Or
Hi, my name is Keya.
One hot, sunny day, I went to the community pool.
My dad and little brother, Samar, were there, too.
I was getting out of the pool when I heard music coming from far away.
Listen!
Do you know what that sound is?
The ice cream truck was coming!
“Ice cream!” Samar shouted. “Let’s go!”
He headed for the parking lot where the ice cream truck always stopped.
Dad laughed. “I’d better catch him! Meet us at the ice cream truck.”
He ran after my little brother.
I started to follow them.
That’s when I found out that I had a big problem.
I’d have to cross the parking lot to get to the ice cream truck…
And I wasn’t wearing any shoes!
That morning, when we got to the pool, the sky was cloudy.
The parking lot and sidewalk were cool.
So I left my shoes in the car.
But the sun had come out.
It had been shining on the parking lot for hours.
I needed my shoes!
Stop & Talk
I thought about what it would feel like to walk barefoot by the pool.
The wet sidewalk would be cool.
Parts of the sidewalk in the shade would be cool, too.
But where the sun was shining on the sidewalk, it could get very hot!
And where the sun was shining on the parking lot, it would get very hot, too!
Walking barefoot on a hot parking lot would hurt!
I would have to walk like this: Ow ow ow ow ow.
I wanted to get to the ice cream truck.
But I didn’t want to walk where it was hot.
How could I get to the truck without hurting my feet?
Stop & Talk:
How can Keya walk to the truck while keeping her feet cool?
I looked around, and here’s what I saw…
There was shade under each umbrella.
I knew the shade would be cool.
The snack bar made a shadow.
That would be cool, too.
People getting out of the pool have splashed cold water onto the cement.
Those puddles would be cool.
The green grass was wet.
It would be cool under my feet.
Stop & Talk
I thought about it.
Here’s what I decided to do.
I jumped from one patch of shade to the next.
Then I splashed through the puddles and jumped into the snack bar’s shadow.
Then I splashed through more puddles and ran across the grass to the truck.
Get Up & Move:
Let’s all run barefoot to the ice cream truck! Stand up and jump from the shade of the umbrellas to the shade of the snack bar.
Get Up & Move:
Splash through the puddles. Walk on the grass. We made it to the ice cream truck!
I met my dad at the ice cream truck.
He looked at my feet and smiled.
“I see why you took the long way to get here,” he said.
“You earned a treat. What would you like?”
Dad bought me my favorite ice cream bar.
Then he said, “Watch your brother for a minute. I’ll be right back.”
Dad went to the car and got my shoes.
“Thanks, Dad!” I said.
I put on my shoes.
I walked back to the pool.
I sat in the cool shade under an umbrella and ate my ice cream.
It was great.
THE END
Now that you know where it's too hot to walk barefoot, you can also figure out when to sit if you want cool off on a hot day.
We know that sunshine warms things up.
So if we want to cool off, we look for a shady spot. If we want to warm up, we find a place in the sun.
Next time you're outside on a sunny day, compare the temperature in the sun with the temperature in the shade. Do you feel a difference?
Below are ideas for extending this topic beyond the activity & exploration you just completed.
Where Is It Warmer?: Take a walk outside on a sunny day and challenge students to find the warmest and coldest spots they can. Encourage them to feel different kinds of surfaces—blacktop, brick, rocks, metal, soil, sand—in sun and in shade. Remind them that the sun is always moving, so the middle of a shadow will be cooler than its outer edges.
Help Keya get to the ice cream truck without burning her feet. You will need to print out a map handout for each student.
Exit Full Screen
Exit Full Screen
