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I will use this information for planning my lesson on lightning and Benjamin Franklin's invention of the lightning rod. This web page on The Franklin Institute's webpage explains Benjamin Franklin's fascination of weather, particularly lightning, and why he invented the lightning rod. This website also provides other information about Benjamin Franklin that I may find helpful in planning my lesson.

I will use this website to have my students make lightning using an aluminum pie plate, styrofoam, glue, ballpoint pen, thumbtack, and a wool sock. Manipulating these materials will create a harmless mini-lightning bolt. This website provides instructions and detailed explanations for this activity.

I will use this website to have my students make lightning using an aluminum pie plate, styrofoam, glue, ballpoint pen, thumbtack, and a wool sock. Manipulating these materials will create a harmless mini-lightning bolt. This website provides instructions and detailed explanations for this activity.

This page has some great resources for teaching children about lightning and lightning safety.

This video demonstrates how to make lightning using a spoon, inflated balloon, and a full head of hair! The purpose of this video is to show how to make an electrostatic discharge. It does not provide information on how lightning actually occurs but I like that it shows how to conduct the experiment! I may use this in addition to another lightning experiment using different materials.

I will use this video in my lesson about lightning and static electricity. I really like this video because a meteorologist answers questions asked by elementary students about lightning. I think my elementary students will enjoy it because young students like themselves are featured in the video.

I like this website because it provides information on other weather instruments and who invented them. I will use this information in planning my lesson about lightning and Benjamin Franklin's invention of the lightning rod.

I found this and thought it would pair well with the Clouds in Jars I posted earlier. Both these activities could be used as part of a center day during a unit about weather. This page includes two experiments on how to create lightning. The first one sounds kind of involved and from what I read it did not have great results. I would probably used the second one. All the students would need would be a balloon and a metal spoon and, depending on the age of the students, they would only need minimal supervision. The students would be creating static electricity by rubbing the balloon on their hair and then touching the spoon to the balloon. This is really cool and really simple. This could also serve as a filler activity on a day when you need something quick to fill up some time. I could also see this activity being used during a unit on electricity as well. I would probably use this activity with students between kindergarten and third grade.

This resource houses a view of the perfect meteorology field-trip for students. The location is The Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago, IL. The exhibit gives loads of visuals of and scientific background for a variety of storms. The link attached is about the whole exhibit, as you click on what you would more directly want to study the website shows you how students can explore. The exhibit doesn't just cover storms, it also covers atoms and ways to harness energy. If you explore the tornado section you will get to see and manipulate a giant tornado. You also get to make your own table top tornado to explore farther. Finally they have wind tunnels you can get inside to feel the force of the wind. In the lightning section they explore charge. Not only do they get to see and hear a lightning storm inside, but they also get to experiment with magnets and levitation! There is a ton of information on fires including how some fires in nature aren't so bad. Students even get to use reactions with fire to create a fireworks display. The list of fun goes on and on! In the sunlight section solar power is discussed. Students can even watch a tsunami in a tank, and an avalanche in a disk. The exhibit is completely educational and makes many connections to the real world. I would use this to close a year in science, probably right after a unit on weather where students have studied all of the aspects of weather for at least one month. The exhibit is an awesome way for them to see what changes in weather and climate can do, and how exactly they do it. Some parts of the exhibit put a student in they eye of the storm! I had never heard of this place before but I would love to go! .

The Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago, IL is filled with many hands on activities for all kinds of science. Why does a tornado spin? Why does a wave break? Why does a flame burn? Why does lightning strike? Our questions about the world begin almost as soon as we're aware of it. I have been to this museum but it has been a long time. After trying to think of an interesting place to go and looking at several, this museum seems to be filled with many hands on science experiences and that is why I chose this museum. Also, for field trips, chaperons and students get into the museum for free but there are small fees for the omnimax and certain special exhibits. I also loved that there were labs you could rent, online resources, and they also include worksheets for activities they do in the museum. For the labs they also include standards on their website, including the next generation standards! Many exhibits interest me but this one on Science Storms would be great to take your students after doing a lesson on weather in science. This would give students an insight to mother nature, it's strength in an up close view. There are so many more to include though. So you could even do an end of the year field trip, or maybe an 8th grade trip and include an educational engaging experience for the children.

This resource is an interactive introduction to sound. I would use this resource in a lesson on sound and vibrations, and show the website on a smartboard for my students and I to explore together. This interactive resource has multiple pages of images with sounds and animations that allow students to pluck rubber bands to notice sound and compare the speed of sound with the speed of other familiar vehicles. Another page of animations also shows students the speed of sound in the air in relation to thunder and lightning, something all students should be familiar with. I like this resource but I think teacher involvement would be required. It is not something young students could explore or read on their own.