Here are some small reads that are great for sharing when you’re talking about weather! These Small Reads Roundups appear first in my Small Reads monthly e‑letter for educators. Subscribe here! My plan is to include only things that are easily accessible to you–if you find a link that’s no longer working, please let me know–thank you :>) Some of the poems are just exercises and first drafts, while others are more polished. You can always try clicking on a image or link to see if more info or writing process was shared about that poem.

Readalouds

All sorts of extension activities for Snack, Snooze, Skedaddle here

The Colors of Weather

Poems

Rainbows

After the Storm (an acrostic)

Ribbons of color
Arch
In a
Neverending
Backbend
Over the
World

–Laura Purdie Salas, all rights reserved

 

Dark and Light

storm
raindrops, misty
falling, gathering, hanging
clouds, fading, sunlight, appearing
bouncing, reflecting, arcing
sparkle, colors
rainbow

–by Laura Purdie Salas, from Seed Sower, Hat Thrower: Poems About Weather

Thunderstorms

Not a poem, but a bit of a lightning storm from my Minnesota deck:

 

Click image below to see the picture that inspired the draft.

 

 

Rain

Softer

Through a windowpane
Streaked with sliding rain
Outside world has changed:
Blurry, velvet stain

Every house and car
Soft where edges are
Water painting sky
makes each light a star 

–Laura Purdie Salas, from Seed Sower, Hat Thrower: Poems About Weather

Wind

Click image to see writing process post.

Wind Is An…

Expert blower
Seed sower
Sailboat go-er
Hat thrower
And, best of all, a
Kite tow-er

–Laura Purdie Salas, from Seed Sower, Hat Thrower: Poems About Weather

Wild Wind

Rushing wind
Roaring wind
     Whirling, twirling
          Warring wind

Ripping wind
Whipping wind
     Please release your
            Gripping wind

Nearing wind
Clearing wind
      Finally,
            Disappearing wind

–Laura Purdie Salas, from Seed Sower, Hat Thrower: Poems About Weather

Cold

Is This Cold?

cold — kold n.
[from Old English cald; huddled next to Old High German kalt, born of the Ice Ages, never chattered in tropical locales]

a feeling or sensation of coolness, like the

delicious shiver of ice

down

your

spine

in July,

brisk wind
spinning leaves on the breeze in November,

d e l i c a t e    l a c e   of snow on your face in February,

or a grey May day with jackets packed away

–Laura Purdie Salas, all rights reserved

Snow

I’m cold confetti
falling from a crystal sky,
blanketing the town

–Laura Purdie Salas, all rights reserved, from Lion of the Sky: Haiku for All Seasons

 

Ice

Song of the Ice Storm

winter storm swoops in
on silent wings,
but it nests in noise:

it clatters and clinks
like silver shells or
icy shards

it squeaks below my feet
like autumn’s back door
creaking closed

it cracks like a great glass egg
breaking open to spill
out winter

winter storm swoops in
on silent wings,
then hatches an orchestra of dry

–Laura Purdie Salas, all rights reserved

Winter Blooms [a cinquain]

branches
blooming with ice
paint a shocking picture
of frosty white trees on winter’s
blue sky

–Laura Purdie Salas, from Seed Sower, Hat Thrower: Poems About Weather

 

Icicles, Cold and Waiting

The roof drips daggers–icy, clear,
dark, shadowed stories devoid of light.
They long for dazzling points of cheer.
The roof drips daggers–icy, clear.
Candles, stars greet newborn year.
Icy blades beg, Make me bright!
The roof drips daggers–icy, clear,
with points turned stories, spilling light.

–Laura Purdie Salas, all rights reserved

Heat

Auroras

 

A Climate Change Poem

Revenge of the White Dragon
(An Acrostic)

A dragon wakes, his winter sleep disturbed. He
Vows to punish you, the intruder.
Air swells with a low rumble.
Land beneath you trembles.
Above, a wave of concrete snow thunders down. The dragon roars your
Name. But he can’t find you.
Chewing up trees and spewing them out, he searches for you.
His steamy, snowy breath clouds the sky, and the
Earth cradles you to its rocky chest as the dragon’s belly slides by. Safe!

—Laura Purdie Salas, all rights reserved