Snowflake Globes and Theories Re-visited

It has been a while since I've updated you all on our Snowflake Inquiry.  After having shared students' initial theories about how snowflakes were made, we had several conversations and there seemed to be a shift in their thinking.  This was especially the case following a read-aloud on a text about different kinds of snow.

Here are some of the questions that I asked the students about snowflakes:

• How might snowflakes get made?
• Why are all snowflakes unique?
• Why do snowflakes fall differently and look different on some days?

T.M.: I think that when someone is having a snowball fight when they hit someone with a snowball it becomes a snowflake...No wait...I think snowflakes come from the moon.  The moon dances to get snow out. Then has to do a flip!

E.H.: I agree it's from the moon.  I think the stars help the moon.  They push the snow.

Ai.St.: The moon!  The moon has snow inside.  The moon has to move on top of the Earth.  It kicks down the snow!

T.M.: No the moon dances and drops all the snow!  Actually, it saves some for next winter!

R.L.: I think the snow comes from the clouds.  The clouds squeeze together and then the snow falls down!

R.J.: My mom told me the right answer.  Snow is rain when it's freezing!

As an inquiry group we decided that we wanted to dig deeper and create our own snowflakes.  After offering the students a variety of materials including cotton balls, paint, clay, and glitter, they came up with the idea of creating snowflake globes.  Of course, as we always do, the students drew and wrote about their developing theories before making their snowflake globes.

Here is what came out of their writing that day:

R.L.: I still think snow comes from the clouds.  They fall from the sky.  You can have fun! Snow is cold!  The clouds have water inside them.  The water freezes.  Then turns into snow.  Then they fall.

E.H.: I change my mind.  I think snowflakes come from the clouds.  I think snowflakes are beautiful.  The clouds dance around and snow comes down!

Ai.St.: I think that snowflakes come from the clouds, because we need it to be cold.

R.J.: I think snowflakes are beautiful too.  I wonder why snowflakes are different.  I wonder why some snowflakes are the same.  I also think snowflakes come from the clouds.

So then we're curious, are snowflakes made inside the clouds or on the moon?