Baby, It’s Cold Outside! Cue the Weather Books
Posted on February 2, 2011 by Suzan Woodard in Reading Lists.
Tags: Blizzard, Current Events, Earth Science, Ground Hog Day, Oral History, Oral language skills, Science, Snow, Storms, Tornadoes, Weather, Weather Books for Kids, Winter
It’s Groundhog Day, and Punxsutawney Phil just predicted that we would have an early spring. Try telling that to the folks hunkered down after getting slammed yesterday and today by the Monster Blizzard of 2011.
Chicago got more than 20 inches of snow and high winds, and schools were closed today – the first time in a decade. Texas declared an energy emergency and imposed rolling blackouts as officials fought to handle the extraordinary demand on the energy grid during the cold. Commuter rail service was suspended between New Jersey and New York because of heavy ice. Thousands of flights have been cancelled at airports around the country and shipping has come to a crawl or standstill in many parts of the United States.
That’s a blizzard for ya.
Current events are a marvelous teaching tool, and Bellwether Publishing’s “Blizzards” book by Kay Manolis is a timely read for kids observing the effects of the storm outside their windows. This Level 4 Blastoff! Readers book is aimed at 6- to 12-year-olds and contains big photos, interesting fact boxes and some weather diagrams.
My sister has vivid memories of “The Super Storm of 1993” mentioned on Page 20 in “Blizzards.” She was nine months pregnant and had visions of an unplanned home birth. Fortunately, the baby held off a day or two and roads were somewhat passable by the time little Madison made her arrival.
What weather-related stories do you have to tell? Share them with your children and students. Whether funny or suspense-filled, the anecdotes are sure to hold their attention. Sharing oral history can bolster literacy skills by building vocabulary, sharpening listening skills and lighting the imagination – especially if children get the chance to ask questions.
These personal stories make a perfect spring board for other lessons. They add life to science topics which could be dry if not presented with care and imagination. Make your lessons interactive!
Big Universe has an assortment of books that dovetails nicely with weather unit material.
Big Universe’s Weather Books
- “Blizzards” (Reading Level P. Interest Age: 6-12)
- “Winter” (Reading Level I. Interest Age: 6-8)
- “Ice Storms” (Reading Level P. Interest Age: 6-12)
- “Weather Scientists” (Reading Level R. Interest Age: 9-12)
- “Weather” (Reading Level E. Interest Age: 3-8)
- “Investigating Storms” (Reading Level R. Interest Age: 9-12)
- “Hurricanes” (Reading Level P. Interest Age: 6-12)
- “Sunny or Cloudy” (Reading Level D. Interest Age: 1-7)
- “Tornadoes” (Reading Level Q. Interest Age: 3-12)
- “My Calendar: Seasons“ (Reading Level G. Interest Age: 6-8)
- “Droughts” (Reading Level P. Interest Age: 6-12)
- “Ready, Set…WAIT!” (Reading Level N. Interest Age: 6-12)
- “Rourke’s World of Science Encyclopedia, Volume 4: Earth Science” (Interest Age: Grades 3-8)
- “Our Powerful Planet: The Curious Kid’s Guide to Tornadoes, Earthquakes and Other Phenomena” (Interest Age: Grades 2 and up.)
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