Raquel

Stout

Making a Rain Cloud in Kindergarten

Materials:

Plastic cups (Dollar Tree)

Water (Dollar Tree)
White shaving Cream (Dollar Tree)
Food coloring (Dollar Tree)
Spoon (Dollar Tree)
Aluminum pie pan (if desired Dollar tree)
Paper towels (Dollar Tree)

Next Generation Science Standard: Kindergarten

K-ESS2-1. Use and share observations of local weather conditions to
describe patterns over time.

Science Knowledge is Based on Empirical Evidence- Scientists

look for patterns and order when making observations about the
world. (K-ESS2-1)
ESS2.D: Weather and Climate- Weather is the combination of
sunlight, wind, snow or rain, and temperature in a particular
region at a particular time. People measure these conditions to
describe and record the weather and to notice patterns over
time. (K-ESS2-1)
Patterns- Patterns in the natural world can be observed, used to
describe phenomena, and used as evidence. (K-ESS2-1)

Safety Precautions:

Follow directions and ask questions if youre unsure of what to

do.
Never put any materials in your mouth.
Wear safety glasses during the entire experiment.
Clean up spills immediately and report all accidents to your
teacher.
Please keep books and school supplies neat and off of the floor.
Always wash your hands with soap and water immediately after
using chemicals.
Be respectful of the materials used in science.

Procedure:
1. Teacher opens the activity with, I was watching the rain the
other day, and I couldnt help but wonder How do the clouds
known when to rain? What gives the clouds the signal to go
ahead and release all the water droplets? What do you all think is
the reason? So, I did some research!
2. Teacher takes students outside and observes some clouds.
Teacher discusses about the different shapes and sizes. Explains
that the air is full of water we cant see. Its called water vapor.
When enough water vapor comes together, a cloud forms. Water
is released from the cloud as rain when the cloud gets too heavy.
3. Students will create rain cloud in a cup to observe how water is
released from a cloud in small groups.
4. Teacher pours water into a cup. The water should be about 2/3 of
the cup.
5. Students spray shaving until the top 1/3 of the cup is filled. The
shaving cream represents the cloud.
6. Students then drip blue food coloring in the shaving cream cloud
by using a spoon. Students should initially spread out the food
coloring. Ask students to hypothesize what will happen. Then
students should drip food coloring in the same area. What
happened?
7. The food coloring will drip from the cloud just like rain because
the food coloring saturated the shaving cream!
8. Students can continue this experiment by using different food
coloring colors.
9. Discuss whole group what students observed and their
predictions made. Teacher clarifies the process of rain clouds for
students.
Teacher Information:
A cloud is a lot of droplets of water and or ice crystals, depending
on the temperature. The droplets float in the air molecules.Clouds on
Earth form when warm air rises and its pressure is reduced. The air
expands and cools, and clouds form as the temperature drops below
the dew point. In other words, cold air cannot hold as much water
vapor as warm air. Invisible particles in the air in the form of pollution,
smoke, dust or even tiny particles of dirt help form a nucleus on which
the water molecules can attach. When these droplets come together,
they form a cloud. When a rain cloud gets so full of water or mass, the
water has to go somewhere and will break through the cloud and start
to fall to the ground. As you pour or drip the water over the shaving
cream cloud, the water will start to break through just a little bit.
Observe your cloud as it gains mass and changes in composition.

http://www.kidzworld.com/article/1352-what-are-clouds
Additional Resources:
http://www.kidzworld.com/article/1352-what-are-clouds This source was
used to develop the teachers information listed above.
http://scied.ucar.edu/webweather/clouds/cloud-types
http://www.mpimet.mpg.de/en/kommunikation/fragen-zu-klimafaq/how-do-clouds-and-rain-form.html
Teaching techniques:

Direct instruction about cloud types, sizes, shapes, and water

vapor prior to lesson.
Guided practice to demonstrate how to perform the activity
during the activity.
Small groups will be used to complete this activity to complete
activity.
Whole group discussion will be used to reflect on activity and rain
clouds after the activity is completed.

Integration:
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.K.2-Use a combination of drawing, dictating, and
writing to compose informative/explanatory texts in which they name
what they are writing about and supply some information about the
topic.

Students can illustrate in their science journal what occurred

during the activity. Students can also provide facts about rain
clouds.

CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.K.CC.B.4-Understand the relationship between

numbers and quantities; connect counting to cardinality.

Studentscancounthowmanydropletsoffoodcoloringittooktosaturatethe
shavingcream.

Extension:

Students can read Little Cloud by Eric Carle or The Rain Came
Down by David Shannon for additional information about clouds.

Students can visit http://www.dltkkids.com/Crafts/weather/index.htm for activities, crafts, and

puzzles.