Overview

Students read a summary of the book, Lightning and Other Wonders of the Sky to learn how rain, thunder, and lightning are formed. Students then build a model to simulate how precipitation is formed. The activity also offers students the opportunity to visit Web sites that illustrate cloud formations.

Objectives

Learn the basics of how rain, thunder, and lightning are formed.
Model the formation of precipitation.

Materials

• Computer and modem
• Web-browsing software
• Printer
• Materials for the activity: a clear quart jar with lid, tap water, four or five ice cubes (one set of materials for each student group)
• Lightning and Other Wonders of the Sky Activity worksheet (one copy for each student group)

Steps

1. Have students read the book summary. Invite them to discuss their impressions of rain, lightning, and thunder, and to ask questions clarifying the natural processes that produce them. Encourage them to describe what conditions have to be present in order for these processes to occur.

2. Visit and review the content of the Cloud Boutique Web site at Athena Curriculum Weather Web site at http://vathena.arc.nasa.gov/curric/weather/pricloud/index.html with your students. Make sure that students understand that only certain cloud types will generate precipitation.

3. Divide the class into work groups. Distribute the materials for the Rain Maker Print out and distribute copies of the Lightning and Other Wonders of the Sky Activity worksheet. to each student group.

4. Help students follow the activity instructions. Remind students that what they are doing is creating a model of what actually occurs in nature. You may have students discuss their predictions of what will happen in the jar before they write their answers. Poll the class to learn if the students' predictions were correct or not.

5. After groups have completed their activities, be sure that they understand that the water in the jar evaporated (change from a liquid to a gas) and then condensed (change from a gas to a liquid). Drops formed when the water vapor hit the cool underside of the lid. This demonstrates how rain forms. The sun heats the water on the surface of the Earth, such as from oceans, rivers, lakes, and streams. The water evaporates. As warm air rises with the water vapor (water in the form of gas), it cools. When the water vapor gets cold enough, it condenses into water and falls back to Earth as rain.

Extension

Set up a weather station in a corner of the classroom. Invite students to use weather instruments, such as a thermometer for temperature, a barometer for air pressure, and a rain gauge (a ruler in a jar) for precipitation. Students can also describe types of clouds and the overall weather (e.g., sunny, cloudy, rainy). Have students organize, analyze, and communicate their data. For more information on weather, students can visit the USAToday Weather Web site at http://www.usatoday.com/weather/weatherfront.aspx.

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