Copyright © 2002 by Arizona State University and the Arizona Board of Regents.
Weather Dance
Grades 3 and 4
Time: 3, 30-40 minute classes
Brief Description:
In this lesson creative dance activities will be used to augment the students’ understanding of weather as well as focus on specific
dance concepts. In a lecture/demonstration, the students will be introduced to different types of clouds, as well as how clouds are
formed. In groups, actual clouds will serve as the inspiration for the students to create cloud shapes with their bodies, using the
dance concepts of body-shape and spatial levels. Next, the students will learn what wind is and why it occurs. The effect that wind
has on people will be explored through the dance concepts of free and bound movement. Lastly, lightning and thunder will be
discussed and explored further through the elements of body relationships and movement.
Learning Outcomes:
Students will be able to:
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Describe the difference between the three types of clouds
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Perform free and bound movements in response to different types of wind
Describe how wind occurs and how it can affect people
Describe why lightning and thunder occur
Use actual clouds or pictures of clouds as the impetus for using their bodies to create shapes with differing levels and
energy
Maintain a person-to-person relationship while moving through space
Respond verbally to questions regarding what they see in movement and what it feels like to move
Resources/Materials:
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CDs:
“Voices of the Earth” Disc 4
“Rain Storms: Sounds of Nature”
“Enya, Paint the Sky with Stars”
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Pictures of clouds, lightning, and the effects of wind
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Websites (Information and Images):
http://www.australiasevereweather.com/photography/index.html
http://www.britishwindenergy.co.uk/edu/wind.html
(http://asdwww.larc.nasa.gov/SCOOL/lesson_plans/What_is_a_Cloud.html)
http://www.dictionary.com
http://www.kings.k12.ca.us/central/cuesd.a/tq/weather/thunderlight.html
http://www.proteacher.com
http://sln.fi.edu/tfi/units/energy/whatwind.html
http://vortex.plymouth.edu/cloud.html
http://www.weather.com/encyclopedia/thunder/light.html
http://pittsford.monroe.edu/jefferson/calfieri/weather/WaterCycle.html
http://www.inclouds.com/gallery.html
http://ww2010.atmos.uiuc.edu/(Gh)/guides/mtr/cld/home.rxml
http://weather.about.com/cs/clouds/
http://liftoff.msfc.nasa.gov/news/2002/news-clouds.asp
Books:
Berger, Melvin and Gilda. Can it Rain Cats and Dogs?: Questions and Answers About Weather. New York, NY: Scholastic,
1999.
Farndon, John. Weather. New York, NY: DK Publishing, 1998.
Gilbert, Anne Green. Creative Dance for All Ages. Reston, VA: National Dance Association, 1992.
Weather Vocabulary:
Atmosphere – The mass of air that encircles the earth. It is made of tiny particles of gases (nitrogen, hydrogen, oxygen, etc.).
Clouds – A visible body of very fine water droplets or ice particles suspended in the atmosphere
Cirrus clouds – Thin, feathery, curly clouds that are high in the sky, so high that they are often made of ice. Mostly white.
Cumulus clouds – Look like puffs of cotton piled in a heap and are commonly known as fair-weather clouds. Closer to the earth than
cirrus clouds.
Stratus clouds – Low, flat, layered clouds that are darker and often times bring rain.
Vapor – The form water takes when it is a gas.
Condensation – The process when water changes from a gas to a liquid.
Lightning – The flash of light that occurs when opposite electrical charges collide. Can be between clouds or between a cloud and
the ground.
Thunder – The sound that occurs when air is heated by a flash of lightning.
Wind – The event that occurs when warm air rises and cool air takes its place.
Dance Vocabulary:
Shape – the form that your body takes (curved/straight, angular/twisted, symmetrical/asymmetrical)
Level – The height at which a person is dancing, (high, middle, low)
Relationship – how the dancer relates to his or her surroundings and fellow dancers (individual to group, individual to individual,
near/far, alone/connected)
Energy – the type of power the dancer is using (sharp/smooth, sudden/sustained)
Flow – how much effort you must use to move (free/bound)
Arizona Dance Standards:
1AD-F2: Create a movement phrase with a beginning, middle and end with, and without, a rhythmic accompaniment with shapes at
low, middle and high levels.
PO
PO
PO
PO
1.
2.
3.
4.
Suggest possible beginnings, middles and endings for a movement phrase.
Demonstrate shapes at low, middle and high levels.
Create and demonstrate a complete movement phrase with, or without, accompaniment.
Create individual and group design.
1AD-F4: Demonstrate movement qualities (e.g., energy, force, power).
PO 2. Demonstrate the differences between strong, light and
heavy movement.
PO 3. Demonstrate the ability to vary the intensity of dynamics by changing the amount of energy used in a given movement.
1AD-E3: Identify and demonstrate the basic physical and scientific properties (e.g., sound, physics, light, computer
software/hardware, mathematics, human anatomy, costume design) of the technical aspects of dance.
(Grades 4-5)
PO 1. Explore natural forces as forms of energy and movement.
1AD-E5: Transfer accurately a visual pattern to a physical motion (i.e., kinesthetic).
(Grades 4-5)
PO 1. Demonstrate shapes with body parts.
PO 2. Improvise by relating to the shapes of objects in the environment.
1AD-E6: Transfer accurately a rhythmic pattern from the aural to a physical motion (i.e., kinesthetic).
(Grades 4-5)
PO 1. Respond to a movement with a sound, and to a sound with movement.
PO 2. Initiate spontaneous movement through various stimuli (e.g., music, sound, words).
2AD-E5: Demonstrate respect for the work of others through appropriate audience behavior during dance performances.
(Grades 4-5)
PO 1. Demonstrate appropriate audience behavior (e.g., attentiveness, appropriate applause).
3AD-F1: Present their own dances to peers and discuss their meaning with competence and confidence.
PO 1. Perform dance compositions for others.
PO 2. Describe what their dance is about.
PO 3. Explain the choices made to create the dance.
Arizona Science Standards:
1SC-E2: Create a model (e.g., a computer simulation, a stream table) to predict change.
(Grades 4-5)
PO 1. Design a model to illustrate a system.
(Grades 6-8)
PO 1. Construct a model that demonstrates change within a system.
PO 2. Describe variables that cause change.
PO 3. Explain cause and effect of variables within a system.
5SC-F2: Demonstrate that light, heat, motion, magnetism, and sound can cause changes.
PO 2. Demonstrate that heat can cause change.
PO 3. Demonstrate that motion can cause change.
5SC-F3: Demonstrate and explain that materials exist in different states (solid, liquid, gas) and can change from one to another.
PO 2. Demonstrate that matter can change and exist in one or more states.
6SC-R3: Identify how the weather affects daily activities.
PO 1. Identify basic weather phenomena (e.g., temperature, wind, precipitation).
PO 2. Explain how weather affects daily activities.
6SC-F6: Describe natural events and how humans are affected by them.
PO 1. Identify natural events that affect humans.
PO 2. Explain how natural events impact human life.
6SC-E8: Describe and model large-scale and local weather systems.
(Grades 4-5)
PO 2. Define basic terms associated with weather systems including fronts, pressure systems and types of clouds.
Procedures:
Class 1:
Cloud Lecture (For pictures go to: http://vortex.plymouth.edu/cloud.html or
http://www.australiasevereweather.com/photography/index.html.)
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Tell the class that in this first day of the Weather unit they are going to learn about clouds. Show them pictures of
different kinds of clouds. Have students describe how the clouds look different and put them into likeness categories
using the students’ descriptions (puffy, wispy, bulky, high, etc.). Prompt students to create three likeness categories.
Have students talk about how clouds move in the sky. (Clouds are always in motion. They float across the sky and are
constantly changing. The average cloud breaks up in 10 minutes.)
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Now talk about how clouds form. Ask the students what condensation means or what it means when water condenses.
Make sure it is defined as when water changes from a gas to a liquid, like when your mom boils water and the lid gets
wet from the condensation. The water boils, turns into gas and then back into a liquid when it cools on the lid. This can
be displayed by using a hot plate and a pot of water, if available. Tell students that the same sort of process happens
when clouds are formed. “When warm, moist air rises and cools, droplets of water are formed. This is called
condensation. The droplets stick to the condensation nuclei and clump together and form a cloud. A cloud is a collection
of millions of these droplets.”
(http://asdwww.larc.nasa.gov/SCOOL/lesson_plans/What_is_a_Cloud.html)
“Clouds are usually formed when moist air is pushed upward and cools. This is because cool air holds less water vapor
than warm air, so the vapor condenses into either liquid or ice. These condensed particles are what we see as the cloud.
The cloud is, however, mostly air - the drops or ice particles often make up as little as one millionth of the volume! When
a cloud forms at relatively warm temperatures, the particles are usually tiny liquid drops. At very low temperatures, the
particles are usually ice” http://www-airs.jpl.nasa.gov When the condensed water that makes up the cloud gets too
heavy, it rains and part of the condensed water that was the cloud turns back into water.
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Next, define the 3 types of clouds, cirrus, cumulus, stratus, using the likeness categories of pictures. Tell the students
that they already know what they are because they put the pictures into categories at the start of the lesson.
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Go outside to look at the real clouds that are in the sky. Make sure to take students to an area suitable for the dance
portion of the lesson. Also make sure to take the pictures of clouds with you. (If by chance there are no clouds of any
kind out on the day of the lesson, just use the pictures of clouds for the dance activity.) Ask students to describe what
the real clouds look like and which of the three types they are.
Dance Activity [Dance concepts: shape, level, energy]
“Cloud Shape”
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Instruct students to make a circle and remain standing. “Your bodies can make just as many shapes as the clouds can
make. That’s what we are going to do. We are going to make cloud shapes with our bodies.”
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Help the students recall the high, wispy, curly cirrus clouds, the low flat stratus clouds, and the middle level puffy, bulky
cumulus clouds.
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Introduce the dance concept of level. Level can be high, middle, or low. Each of the different types of clouds is at a
different level in the sky. What are they?
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“Using levels, show me what a cumulus cloud shape would look like.” Repeat this with the different cloud types a couple
times.
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Recall how clouds are always moving. Ask students to describe what it looks like when the clouds move in the sky. Is it
slow, sustained, and smooth as opposed to sharp and sudden?
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Try to move with the same kind of smooth, sustained energy as a cloud. Instruct students to create a cloud shape of their
choice and then have students morph into a different cloud shape. Allow the students to watch each other morph into
different cloud shapes and have them describe what they see and why each shape is a certain cloud type.
“Lifespan of a Cloud” Dance
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Talk the class through the lifespan of a cloud. Illustrate with a chart or book. Clouds begin as water on the earth’s surface
(at a low level). The sun heats the water and turns it into vapor. As the vapor rises it cools, it condenses into water
droplets, and becomes part of a cloud. When the condensed water that makes up the cloud gets too heavy, it falls from
the cloud as rain.
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“You are going to make a dance, using the same process that makes clouds.” The students will start in a water shape at a
low level (earth’s surface), as they are “heated” they turn into water vapor and rise to dance towards an area signifying
the “sky” where they are “cooled” and condense into a cloud shape. Each student will connect to create a group cloud
shape. Once everyone has become part of the cloud, the cloud is too heavy and the students “rain” (dance) back to the
“earth’s surface.” Decide how the group will know when they are being heated, cooled, or rain. You can use musical
instruments and designated areas of the dance space.
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Practice once with whole class. Choose a specific cloud type to create. Play “Voices of the Earth” music. “Show me in your
bodies the difference between water, vapor, cloud, and rain.”
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Create groups of 5-6 students. Randomly assign the groups a cloud type (cirrus, stratus, or cumulus). Tell them that they
will be creating the same kind of cloud dance they just did as a class but now in smaller groups. Remind students to think
about what levels their clouds are in the sky.
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Their ending cloud shape should represent the cloud type they were assigned. Give each group a specific area of the
space in which to work. Allow the students about 5 minutes to create their cloud dances. Play “Voices of the Earth” while
the students are creating.
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Allow each group to show their cloud dance. Discuss which type of cloud the group represented and how their bodies
showed this. Also discuss the change in movement from water to cloud to rain. Play “Voices of the Earth” while students
are performing their dances.
Printable worksheet
Assessment: Cloud types worksheet (10 points)
Name__________________________
Date___________
CLOUD WORKSHEET
Draw an example of the three types of clouds. Write one sentence describing why the cloud is cirrus, stratus, or cumulus.
Cirrus
Stratus
Cumulus
Class 2:
Lightning and Thunder Lecture
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“Has anyone ever seen a storm that had lightning and thunder? That’s what today’s lesson will be about. We are going to
explore why lightning and thunder occur.”
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“First, we’ll talk about lightning.” Ask students to describe what lightning looks like (quick, bright, sharp, sudden). Show
pictures of lightning. “Scientists believe that ice particles in the clouds grind together forming an electric charge at the
bottom of the cloud. An opposite charge builds up on the ground right below the cloud.” When the charge is big enough
you see lightning.
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“The electricity from just one bolt of lightning could light a small town for a whole year!” (Farndon).
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“Thunder has many different sounds, depending on where you are and what the lightning does. It can be crackly, rumbly,
or just one large crack might be heard.”
There is never lightning without thunder. “Thunder is the sound of air bursting as it is heated rapidly by lightning.
Lightning and thunder happen at the same time, but you see lightning first because light moves faster than sound”
(Farndon). Light travels at 186,000 miles per second and sound only at 1/5 mile per second (Berger).
Dance Activity [Dance concepts: relationships, energy]
“Lightning and Thunder”
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As we just discussed, lightning causes thunder. Lightning and thunder have a relationship to each other. We
are going to explore this relationship through dance. The relationship we are talking about in dance is a personto-person relationship.
When we talked about clouds we described their energy as sustained or smooth. How would you describe the
energy of a lightning bolt? If you were a bolt of lightning, what type of movement would you do? Have
volunteers demonstrate movements. Ask students to describe why the movement was like lightning. Describe
the movements as sudden and sharp.
Repeat the same discussion using thunder as the impetus. Recall that thunder can be crackly, rumbly, or just
one big crack. Is thunder as sudden and sharp as lightning? Or is it more sustained? Can it be one or the other?
ü Demonstrate with a student while you explain the next activity. “If John was my partner we would decide
who is going to be lightning and who is going to be thunder. This time I would like to be lightning. Since
lightning causes thunder I would go first. I’m going to make a lightning shape and say “Lightning!” and then
right after John will make a thunder shape and say “Thunder!” We’ll repeat this until the storm ends."
Continue to demonstrate. While we are doing this we can move throughout the space. My relationship to John
can be near or far, but we always have to keep our eyes on each other so our relationship is clear to us and to
those watching us.
Have students find a partner. Begin when you hear the sounds of the storm and freeze when the sound stops.
Play music from “Rainstorms: Sounds of Nature.” Stop the music after the partners have had a chance to do
the activity about 5 times. Instruct the partners to change roles of lightning and thunder. Repeat.
Repeat activity, but without vocalizing “lightning” and “thunder.” Tell students to keep their near or far
relationship with their partner.
Instruct half the class to sit and watch the storm while the other half repeats the exercise. When they are done,
switch groups.
ü Discuss whether or not it felt different to be lightning or thunder. What kinds of shapes did people make
when they were lightning? Thunder? What did you observe?
Recap why lightning and thunder occur in nature. Ask students to describe what happens.
Assessment: Write a short paragraph about the thunder and lightning storm that you experienced. (10 points)
Class 3:
Wind Lecture
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In this class we are going to learn about wind. First, let’s talk about why wind happens. The atmosphere of the Earth is
made up of gases like nitrogen, oxygen, and hydrogen. These gases make up air. The sun shines on the atmosphere all
the time, but it heats the earth’s surface unevenly. When air gets warmer the gas particles spread and the air is lighter so
it rises. When air cools it becomes heavier and sinks. When warm air rises, cool air takes its place. This movement of air
causes wind. “Wind circles the Earth and plays an important role in determining weather conditions”
http://sln.fi.edu/tfi/units/energy/whatwind.html
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How does wind affect people? Get examples from the students. Wind causes storms, which destroy plant life, houses,
buildings, etc. It also creates energy with windmills. It can also make it hard to walk or throw a baseball outside. Show
pictures of people and things being affected by wind. Ask students how you can tell it’s windy in the pictures? What do
the people’s bodies look like, what are the trees doing? Lead this discussion to the dance activity.
Dance Activity [Dance concepts: free flow, bound flow]
“Breezy vs. Windy”
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Have any of you ever been outside when it was really windy? How did you have to walk in that wind? What
about when it was just a slight breeze? Have students demonstrate how they would walk in very windy and
lightly breezy situations.
In the dance activity we are going to explore free flow and bound flow in movement. When you walk in windy
conditions your movement is more bound. It takes a lot more muscle tension to move your body. When it is
only breezy you can move freely and even allow the wind to take you places, you could pretend you are a
feather or a piece of paper. You don’t have to use your muscles as much.
Divide the dance space in half. Use a piece of tape on the floor to portion off the room. One side of the room is
o
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very windy and only bound flow movements are allowed, and the other is only lightly breezy and only free flow
movements are allowed.
Split the class in half. When the music starts, whichever side of the room they are on will dictate if they do free
or bound movements. Play “Enya, Paint the Sky with Stars” Track #10. Tell students that when they hear the
drum beat they are to switch sides and once they cross the center they must move in the way that the wind
dictates.
Repeat this once or twice.
Allow students to decide when to move from very windy to lightly breezy.
Have half the class watch as the other half moves from one wind condition to another and then switch.
Discuss what kinds of movements were done in both types of wind. How did the different movements feel? Can
someone describe why wind occurs?
Culminating Research Assignment:
The students will randomly pick a type of storm, cyclone, typhoon, hurricane, or tornado to research and write
a short 1-page paper. Students will also be required to create some sort of poster, collage, diorama, dance, or
other visual project to describe the storm they researched. (20 points)
Assessment:
Informal assessment: Teacher will observe students’ behavior and performance. Did the students engage in class discussions?
Were the students able to review the information learned in the lecture and explored in the dance activity? Did the students
accurately use the dance concepts in the dance activities?
Formal assessment:
Cloud worksheet (10 points)
Lightning and Thunder paragraph (5 points)
Research Project (20 points: 10 points for paper, 10 points for visual project)
Lesson created by Laura Steigerwald, Arizona State University