Lesson Plan- Thunder Storms
Thunder Cake
Components
The student constructs meaning from a wide range of texts
The student uses technology resources for solving problems
Objectives
- Brainstorm the effects of thunderstorms on people: fear, excitement,
relief that rain is coming soon
- Read aloud Thunder Cake by Patricia
Polacco
- Determine the main idea of the story (how the grandmother helps
the child with her fear of thunder)
- Organize the information in the story
and create a story map
- Share map with class
- Make thunder cake in
class
- Visit this site and then make a thunderstorm Web
Weather
- Ask Earl ,"Why does thunder make a big boom?" Yahooligans
Ask Earl
- Answer: Storm clouds are born when humid air rises and cools, then
moisture condenses rapidly. Within the cloud electric charges generate
electricity, which is released in the form of lightning. The super fast
expansion of air caused by the high heat of the lightning makes a huge
shockwave -- thunder! Because light travels faster than sound, we always see
the lightning before we hear the thunderclap. This is called the
flash-to-bang time. If you hear thunderclaps about the same time as you see
a lightning flash seek shelter immediately -- the storm is right overhead.
- Vocabulary: thunderstorm, thundercloud, lightning, cumulus nimbus,
electrical energy
Competency
After reading Thunder Cake, student will demonstrate understanding
by mapping the story. The student will answer the question, "Why does
thunder make a big boom?"
Recipe
for Thunder Cake
Cream together
1-cup shortening
1 ¾-cup sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
3 eggs separated (Blend yolks in. Beat whites until stiff and fold
in.)
1-cup water
1/3 cup pureed tomatoes
Sift together
2 ½ cups Bisquick or self-rising flour
½ cup dry cocoa
Mix dry ingredients into creamy mixture.
Bake in greased and floured 9-10 inch pan at 350 degrees for 35 to
40 minutes.
Frost with chocolate frosting and decorate with strawberries.
Extension Activities
- Brainstorm recipes for other types of weather, such as Tornado Pie
or Hurricane Cookies. Write them in recipe form, illustrate them and collect
them for a class book called Weather Recipes.
- Create creative writing prompts and have students choose one to write
about. Examples: What would happen if you had a tornado for a pet and it
escaped from your house? You look outside the window and it is raining
fish, what would you do? You go outside to play softball and it starts
to rain tomatoes, what happens? Use Writing
Rubric to score the stories; ask students to share stories with
the class.
- Read book and complete activities for Night
of the Twister by Ivy Ruckman.
Homework
Visit the school library and check out another book about the weather, read
it and give the who, what, why, where, and when of the story in a book report.
Resources
Van Cleave. J. Earth Science for Every Kid. John Wiley & Sons. New
York.1991.
Polacco. P. Thunder Cake. Scholastic. New York. 1990.
*If Thunder Cake is not available, locate a similar book in local
library to use for lesson.