Winter Science Picture Book Unit for K–3: Snowflakes, Ice and Animals in Winter

Winter is a natural science lab for young children. Snow and ice change shape, melt and refreeze. Animal tracks appear overnight. The books in this unit model the habits scientists use: looking closely, waiting patiently, recording carefully and asking questions. The plan runs five sessions of 30–45 minutes and stretches easily over two weeks. Grade bands are approximate, so adapt the writing demands to your students.

No snow where you are? Every investigation below has an indoor version using ice from a freezer, frost on a cold can, or shaved ice.

Unit goals

By the end of the unit, students will:

• Make and record careful observations using drawings, words and simple measurements.
• Describe how snow and ice change when they warm or cool.
• Explain that snowflakes are ice crystals with six sides or points.
• Name at least two ways animals survive winter.
• Connect what scientists in books do to what they do.

Materials

• Observation journals (stapled blank paper or a folded booklet; template below)
• Hand lenses or magnifying glasses
• Black construction paper or dark fabric, chilled in a freezer
• Rulers (and a flat board for measuring snow)
• Clear plastic cups, ice cubes, a few thermometers if available
• Shoeboxes, cotton balls or white paper, clay (for the optional diorama)
• Clipboards and pencils for outdoor work

The observation journal

Make one for each student. Each page has:

• Date and weather (draw a symbol: sun, cloud, snow)
• I see… (a large box for a drawing)
• I notice… (one or two sentences or labeled words)
• I wonder… (one question)
• For grades 2–3: I measured… (number and unit)

Model a page under a document camera before students try. Praise detail and accuracy over artistic skill: “You drew six points. That’s exactly what you saw.”

Day 1 Looking closely: The Snowy Day

Read: The Snowy Day. Peter spends a snow day exploring the snow in his city neighborhood — making tracks and snow angels — and pockets a snowball to keep for later, which sets up today’s melting question.

Discuss:

• What did Peter discover about snow?
• What happened to the snowball in his pocket? Why?
• What would you want to find out about snow?

Investigation: Where will ice melt fastest?

1. Give each small group three identical ice cubes in cups.
2. Place one by a window, one in a shady corner, one in a lunch box or wrapped in a mitten.
3. Students predict which will melt first and draw their prediction.
4. Check every 15 minutes and record in journals.
5. Discuss: What made the difference? Connect to Peter’s pocket.

K–1: Do this as a whole class with a picture chart. Grades 2–3: Students record times and describe changes in words.

Day 2 Snowflakes up close: Snowflake Bentley

Read: Snowflake Bentley, the life of a Vermont farm boy who grew up to photograph snowflakes and show that no two are alike. Read the sidebars aloud to older groups; they add factual detail.

Facts to share:

• Bentley lived from 1865 to 1931. According to the Jericho Historical Society’s Bentley site, he became the first person to photograph a single snow crystal, on January 15, 1885, and photographed well over 5,000 snow crystals in his lifetime.
• NOAA explains that a snow crystal begins when water vapor turns into ice on a tiny particle and grows inside the cloud.
• Snowflakes have six sides or six arms because ice’s crystal structure is six-sided.
• Tiny changes in temperature and moisture change how each crystal grows. NOAA says that’s why you’ll never find two truly identical flakes.

Investigation: Catch a snowflake.

1. Chill black paper or dark fabric in a freezer (or outside) for at least 15 minutes.
2. On a snowy day, hold it out to catch falling flakes. Look quickly with a hand lens.
3. Count the points or sides. Draw what you see in your journal.
4. Compare: Do any look the same? Are some broken or clumped?

No snow? Students look at frost on a cold can, or at ice from the freezer, and draw it. Then they make paper snowflakes, folding paper so each one has six points. (Some common folding methods make eight points. If that happens, use it as a “Does this match what scientists found?” moment.)

Talk about patience: What did Bentley do when his photos didn’t work? What do you do when an experiment doesn’t work the first time?

Day 3 Measuring snow

Mini-lesson: Scientists measure so others can check their work. The National Weather Service measures snowfall this way: place a level board in an open spot away from trees and buildings, slide the ruler straight down into the snow until it touches, read the depth to the nearest tenth of an inch if you can, and clear the board after each reading.

Investigation: Our class snow station.

1. Set a flat board in an open part of the schoolyard (with permission).
2. After a snowfall, groups measure in three places on the board and record each number.
3. Grades 2–3: find the middle number or compare the three.
4. Add the result to a class chart. Over the unit, graph snow depth by day.

Follow-up: Snow to water.

1. Pack a clear cup with snow. Mark the level with tape.
2. Let it melt indoors. Mark the new level.
3. Discuss: Why is there less? What was taking up space?

K–1: Use non-standard units (cubes, paper clips) before rulers. No snow? Use shaved or crushed ice for the melt investigation.

Day 4 Animals under the snow: Over and Under the Snow

Read: Over and Under the Snow. As a girl skis through the woods with her father, the book shows what is happening beneath her skis: animals living in the space under the snow. It sets up today’s vocabulary word perfectly.

Facts to share:

• The space between the ground and the bottom of the snow is called the subnivean zone, from Latin for “under snow.”
• The National Park Service describes mice, voles and shrews tunneling there and eating seeds, bark and stored food. Small holes on the snow surface are often vents.
• Snowshoe hares and grouse use snow for shelter. Predators such as ermine, hawks and owls hunt small animals.

Three winter strategies. The NPS describes three main ways animals survive winter:

• Migrate (move somewhere milder). Example: monarch butterflies.
• Go dormant (slow down, as in hibernation). Example: bats; wood frogs spend the winter frozen.
• Adapt in place (thicker coats, color change). Examples: snowshoe hare, long-tailed weasel, ptarmigan.

Activity: Sort the animals. Give pairs picture cards of animals from the book and the NPS examples. Sort them into Migrate / Go dormant / Adapt / Lives under the snow. Discuss animals that fit more than one group.

Optional: Shoebox diorama. The NPS lesson suggests a shoebox habitat. Line the box with white paper, cover the top with cotton “snow,” add twigs, and place clay animals above or below the snow. Grades 2–3 write a short story from one animal’s point of view.

Day 5 Quiet observation: Owl Moon

Read: Owl Moon. A late-night walk in the snow, where the rule is silence and the reward, if it comes, is an owl. Pause on the language: it is full of sounds, cold and light, which is exactly what students will listen for in today’s activity.

Facts to share: At Rocky Mountain National Park, the NPS notes that great horned owls live there year-round. They call and court in January and February, and their young hatch in March. Visitors can often hear them on winter nights. (Owl behavior varies by species and region; check your local nature center for owls near you.)

Activity: A silent sit.

1. Go outside (or sit by a window) for three to five minutes of complete quiet.
2. Students record everything they hear, see and feel in their journals.
3. Back inside, share: What did you notice because you were quiet?

Writing (grades 1–3): Using Owl Moon as a model, write three sentences about the silent sit with at least one sound word and one “feeling” word.

Close the unit: Students choose their best journal page to share and explain one thing they learned. Revisit the unit goals as a class.

Extensions

• Read The Watcher, a picture-book biography of Jane Goodall that introduces observation as a scientific skill. Compare her patient watching to the child in Owl Moon and to Bentley.
• Read Ada Twist, Scientist to talk about asking questions and running experiments.
• Track tracks: After a snowfall, photograph animal tracks in the schoolyard and try to match them to animals.
• Start a class weather chart that continues past the unit.

Assessment ideas

Journal review (formative): Look for

• Drawings that show real detail (six points, accurate shapes)
• An “I notice” that describes rather than judges
• An “I wonder” that could lead to an investigation

Exit ticket (Day 4 or 5): “Draw one animal and show how it survives winter. Label it: migrate, sleep or adapt.”

Talk check: Can a student explain why the ice in the window melted faster, or why snow turned into less water?

Outdoor safety

Follow your school’s policies for outdoor time in cold weather, check with families about appropriate clothing, and keep outdoor sessions short for younger children. Have a plan for students who don’t have warm gear, such as an indoor window version of each activity.

Related reading

Browse more science and nature and picture books, or see our discussion prompts for any book for questions that work with every title in this unit.