Just found a great site!

I just found this great site-sparklebox.com. It is loaded with unbelievable free downloadable resources. I discovered it when looking for resources to teach Mean, Median, Mode and Range. (This is one area that I fear I will not cover prior to TCAP). This site has some great vocabulary cards that caught my attention. Once I began to explore the site it I was lost in sparklebox for an hour! Enter at your own risk of losing track of time!!

 

sparklebox

M & M Meteorologists

Weather is what you get!

Climate is what you expect!

I'm always looking for ways to incorporate a little something sweet into the learning experience.A simple mini bag of m&m's was the perfect sweet treat to help my students understand weather and climate.  Determining the difference between weather and climate can be a tricky concept for 4th graders. This tasty learning activity really helps them understand the differences between the two while also enjoying a yummy treat.

First we assign weather elements to our m&m symbols.

Then we color code them on the m&m code chart and weather table.

Next, students are given a mini bag of m&ms. This bag represents their m&m region.

The students open their individual bag of m&ms and tally the colors of the m&ms found in their region.

The students then use their information to determine which weather elements occur the most in their m&m region and list the type of climate that would be found there.

Finally, the students glue their m&m region to their Weather/Climate Page.

When the activity is complete, don't make the students "angry"-- let them enjoy their region m&ms.

MMClimateWeather

**Extension:
Have students with similar climates create a weather report to coincide with their climates.
Students could create travel brochures suggesting what to pack and what sites might me seen in  their particular region.

With TCAP only 21 days away...I will not be able to do any of the extensions!! Boo Hoo!