passionately curious

No Two Snowflakes

"How would you describe snow to a child who has never felt it squeak beneath her feet or melt on her tongue?"  Using playful words and rich imagery, Sheree Fitch, answers this question in her poem/picture book entitled No Two Snowflakes.  Here are a few of my favorite lines:

Some mornings the sky is grey and close
to the earth
    all flannel and still, as if the day were   
    holding its breath.

Then, with no one noticing when it begins, snow

                                                       f
                                                a
                                                     l   
                                              l
                                                     s
                            in slow feathershapes
                            settles on cheeks
                            kisses eyelids.

Hold out your tongue, for the taste of snow is white.

©2002 by Sherree Fitch
used with permission of the author

 

Observing Snow

Bundled up and magnifying glasses in hand, we went outside early Tuesday morning to observe the snow while it lasted.  The cold temperatures allowed the snow to stay powdery and light - perfect for finding individual flakes.   With the task of using their 5 senses to explore and observe snow, a few surprised children asked, "Can we really taste it?"   How many kids would have listened if we had said no?

From these observations, the kids were asked to make two predictions. First, each child collected snow in a small paper cup.  Inside, they marked a line on their cups to guess how much water would be left after the snow melted. Most children thought there would be more water left.

Next, two snowballs were put in plastic ziplock bags.  One bag was left on the table, the other was placed inside of a mitten.  We asked, "Which will melt first?"   All but two children thought that the snow in the mitten would melt first.  What a surprise to find out that the bag on the table soon became water while the snow in the mitten still held it's snowball form!

Because the results were unexpected for the children, these experiments gave us a great opportunity for discussion. Can you explain the results?

Dragon Smoke

This one is a student favorite every year.  I love to read it in the morning and watch the excitement at recess when the children give it a try!

Dragon Smoke

Breathe and blow
white clouds
    with every puff.
It's cold today,
    cold enough
to see your breath.
Huff!
    Breathe dragon smoke
        today!

By Lillian Moore from Read-Aloud Rhymes For the Very Young as selected by Jack Prelutsky.

Google Earth Meme

My colleague, Lucy Gray, has started a teacher meme using Google Earth.  Participants can answer one or both of these questions:

1. What has been your most memorable learning experience?
2. Who is the teacher that has influenced you the most and why?

Here are the details and directions.  Click the view icons at the top to see who's already posted their answers.  Join in and share your experiences!  Here's my entry (download then open in Google Earth):

Download lisa_harrison.kmz

Poetry Friday

As is the trend on several children's literature blogs and elswhere, I will post a favorite poem each Friday.  No sign of snow in Chicago (46 degrees and rain today), yet this poem from Jack Prelutsky's It's Snowing! It's Snowing! makes me hopeful that we'll be able to study snowflakes this year.

A Snowflake Fell

A snowflake fell into my hand,
a tiny fragile gem,
a frosty crystal flowerlet
with petals, but no stem.

I wondered at the beauty
of its intricate design,
I breathed, the snowflake vanished,
but for moments it was mine.