draw a picture as well.
Early Grade School – have your child either write out the answer himself/herself (encourage phonetic spelling) without your help, or offer to help with spelling each word out loud one word at a time.
Grade School – have your child write a sentence or two on his/her own and then read over and discuss the response. (You decide whether to correct the spelling or not)
Older Child – have your child write a longer response (paragraph).
As A Challenge – instead of a question ask your older child to write a story or poem about the weather.
Here are some Picture Books about the weather:
Boy were we wrong about the weather, by Kathleen V. Kudlinski and illustrated by Sebastia Serra, Dial Books for Young Readesr, 2015, A fun way to explroe how weather was viewed in the past and in the present.
Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs and Pickles to Pittsburgh, written and colored by Judi Barret and Drawn by Ron Barrett, Atheneum books for Young Children, 1997— Chewandswallow is a little town where instead of weather, different foods rain from the sky.
Hello, Sun! By Dayle Ann Dodds and pictures by Sachiko Yoshikawa, Dial Books for Younger Readers, 2005 – A little girl says hello to the sun and greats dressed only to have the weather continually change for her in this brightly illustrated book.
It's Windy, by Celeste Bishop and illustrated by Maria Jose D Luz, PowerKids press, 2017 - This is an easy to read book with large and few text.
Let’s Count the Raindrops, illustrations by Fumi Kosaka, Viking, 2001 – This is a collection of ten poems about the weather which come alive thanks to the fun acrylic paintings by this Japanese artist.
This Beautiful Day, by Richard Jackson and illustrated by Suzy Lee, Atheneum Books For Young Children, 2017 – With playful yet simplistic illustrations this book shows how it can be a beautiful day no matter the weather.
The Storm, by Akiko MiyaKoshi, Beautiful charcoal illustrations adorn this book about a child who wants to go to the beach but the weather is stormy.
The Magic School Bus: Inside a Hurricane, by Joanna Cole and illustrated by Bruce Degen, Scholastic Inc., 1995 - Ms. Frizzle does it again...and the class learn all about weather.
Reading and Writing
BOOKS
Experiments in Earth Science and Weather with Toys and Everyday Stuff, by Emily Sohn, Capstone Press, 2016 – This is a great little book for younger children.The activities/Experiments are easy and the text large.
Science Alive: Weather, by Darlene Lauw, and Lim Cheng Puay, Crabtree Publishing , 2003 - this book has seven activities with easy to read instructions and explanations.
Science Explorer: Weather, by Tamara B Orr, Cherry Lake Publishing, 2010 - This book has six experiments that your family can do at home.
Up in the Air, by Wendy Madgwick, Armadillo, 2014 - As the subtitle says, this has 17 easy-to-follow experiments for learning fun, helping your family learn about flight and how weather works.
Weather: Explore nature with fun facts and activities, by John Farndon and consultant John Woodward, Dk Penguin Random House, 2017 - a little book but packed with information and a few experiments.
Weather, by Tamara B. Orr, Cherry Lake Publishing, 2010 – This book has 6 experiments (one of which I have a variation on the learning page) and is a great supplement for your family if you have kids keen on more science experiments.
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Here are some Non-fiction books about clouds:
Clouds, by Grace Hansen, Abdo Weather Kids, 2016 - This is an easy reader book good for new readers who want to learn a little about clouds.
Clouds, by Anne Rockwell and illustrated by Frane Lessac - Written in the form of a picture book this is a good in-between book for readers with easy facts about clouds.
Clouds, by Christine Webster, AV2 by Weigl, 2013 - Older kids will like this book as it has more information and also has a book code to use online for enhanced learning.
What type of weather would you or your child like to learn more about?
Here are some more non-fiction titles but these are about specific types of weather:
Down Comes the Rain, by Franklyn M. Branley, illustrated by Mary Ann Fraser, Harper Collins Publishers, 2017 – Part of the Let’s Read and Find Out series, this is written in the form of a picture book but instead of a story it teaches the reader about the water cycle, precipitation, condensation etc..
Precipitation, by Caitie McAneney, Gareth Stevens Publishing, 2017 – a nice compact book that teachers all about the water cycle.
Thunder and Lightning, by Grace Hansen, Abdo Kids, 2016 – Made for new readers, this book features photographs and large text with basic facts about thunder and lightning.
Tornadoes, by Tamra B. Orr, Cherry Lake Publishing, 2012 – This may be a small book but it is better suited for older readers as it has a lot of information about tornadoes.
Why is it Snowing?, by Judith Williams, Enslow Elementary, 2005 – With larger text this is a good one for new readers. It uses simplistic explanations to answer questions like “Where does snow start?” and “How many shapes can snow crystals have?”
JOURNALING Question Prompt:
Write out one or more of the following questions in your Family Theme Day Scrapbook or on a piece of paper to glue in your scrapbook: What is your favourite type of weather? What is your least favourite type of weather? What are different types of weather? What do you know about what causes weather? What would you like to learn about the weather?
Weather
Here are some books with more weather experiments:
Arty Facts Weather and Art Activities, written by Janet Saks, Crabtree Publishing Company, 2002 – this one is full of art projects (difficult and easy) and lots of weather facts that go with each craft.
Try to find some of these Non-fiction titles to learn all about the weather:
50 Things You Should Know About Wild Weather, by Anna Claybourne, QEB Publishing, 2016 - This is a great book for older kids packed full of facts.
The Best Book of Weather, by Simon Adams, Kingfisher Publications, 2001 - This one features ilustrations and is a great review of all sorts of weather.
Can it Rain Cats and Dogs, by Melvin and Gilda Berger and illustrated by Robert Sullivan, Scholastic Reference, 1999 – This book answers many weather questions and is full of many interesting facts.
Eyewitness Weather, written by Brian Cosgrove, DK Publishing, Inc., 2007 - My kids love these Eyewtiness books, they are packed with photographs and a lot of information for advanced readers.
How Weather Works, by Robin Birch, Marshall Cavendish, 2010 - A good science book with succinct facts about how weather works, the atmosphere, precipitation, wind etc.
How the Weather Works, by the Templar Company Limited and illustrated by Beverley Young, templar Books, 2011 – I don’t usually recommend pop-up books as they are often hard to find at bookstores and libraries and easily torn by eager hands, but this one is too good to not write about. There is a lot of great information in this hands-on book about rain, clouds, wind, hurricanes and climate.
Meteorologist's Tools, by Anders Hanson, Abdo Publishing Comapny, 2011 - an easy to read book with basic facts about meteorologists and the tools they use.
Now We Know About...The Weather, by Dr. Mike Goldsmith, Crabtree Publishing Company, 2010 - This is a small book but has a lot of infomration for eager weather enthusiasts.
Science Q&A Weather, by Janice Parker, Weigl Publishers Inc., 2009 - A good book for older kids this book answers 20 questions about weather including: "How is wind measured?" "How does water affect the weather?" and "What cuases lightning and thunder?"
Weather Maps, by Ian F. Mahaney, Power Kids Press, 2007 - budding meteorologists will like this book as it explains everything about weather maps.
What is Today's Weather, by Jennifer Boothroyd, Lerner Publications Company, 2015 - A very basic book for beginner readers. (Also in this series "How does Weather Change?", "What does Sunlight Do?", "What is a Forecast?", "What is Climate?", "What is Severe Weather?")