Snowflake

🎓 Audience

Education: Grade(s) Pre-K Students, Kindergarten, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, Teacher(s)/Educator(s), Parent, Adult Learners, Homeschool/Family , Learning Pod; Public Library: Library Patrons, Library Staff

 🐾 Topics

Literacy, Math, Reading, Science, STEM, Writing

🗂️ Format

• Introduction and Prior Knowledge: Introduction to snowflakes, where participants share any observations they've made, things they wonder, and what they hope to learn about this phenomenon.

• Segment 1 - Story Time: We read Next Time You See a Snowflake together, with  opportunities for the learners to demonstrate their comprehension through interactive dialogue.

• Segment 2 - Blizzard Quizzard: After the story, we take a close-up look at the shapes that ice makes and how snowflakes form. Then we jump into a fun learning segment that builds thinking skills, boosts reading and speaking confidence, and gets everyone curious about science. You’ll also get a chance to ask your own questions live.

• Segment 3 - Wintery Ocean Animals: Guessing game about ocean animals with wintery names.

• Segment 4 - Q&A Session: We conclude with an interactive Q&A session about snowflakes and winter to deepen their understanding.

🎯 Objectives

1. Observe and describe the structure and formation of snowflakes and other natural patterns.

2. Compare snowflakes to other repeating shapes in nature and math.

3. Engage in a discussion about the water cycle, weather, and seasonal change.

4. Develop curiosity and confidence in asking science-related questions.

✏️ Standards this program supports

Common Core

• CCSS.MATH.K.G.2 — Correctly name shapes regardless of their orientations or overall size. Learners identify basic geometric shapes in snowflakes, recognizing that snowflakes are hexagons no matter their size, angle, or orientation.

• CCSS.MATH.1.G.1 — Distinguish between defining and non-defining attributes. Learners explore what makes a snowflake a six-sided shape by focusing on defining attributes (number of sides, symmetry) while disregarding traits like color or tilt.

• CCSS.MATH.2.G.1 — Recognize and draw shapes having specified attributes. Learners identify hexagons and other polygons found in snowflake designs, noting their angles and number of sides as key attributes of classification.

• CCSS.MATH.3.G.1 — Understand that shapes may share attributes and belong to broader categories. Learners examine how hexagons share features with other polygons and use these shared attributes to group and compare patterns found in snowflakes and nature.

• CCSS.MATH.4.G.3 — Recognize a line of symmetry for a two-dimensional figure and identify symmetrical figures. Learners analyze the symmetry of snowflakes, identifying lines of symmetry and determining whether figures are symmetrical based on their structure and balance.

• CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.K.RI.1 — With prompting and support, ask and answer questions about key details in a text. Learners engage with nonfiction science content by asking and answering questions about snowflake formation and structure during the shared reading experience.

• CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.1.RI.1 — Ask and answer questions about key details in a text. Learners respond to story-based prompts to demonstrate understanding of snowflake science concepts introduced in the book.

• CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.2.RI.1 — Ask and answer such questions as who, what, where, when, why, and how to demonstrate understanding of key details in a text. Learners use evidence from the reading to explain how snowflakes form and why they have unique patterns.

• CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.3.RI.1 — Ask and answer questions to demonstrate understanding of a text, referring explicitly to the text as the basis for the answers. Learners cite examples from the book to support observations about water, weather, and natural patterns.

• CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.4.RI.1 — Refer to details and examples in a text when explaining what the text says explicitly and when drawing inferences from the text. Learners interpret and discuss scientific ideas about snowflakes using textual evidence and guided inference.

Next Generation Science Standards

• ESS2A K–2 — Earth materials and systems. Learners explore how snowflakes form as part of Earth’s weather and water systems. They observe snow as a natural material shaped by atmospheric conditions and recognize it as part of seasonal change.

• ESS2A 3–5 — Earth materials and systems. Learners analyze how snow, ice, and water interact with Earth’s systems through seasonal processes like precipitation and melting. They connect these changes to patterns observed in nature and weather data.

• ESS2C K–2 — The roles of water in Earth’s surface processes. Learners identify snow as a form of water that appears in cold conditions. They explore how water changes state between liquid, vapor, and solid, and observe where water is found in nature.

• ESS2C 3–5 — The roles of water in Earth’s surface processes. Learners investigate how snow and ice contribute to Earth’s water cycle and influence surface features. They study the formation of snowflakes as part of a repeating cycle involving temperature and humidity.

• PS1A K–2 — Structure and properties of matter. Learners describe snowflakes using observable properties like shape and symmetry. They classify water as a substance that can exist in multiple states depending on temperature.

• PS1A 3–5 — Structure and properties of matter. Learners examine water’s physical changes during snowflake formation. They analyze how matter changes state and how temperature affects properties like structure and appearance.

• PS1B K–2 — Chemical reactions. Learners observe the freezing of water into snowflakes as a reversible physical change, identifying heating and cooling as causes of phase change in matter.

Florida Next Generation Sunshine State Standards (NGSSS)

• SC.K.P.8.1 — Sort objects by observable properties, such as size, shape, color, temperature (hot or cold), weight (heavy or light) and texture. Application: Learners explore how snowflakes form when it’s cold, understand that they are made of frozen water (ice), and snowflakes fall due to weight and gravity.

• SC.1.E.5.3 — Investigate how magnifiers make things appear bigger and help people see things they could not see without them. Application: Learners examine close-up images of snowflakes and observe intricate details that are not visible to the naked eye.

• SC.2.E.7.1 — Compare and describe changing patterns in nature that repeat themselves, such as weather conditions including temperature and precipitation, day to day and season to season. Application: Learners identify seasonal weather patterns that influence when and where snowflakes form.

• SC.2.P.8.4 — Observe and describe water in its solid, liquid, and gaseous states. Application: Learners describe how snowflakes represent the solid form of water and how they form from water vapor in the atmosphere.

• SC.3.P.9.1 — Describe the changes water undergoes when it changes state through heating and cooling by using familiar scientific terms such as melting, freezing, boiling, evaporation, and condensation. Application: Learners explore the role of freezing in the formation of snowflakes and how they change state as temperatures shift.

• SC.4.P.8.2 — Identify properties and common uses of water in each of its states. Application: Learners investigate how water exists in solid, liquid, and gas forms and connect this to snowflake formation and the water cycle.

• SC.4.P.9.1 — Identify the three states of matter and describe the properties of each state of matter. Application: Learners observe how snowflakes illustrate solid water and discuss the physical properties of each state of matter.

☑️ Evaluation Link

When answering these questions, please focus on the quality of the content and not the technology. You can answer anonymously. After clicking Did the program take place?, choose if you are you an Educator or Parent.

• cilc.org/ContentProvider/Evaluation

• asymmetrical – Not identical on both sides of a central line; lacking symmetry.

• blizzard – A severe snowstorm with strong sustained winds and low visibility.

• Christmas tree worm – A marine worm named for its shape, found on coral reefs.

• crystallization – The process by which a substance forms a solid with an organized, repeating structure.

• dendrites – Tree-like branches that form as part of a snowflake’s structure during its growth.

• hexagon – A six-sided polygon; the basic shape that forms the structure of snowflakes.

• humidity – The amount of water vapor present in the air.

• liquid phase – The state of matter in which water exists as a liquid, before freezing into ice or evaporating into vapor.

• marine snow – A shower of organic material falling from upper waters to the deep ocean, visually compared to falling snow.

• molecules – Groups of two or more atoms bonded together like the hydrogen and oxygen atoms that make up a water molecule.

• morphology – The study of the form and structure of organisms or objects; in this context, the shapes and structures of snowflakes.

• prism – A transparent object with flat surfaces that can refract or bend light; snowflakes often act like tiny prisms.

• snowflake – A single ice crystal or an aggregation of ice crystals that falls from the atmosphere.

• supersaturation – A condition where air contains more water vapor than it can hold, promoting snowflake formation.

• symmetrical – Having balanced proportions or the same form on opposite sides of a dividing line.

• vapor – The gaseous form of a substance that is normally liquid or solid at room temperature; in this context, water vapor.

• vertices – The corners or points where edges meet, such as in the geometric structure of a snowflake.

• water vapor – Water in its gaseous state, present in the air and involved in cloud and snowflake formation.

Play Snowflake Bingo:

Play virtual bingo using a computer, smartphone or tablet during your program to reinforce key concepts and vocabulary.

• Online

• On paper/PDF

🌐 Websites

• emilymorganbooks.com

• snowcrystals.com: Cutting Paper Snowflakes

• weather.gov: Snowflake Science

📚 Books & Publications

• NSTA: Next Time You See a Snowflake

• Emily Morgan: emilymorganbooks.com/books/next-time-you-see-a-snowflake

• snowcrystals.com: Snowflake Books

🖥️ Videos

• NSTA: Next Time You See a Snowflake book promo

• CILC: Community of Learning recording

• Deep Look: Identical Snowflakes? Scientist Ruins Winter For Everyone.