Extreme Weather Conditions Unit: Hurricanes & Tornadoes

Bulldozer is absolutely obsessed with extreme weather, especially hurricanes and tornadoes.  It's the visual effect that appeals to him most.  Our Extreme Weather Unit: Hurricans and Tornadoes is designed specifically for him and others who enjoy the intense study.  There are several activity ideas and fabulous free printables for all to enjoy!

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Here's what's on our shelves!

Language

Digging Through the Rubble Spelling Sensory Bin

This is one of my most favorite sensory bins of all time.  All three kiddos love it too!

Contents include:

• Dried Black Beans
• Dried Brown Rice
• Indian Corn Kernels
• Quinoa
• Clear Mini Glass Marbles
• Blue Glass Marbles
• Lincoln Log Pieces (including roof, hay bales and barrels)
• LEGO Duplo window pieces brick pieces, & fences
• Plastic Crushed Car Pieces
• Plastic Plants
• Scrabble Letters

The kiddos dig through the "rubble" looking for letters to create their spelling words.  It's harder than it seems, but all the kiddos have been successful with it so far.

Source:  I created the spelling list printable. For your free copy, click HERE.

Tornado Types

I'm super excited about these cards.  The kiddos use them as nomenclature cards, learning about the different types of tornadoes. These cards do not include double tornadoes etc.

Source:  I created this printable. For your free copy, click HERE.  Information for this activity came from the book: Inside Tornadoes.

Mathematics

Tornado Addition

This is our classic addition tray, with the added fun of mini tornadoes made out of white pipe cleaners to count with.  It always amazes me how just one little added twist of fun makes all the difference.

Source: I created this printable as part of my Hurricane & Tornado Math Printable Pack.  For your free copy, click on the link at the bottom of this post.

Hurricane Subtraction

Get ready!  Bad weather is on it's way!  The kiddos will practice subtraction using cotton ball clouds and blue glass beads as counters.

Source: I created this printable as part of my Hurricane & Tornado Math Printable Pack.  For your free copy, click on the link at the bottom of this post.

Purchasing Items for an Emergency Kit

Each week we learn about extreme weather conditions, we also review the safety and emergency protocols for each weather event.

This activity is helping the kiddos remember exactly what needs to be in their emergency kits. Obviously there will be other items too, but this is a good start for them.  It's a great way to practice their coin counting.

Source: I created this printable as part of my Hurricane & Tornado Math Printable Pack.  For your free copy, click on the link at the bottom of this post.

Science

Scale of Tornado Intensity

 This activity has been very popular on the shelves.  The kiddos match up Intensity Scale ratings with pictures and descriptions.

Source: I created this printable. For your free copy, click HERE.  Information for this activity came from the book Inside Tornadoes.

Hurricane Paths

 We don't have official Montessori Knobless Cylinders, but Bulldozer does have a large collection of his own in his room.  They're not perfect, but they definitely work.  In this activity the kiddos create the paths of the hurricanes, as shown on the cards, using the cylinders.  Bulldozer loves to do this more than anyone.

Source: I came up with the idea for this activity.  Hurricane Path Cards were found on the Internet.

Culture & Geography

Hurricane Katrina in Pictures

As we introduced the unit we talked in depth about Hurricane Katrina, sequencing picture cards to tell the story.  The kiddos now look at the pictures, putting them in any order they'd like to tell the story of the hurricane.

Source: I gathered the pictures together for this activity using Wikipedia Commons Files.

Top 10 Tornado States

The kiddos will use markers to mark the top 10 Tornado States on the map.  The map is colored using Montessori colors. I have colored the chart using corresponding Montessori colors so states are a bit easier to find.

Source:  The free printable map for this activity can be found at Free Printable Maps.  I created the Top 10 Tornado State Chart. For your free copy, click HERE.

Information for this activity came from the book: Inside Tornadoes.  This map reflects the total amount of tornadoes ever in each state, and is not to be confused with Top Killer Tornado State Rankings or Top Yearly Tornado State Rankings, also provided in the book.

Visual Arts

Torn Paper Tornadoes

The kiddos will tear up old magazine pages and glue them on the white paper in the shape of a tornado. I love how every one looks so different!

Source:  I saw this adorable activity at First Graders At Last.

Practical Life & Sensorial

Hurricane Creations

I thought it might be fun for the kiddos to create space views of a hurricane using laminated blue paper for water, green paper for land, and whipped topping to create the clouds of the hurricane.  Once they've created their hurricane using the whipped topping, they can use fingers to help it move, become bigger or smaller.

This proved to be a great fine motor activity!  Shaking and spraying the whipped topping was challenging, but so worth it.

Source: I came up with the idea for this activity.

Replacing Batteries in a Flashlight

The kiddos will practice putting batteries in a flashlight correctly. They will turn it on to check their work.

Locking the Doors & Windows

Originally I had wanted to have a hammer and nails activity on the shelves. It would be fun to practice boarding up windows before a hurricane comes. However, I couldn't find a piece of wood the size I needed, so I reverted back to this activity instead.  There were definitely no complaints.

The kiddos will practicing locking doors as they are evacuating their homes before a hurricane comes using the Melissa & Doug Latches Board.

United States of America Puzzle

Our unit focused primarily on extreme weather activity in the United States this week.  The kiddos have loved reviewing all of their states with this puzzle.

Tornado in a Jar

Have you ever made a tornado in a jar?  All you need is a jar, a few drops of dish detergent and water.  It's provided so much entertainment, and again is great motor work!

Source:  This activity came from Kidspot.com.

I hope you enjoy our tornado and hurricane activities as much as we have!

For those who would like the Hurricane & Tornado Math Printable Pack, click on the link below:

Hurricane & Tornado Math Printable Pack by Renae at Every Star is Different

If you are interested in our other extreme weather units, be sure to visit the posts below.

Extreme Weather Unit: Avalanches, Blizzards & Ice Storms

Extreme Weather Unit:  Earthquakes & Volcanoes

If you are interested in more weather activiites in general, be sure to visit the page below!

Weather Activities & Free Printables