Cloudy With a Chance of FUN!

Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs was one of my favorite childhood books, and I've always wanted to use it with a weather unit. As our weather unit was approaching, it was time for a change!

On the Sunday before starting our weather unit, Adam helped me to make some huge clouds to hang in my classroom. It took some time, but it was definitely worth it! The kids were so intrigued as they walked in on Monday!

We started the week learning all about different types of clouds. We read lots of nonfiction text and worked through some nonfiction text features. Then, we did our phonics lesson with shaving cream to represent clouds. It always amazes me how such a simple change in a lesson gets the kids so engaged and involved!

As the day went on, we dug a lot deeper into our nonfiction text and did some cloud writing. Later, we did an experiment showing part of the water cycle. At the end of the day, I read the beginning of Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs. After reading the page about it raining orange juice, I stopped.

That night, I added orange juice to the clouds to make it look like it was raining orange juice. 

When the kids arrived in the morning, they knew right away that it rained orange juice. It was a quick and simple change, but it got the kids so excited to see what we would do next!

I read more of Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs and stopped right before the weather problems began. The kids then got to help with the room decorations. Each group chose one food from the book to create and hang in the classroom.

In Math, we were starting a measurement unit, so I wanted it to go along with the book. I cut some yellow yarn to represent spaghetti noodles and cut some red construction paper to look like meatballs. The kids estimated and measured the spaghetti noodles and meatballs and had a blast!

The next day, I read the next part of Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs. There were many problems happening in Chewandswallow, so it was time for a news report. I paired the kids up, and each pair had to pick one problem that was happening and write a news report about it. Adam was generous enough to make a news report page for the kids to use!

Once they were finished writing their news reports, the kids practiced reading and prepared for their "real" news time! Our technology teacher put up a green screen for the kids to use. I did quick recordings of each group and then added a news background to their videos. Again, it was such a simple change in what we were doing, but it added so much excitement to the lesson!

If you've ever considered doing a room transformation, this is a very easy (AND INEXPENSIVE) way to start!  The kids don't need flashy, store bought items to be engaged and intrigued!  Just use your imagination, get crafty and creative, and let the fun begin!