Dressing for Weather

Grade Level K - 1

Essential Question How do seasonal weather changes affect the way we dress?

Objective Students should understand how various conditions affect the type of clothing they wear.

Materials The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats or Animals Should Definitely Not Wear Clothing by Judi and Ron Barrett, a scale, children's outerwear for various seasons, magazines with pictures of various weather conditions, paper, pencils, crayons, glue, and several large sheets of mural paper or butcher's paper (one per student, optional)

Approach Read The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats or Animals Should Definitely Not Wear Clothing by Judi and Ron Barrett. Afterwards, ask the students how weather affects the types of clothing they wear. For example: What types of clothing do they wear when it is warm outside? What types of clothing do they wear when it is cold outside? What types of clothing do they wear when it is raining outside?

Ask the students to bring coats and shoes for different seasons to class. Instruct them to put on the different types of coats and shoes. Weigh them wearing lightweight and heavy, bulky clothing. Ask them how the weight and bulkiness of the clothing affects them. For example, have they ever tried to tie their shoes while wearing a snowsuit?

Divide the students into teams. Assign each team a different weather condition. Instruct them to cut pictures out of magazines that show people wearing clothing appropriate for that weather condition. The students can then draw a background of the weather condition on paper. They can paste the pictures onto the background and present their "weather story" to the rest of the class.

Reflection Label each of several large pieces of mural or butcher's paper with a different type of weather (snowy, rain, sunny, etc.). Ask the students to arrange themselves on the sheets of mural paper. Trace their outlines. Instruct the students to draw clothing and backgrounds that correspond to the weather label on their sheet of paper.

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