Dear Teachers, Keith Michael Johnson is coming to present his assembly program Amazing Americans at our school. To get the most out of his visit, please share a bit of this teachers' guide/in-class poster with your students ahead of time. FYI: A preview video of this program and more about Keith's shows can be found on www.keithmichaeljohnson.com. We are looking forward to a terrific assembly! Thank you.
keithj3Wild About Weather
We live on a planet where water is sticky, air is heavy, frogs sometimes rain from the sky, and lightning strikes 100 times a second! So buckle up, because Keith Michael Johnson is going to show you the weather as you've never seen it before!

Wild About Weather (50 minutes) is jam packed with funny demonstrations, audience interaction and solid meteorological science. Air cannons, tornado generators, hot air balloons, soap bubbles and other enlightening experiments are unleashed to investigate the awesome forces of nature. Keith makes exploring why our weather happens and how it works—a real blast! Prepare to be shocked and to laugh out loud.

Key curriculum content: Cloud identification, storms, water cycle, weather instruments & conditions, myths, air pressure, atmosphere, forecasters as heros and safe weather related science tricks to try at home.

Something to try in class: Soap bubbles are a great introduction to many weather related science concepts. Invisible air is playing around us all the time. Air currents can be "seen" as you watch bubbles drift with the breezes. Waving an index card above a bubble will reduce the air pressure and cause it to rise. Bubbles reflect light in rainbow colors. Just remember every rainbow is named ROY G. BIV. Red, orange yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet. Explore evaporation: Blow and catch a bubble to watch the rainbow colors change as it's skin thins due to evaporation. Record whether bubbles live longer in more or less humid conditions and higher or lower air tempretures. Look at the seam where two (different sized) bubbles meet. It bulges into the bubble that has less air pressure. But, why does the bigger bubble have less pressure? Many more experiments with bubbles can be found on the link's page of www.soapbubbler.com.

Keith's Bio: As a part-time special ed student in elementary school, Keith Michael Johnson developed two skills that led to his success: humor and perseverance. Keith has parlayed his curious and unique approach to elementary school studies into a series of programs that make math, history, reading and science engaging, educational and unforgettable. Keith started his "show business" in 1986 and now performs 300 programs a year in elementary schools and libraries throughout CT, MA and RI. He's a graduate of Roger Williams University and Ringling Brothers, Barnum & Bailey Clown College—where he fine tuned his comedy skills and earned a BFA (Bachelor of Fun Arts).