How Can You Teach RATIOs with Snow?

Winter definitely continues to grasp many areas of North America. And, just like my family, I am certain that your family is eager for blustery spring winds to blow away those pesky snow clouds.

Hopefully, it won’t be too long before the light and fluffy snowflakes will be replaced by an ample supply of raindrops—the perfect way to wash away the gray of winter.

This anticipation of spring is a great opportunity to provide not only a science lesson but also a fun way to demonstrate the concept of ratios. By using the relationship between snowflake density and raindrop density (i.e. the Snow Water Equivalent), the kiddos can practice using ratios, skip counting, and multiplication.

Why not go outside, scoop up a bucket of fresh fallen snow, and have some winter-spring transition fun.

HOW CAN WE USE THE SNOW WATER EQUIVALENT TO TEACH RATIOS?

“IT’S A RATIO.”

“HORATIO WHO?”

Every time I hear the term ratio, I recall the scene where Opie and Andy Taylor discuss ratios. Opie, most likely in the first grade, does not understand the term. In fact, many children in K-2 have difficulty grasping the concept. Add this confusion to the concept of comparing snowfall amounts with rainfall amounts, and you have a recipe for a flood of misunderstanding.

This activity addresses both concepts in a fun yet scientific manner. Finish it off with a snow cone treat and your children are bound to forever remember that it takes a lot of snow to equal an inch of rainfall!

ACTIVITY DESCRIPTION: Children will observe changes in density by melting snow. They will then use the melted snow to determine the ratio of rain to snow. Children will use that information to predict how much rainfall there would be if their area received rain instead of snow.

MATERIALS:

Fresh snow (or shaved ice if no snow is available-results will vary)

Clear plastic cup

Clock and timer

Printouts of raindrops and snowflakes

Camera (optional)

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Prior to the activity, fill the plastic cup with either snow or shaved ice. Show the cup to your children.

 

 

Explain that when snow melts into water, the density (a measure of how compact an object is) will change.

Ask: When this snow melts, how much water will there be in the cup?

2. Place the cup on flat surface and take a photo of it.

3. Record the time that the observation begins and set the timer for 30 minutes.

4. When 30 minutes have passed, look at the snow and record any changes. Take a photo. Set the timer for 30 minutes.

 

 

5. Repeat step 4 until the snow has melted.

6. When the snow is melted compare the children’s predictions with the actual amount of liquid in the cup.

Ask: How long did it take for the snow to melt? Why is there less spaced filled in the cup? What could change the rate of melting? (Ex: placing the cup in the sun, in front of a fan, etc.)

EXPLANATION:

When snowflakes combine with other snowflakes, there is air between each one. When the snowflakes melt, air is released, causing the water contained in the snowflakes to take up less space. The snow and the liquid have the same mass (stuff), but have different density.

 

7. Use the printouts of the snowflakes and raindrops to represent the ratio of inches of snow to the corresponding inches of rain, as shown.

 

 

8. Discuss the differences that could happen if the snowfall fell on a different day. For example, when temperatures rise, snowflakes have a greater density. Therefore, the ratio of snowfall to rainfall would change.

9. Complete the lesson by making snow cones. Remind the children that while their snow cone cups may appear full, there is very little water inside.

EXTENSION ACTIVITIES:

1. Completion of the snow melting portion of this activity provides an opportunity to reinforce telling time to the hour and half hour. Children in K-1 can use the photographs created by the experiment to sequence the melting process and matching the corresponding time to the correct image.

2. This lesson also provides and excellent opportunity to practice skip counting and multiplication. Print multiple copies of the raindrop and snowflake printables to use with both concepts. It is also possible to begin basic algebra concepts by replacing the snowflake with S and the raindrop with R.

Snow! Snow! Let the Winds Blow!

We all know the weather patterns—hot in summer and cold in winter? Or, is that correct? This year alone we’ve had temperatures in the 80s with torrential rains followed by bone chilling, pipe bursting temperatures so cold that schools and businesses were closed. These extreme weather swings took place in the month of January. Climate change is more than likely the cause of our now-familiar roller coaster weather patterns.

Why not tap into these changes in weather patterns to create a snowman glyph?

Today’s post includes instructions and printables to use with your children to practice recording and interpreting data, create and interpret bar graphs, and improve fine motor skills. As an added bonus, I am including a  set of snowflake-themed printables for you to use with the kiddos. So, when the winds are howling and the snow is blowing, you can stay inside warm and snug and still enjoy the snowflakes.

HOW WOULD YOU BUILD YOUR SNOWMAN GLYPH? 

OBJECTIVE: Demonstrate the ability to read and interpret glyphs.

*Please note that younger children may need assistance with cutting the snowman components.

MATERIALS NEEDED

Printouts provided with this lesson*

Scissors and glue

 

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Prior to the activity, prepare a snowman glyph with your personal choices for the snowman components. Show your completed snowman to the children, along with the key.

Ask: Looking at the snowman that I made and the key, what do you think my favorite candy is? What type of shoes do I like to wear?

Explain that the children are going to create their own snowmen, based on their favorite things.

2. Show the key to the children. Discuss the options to use for each category.

3. Give the snowman printout and the component printouts to the children, instructing them to build their own snowman based on their choices.

4. When the glyphs are completed, children will share their choices to reinforce reading the glyph with the Snowman Glyph Key.

Snowmen and a Snow Fort

Use the completed glyphs to build a bar graph showing the total number of children who chose each component, as shown.

MODIFICATION: Children create a glyph based upon their favorite season. Create a bar or pictograph of the results.

 

 

ONE Snowflake Among Billions

How do you pay tribute to the ones that you have loved and lost? From Thanksgiving through the end of December, people everywhere pay tribute in many ways. In the United States we remember those that risked everything to settle our country by welcoming loved ones to share a meal at our dining table. In December, we celebrate the birth of Jesus by donating our time and money to help those less fortunate than us. We present gifts to loved ones to remember the ultimate gift that Jesus presented to us. There are countless ways to honor others and help out the community at the same time.

Before Thanksgiving, readers of this blog participated in a memorial project that encouraged remembrance and selfless giving. This project was in memory of a man that none of the readers nor I had ever met--Roger Mulder from West Michigan. The participants in this project, both young and old, remained anonymous, only providing their first names and states in which they reside. True gratitude and caring was evidenced by the readers’ willingness to help shine the light on a kind and caring man that helped many many children have a brighter Christmas for 10 years.

The blog readers and their children selected toys were donated to the Salvation Army Angel Tree in Virginia and Michigan memory of Roger Mulder.

The blog readers and their children created or selected a very special angel to photograph for this project.

The blog readers helped continue Roger Mulder’s generosity.

I am certain that many readers wonder about the significance of this blog’s title--Rainbows to Snowflakes. Both rainbows and snowflakes are amazing examples of God’s gifts to us. When we take the time to study and admire the beauty of something as small and insignificant as a drop of water that becomes a snowflake-ONE among billions, our eyes and hearts are opened wide enough to allow us to see the splendor of a rainbow, the combination of billions of drops of water. Roger Mulder was ONE of those beautiful and amazing drops that formed a snowflake. When the readers of this blog paused long enough to take note of this man’s great acts of generosity, I am certain that their own personal rainbows became brighter.

The blog readers gave selflessly by participating in this project. And, a selfless act is the most precious gift we can present to ourselves.

Thank you to the many people that took time to snap a photo of an angel, create an angel, or select a very special angel and shine the light on an angel in Heaven--Roger Mulder.

Please take a moment to view the photos that are the conclusion of this project—each image ONE droplet, ONE snowflake of the beautiful rainbow of humanity.

 

 These toys were donated in memory of Roger Mulder:

 

 

 

 

ARE YOU A RAINBOW, A SNOWFLAKE, OR A LITTLE BIT OF BOTH?

 

Rainbows and snowflakes are true contrasts of nature. To best experience the splendor of a rainbow, we must pause, step back, and gaze from a distance. A snowflake, on the other hand, implores us to draw close. We must capture the fleeting beauty of winter’s masterpiece as it quickly blends into a snowdrift.

In many ways we are a blend of both rainbows and snowflakes. Some of our qualities are rainbow bold, easily noticed by others. However, each of us also possesses wonderful talents that can be easily missed. Like a quietly drifting snowflake, these talents implore others to draw closer to truly appreciate the traits that make each of us a unique snowflake.

As you and your child create today’s activity, take time to explore how wonderfully unique you are.

ARE YOU A RAINBOW OR A SNOWFLAKE, OR A LITTLE BIT OF BOTH?

SECONDARY RAINBOW SHOWN

 

Today’s activity is a colorful spin on the traditional silhouette-perfect fun for those rainy days waiting inside for the rainbow to signify the rain has come to an end.

Age range: Fun for all

Time to complete: 45-60 minutes

MATERIALS:
Thick drawing paper or card stock
White paper
Bright light source for silhouette creation
Pencil
7 cotton balls
Colored pencils* (red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet)

Scissors

Repositionable adhesive

*This activity can also be completed with crayons or tempera paints.

INSTRUCTIONS: **

**Some of the instructions are intended for completion by an adult. Those steps will have a ** prior to the step.

1. ** Using a bright light against a white wall, trace the silhouette of your child.

            a. Tape a piece of white copy paper to the wall directly behind where your child is sitting.

            b. Shine the light on the profile of your child and trace the shadow formed by the bright light.

2. **Make a copy of the drawing to use for the project and cut out the copy. (You will use the silhouette for the project.)

3. Create the paper snowflake:

            a. Trace and cut a circle that is 4 inches in diameter out of white paper.
            b. Fold the paper in half, as shown.
            c. Fold the half circle into thirds, creating 6 sections.
            d. Draw and cut a decorative V shape at the curved edge. You will leave at least 1" edge not cut, to form the snowflake stencil.
            e. Open and flatten the paper snowflake. (You will use the outside portion of the snowflake for the project.

4. Prepare the materials for the coloring portion of the activity.
            a. Draw a heavy block of each color on a white sheet of paper. This will be used for the cotton ball ‘painting’.

            b. Load the color onto the cotton balls by rubbing the cotton balls back and forth across the colored blocks. You may have to reload from time to time.

5.**Spread a thin layer of repositionable adhesive to the back of the silhouette.

6.**Attach the silhouette to a blank sheet of heavy paper.

7. Beginning with either the red or the violet colors, rub the cotton balls onto the paper, around the edges. Complete these in order to create either a primary rainbow or a secondary rainbow. A secondary rainbow was used for this activity.

8.**When all seven colors have been used, carefully remove the paper silhouette.

 

9. Repeat steps 5, 6, and 7 for the snowflake, placing the snowflake inside the silhouette.

Hint: If you plan to use paint for the project, allow the paint to dry thoroughly before removing the silhouette and snowflake.

For additional rainbow and snowflake-related activities, please check out my activity book posted below. The book is available on Amazon.