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BY JACQUELINE BRIGGS MARTIN
ILLUSTRATED BY MARY AZARIAN
Page Created by Laurie Grube
Intended Grade Level: 1st and 2nd
Welcome to this interactive website for Snowflake Bentley.
Please use this website as a guide to enrich your reading while reading Snowflake Bentley.
BACKGROUND
BOOK SUMMARY: This book tells the true story of Wilson Bentley, a simple farmer who grew up in Jericho, Vermont. He really loved the snow and snow crystals. When his mother gave him an old microscope, he started catching single snowflakes and studying the icy crystals. Starting at the age of fifteen, he drew a hundred snow crystals each winter for three winters. He learned that most crystals had six branches and that for each snowflake, the six branches were alike. No one design was ever repeated. When he was seventeen, his parents bought him a camera with its own microscope. When he was in his late teens, he discovered a way to look at and photograph individual snow crystals. He drew what he saw and later published a book of his drawings. This book includes true facts about his life and work in the margins. It also shows some pictures of his drawings.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Jacqueline Briggs Martin grew up on a farm in Maine with her parents, three brothers, two sisters, a great-great uncle and her grandparents. As a child, she loved the sounds of words and never thought that she would one day write books. She ended up in Iowa and is married to Rich who is a professor at Cornell College. She has a daughter and a son who she says influenced her to become a writer of children's books. She also wrote Banjo Granny, The Lamp, the Ice, and the Boat Called FISH, The Water Gift and the Pig of the Pig, and many more. You can visit Jacqueline's web site at www.jacquelinebriggsmartin.com and learn more about her. Just be sure to enter the web site.
MATERIALS NEEDED:
Book:
Snowflake Bentley
Computer with Internet Access
Pencil
Printer
Paper
Crayons
Stapler
Please follow the directions carefully under each activity section. You need to print out each worksheet as directed. At the end, print off the rubric to make sure that you have everything completed.
PRE-READING ACTIVITIES:
Activity 1: What do you know about snowflakes?
Before reading Snowflake Bentley, print out and complete the following KWL chart. Only fill in the first two columns now. After you have finished reading and completed all of the activities, fill in the last column.
Activity 2: Where do snowflakes come from?
Click here to take a look at what some scientists throughout history have discovered about snowflakes. Read about each Scientist. You do not have to follow any of the links on the page. You may do so at a later time if you want more information on each scientist. Print out the worksheet and then answer a question about each scientist.
DURING-READING ACTIVITIES:
Activity 3:
Unknown Words
As we are reading the story, write down any words that you do not know. Spell it as close to the word as you can. When we are finished with the story, we will discuss any tricky words that you heard.
Activity 4: Facts and Events
Print the following worksheet and fill it out as we are reading the story. Listen for interesting facts and an important event that happened in Wilson Bentley's life. You are going to write down 3 interesting facts and 1 important event.
AFTER-READING
ACTIVITIES:
Activity 5: Find the hidden words?
After you have finished reading the book, print out and complete the word search. You may use either a pencil or crayons to find the words.
Activity 6: Your unique snowflake?
Create your own snowflake by using the following link: http://snowflakes.barkleyus.com When you are finished, save your snowflake and write down the number so that the class may view what you created.
ASSESSMENT OF YOUR WORK:
Check that all of your activities are completed. If you have not finished your KWL Chart, do that now. Once you have completed all of the activities, print out this Rubric. Be sure your name is at the top of each page and staple all of your work together. Try to keep the activity pages in order. Make sure that the rubric is the last page.