Thunderstorms occur at a rate of 2000 per day around the world. They are a vital natural process for the biosphere. When thunderstorms occur, a release of energy helps warm up the atmosphere and balance electrical charges. Their formation is based on environmental factors such as humidity, temperature, and wind direction. You may be able to observe the formation of a thunderstorm in your area. Teaching Parts of a Thunderstorm will provide your learners with the necessary information to spot and appreciate observing this natural phenomenon.
Four main types of thunderstorms exist; some fade quickly while others require protective actions: single-cell, multi-cell, squall line, and supercell. Our puzzle, Parts of a Thunderstorm, depicts a supercell thunderstorm since it covers the formation of a tornado.
As we know, a thunderstorm is made of distinctive parts which are carefully monitored by meteorologists to predict the severity of a storm. Our complete set, Parts of a Thunderstorm, describes 21 physical parts of a thunderstorm and scientific processes: Storm motion, wall cloud, overshooting top, cumulonimbus cloud, negative-charged particles, positively-charged particles, updraft, rear-flank downdraft, condensation funnel, wind, heavy rain, light rain, anvil cloud, tropopause, Mammatus clouds, shelf cloud, front-flank downdraft, mesocyclone, flanking line, gust front, and hail.
Materials
- Parts of a Thunderstorm Puzzle with Nomenclature Cards (6-9)
- Parts of a Thunderstorm (Nomenclature Cards) (6-9)
- Parts of a Thunderstorm Puzzle with Nomenclature Cards (3-6)
- Parts of a Thunderstorm (Nomenclature Cards) (3-6)
- Parts of a Thunderstorm Puzzle
Related materials: Box for Three-Part Cards, Three-Part Card Tray, Parts of an Atom Puzzle, Parts of an Atom Nomenclature Cards (6-9) (Printed)
How to use the Materials
Learners approaching this topic should be familiar with Types of Clouds, Layers of the Earth and its Atmosphere, and Parts of an Atom. As with all our science materials, you want to introduce the puzzle first. It is the entry point of the lesson, the concrete part of the learning. You may ask children questions about their personal experiences with thunderstorms. You may let the children deconstruct the puzzle and put it back together to get familiar with the layout. The booklet from the Parts of a Thunderstorm can then describe each part of the puzzle. As you read the descriptions aloud, have children label the parts of the puzzle using the wooden labels. If you are working with a small group of children, have other children organize the nomenclature cards from top to bottom on a mat (control card to the left, matching picture and label to the right).
To pick the children’s interest even further, you may share some interactive online simulators such as the ones from scijinks.gov where it is possible to use different factors to affect natural phenomena.
Finally, you want to leave on the science shelf copies of the reproducible materials such as the Nomenclature Cards Workbook, and the Blackline Master Chart. Both will provide a copy of the information, and have children further interact and integrate the newly acquired knowledge. While the Blackline Master Chart helps children reconstitute the whole concept with all its parts, the Workbook helps children isolate each part and tie them with scientific descriptions. The descriptions not only provide vocabulary enrichment but also create interdisciplinary connections with the rest of the Montessori curriculum. Since our materials are consistently written by our team of experts, these connections are guaranteed to emphasize in every material that we create.
In addition to this material, which is a repeatable and permanent experience for the learners, you may want to suggest creating a diorama of a thunderstorm using cotton balls. Many excellent exemplars can be found on the Internet!
We know you were very pleased with this sophisticated material. We suggest you revisit it every year with your learners as they will have expanded their knowledge on molecules and denitrification and will be able to comprehend the process differently each time.
For more exclusive science materials, make sure to visit our science section at www.alisonsmontessori.com.
