AUTHORS

Kiera Casion

Sakeithia Wicker

Cameron Cox

Characters:

Thermometer

Rain Gauge

Raindrop

Cierra

 Hi! My name is Raindrop. I am a 10 year-old raindrop who is going on a summer vacation to the Rainforest. It sounds like a raindrop’s paradise, right? I think so too! The rest of my family wasn’t able to join me so I’m taking a cloud all on my own. I’m a little nervous, but I’m sure it will be alright. My mom told me that the Rainforest temperatures are warmer than where we live. Did I mention that I live within a biome called a “Taiga”? It’s really just a fancy word for a type of forest. Every year my family and I take a trip to either “Aquatic” biomes or “Grasslands”. This year, we only had enough for one of us to take a trip so my family voted for me to experience the Rainforest. Before I was born, my family had gone to the Rainforest, but the price of clouds had gone up.

The cloud ride took about 12 hours! I was exhausted when the ride attendant announced that we had reached our destination. I grabbed my items and dropped off. I slowly sailed through the warm air, grasping my book bag tightly. Wow! This is amazing!! The air is so much easier to go through. After a few minutes, I landed gently on a giant, electric lime curricular plant. It glided through the water. A beautiful blue bird fluttered above me. “Hello, little one. Are you lost”? “No ma’am! I am on vacation”, I said. “You have come to a grand place then my dear! Where are my manners? My name is Cierra! I am a Cerulean Warbler.” “Nice to meet you Cierra! My name is Raindrop, and I am a raindrop!” I was so excited to have made a friend so quickly. She explained to me that I was actually on a giant water lily. 

I felt so comfortable, I didn’t want to leave, unfortunately, my stomach growled. I know. I bet you are wondering, “What would a raindrop eat!? Well, because I am made of water, I can absorb nutrients from pollen and fruit! Cierra was shocked after learning this too. She offered her wing, and jolted me into the air. “Yippee!”, I squealed. We flew all the way to the tops of the trees or the treetop canopy. The view was amazing. After we landed on some sturdy leaves, Cierra went to find small berries for me to eat. Remember, I’m not actually eating the berries, just absorbing the nutrients! As I waited on Cierra, I took out my phone and called my best friend, Thermometer.

“Hey bud! Where are you?”, I asked. “You will not believe it, but I am on a cloud to the Rainforest!”, Thermometer exclaimed. I can’t believe this! My best friend is going to be in the Rainforest with me. I had to take pictures as soon as he landed. “I can’t believe Thermometer. This is wild”, I shouted. Not only could Thermometer tell me the temperature of areas around us, he also had a brother that could measure the amount of rainfall. This trip was going to be fun and entertaining. After Thermometer hung up, Cierra had returned with a mouthful of berries. “Cierra, I’m hungry, but not starving! Haha. Thank you so much”, I said. She laughed at me and claimed she collected some for herself too. While eating, I told her about Thermometer and how our friendship came to be. She thought it was interesting that Thermometer had such a unique skill. 

While we were cleaning up, a cloud had passed over us. I exclaimed, “That’s Thermometer!” I rushed to clean up the area and called him. “Hey! I am literally beneath you. Grab your bags and come down. I’m with a small blue bird.” He exited the cloud, but not alone. His annoying younger cousin, Rain Gauge, was trailing behind him. “Yoo-hoo Rainy! How are you doing? Has any rain fallen since you’ve been here? I can tell you how much fell”, he yelled. I covered my ears and asked, “Why are you yelling!?” The reason I think Rain Gauge is annoying is because he bothers me with unnecessary questions and repeats the same story about his grandad who measured the largest amount of rainfall in 1923.

If he gave me a dollar every time he mentioned it, I would be a very rich raindrop. After greeting them, I introduced them to Cierra. She offered them some berries and then we went out to explore some other trees. We had to make a carrier so Cierra was able to carry us on her back. We flew around for a few hours, gazing down upon the trees and various animals within them.

As we flew around, Cierra challenged us to identify various angles within the rainforest. We learned about angles in Math class earlier that year, but we needed another explanation. Cierra began, “There are three types of angles. An angle can be classified as a right, acute, or obtuse angle. Right angles form a square corner that measures exactly 90 degrees. An acute angle measures less than 90 degrees. The obtuse angle measures greater than 90 degrees.” “Wow. It’s all coming back now!” exclaimed Raindrop. Every time they came across an animal, Thermometer took pictures so that we could identify possible angles later. About ten minutes later, we landed on a giant water-lily and analyzed our pictures. “Look! There’s an angle created by the jaguar’s arm”, pointed out Rain Gauge. “You are absolutely right. I’ll draw it with this red marker”, said Thermometer. They glanced over the images of an owl, toucan, a colorful frog, and two scarlet macaws. Cierra gasped, “There are so many angles in these photos! Great job.”

An angle between two Scarlet Macaws measures 50 degrees.

An owl's nose creates a right angle.

A jaguar creates an obtuse angle with it's arm.

A toucan creates a 140 degree angle underneath its colorful beak.

This poisonous  tree frog create a line with its legs and between its eye. There are also many points found on his spots.

Later that night, we found a larger tree to rest in. This allowed everyone to have their own branch and leaves to sleep on. As the insects and nocturnal animals rustled throughout the rainforest, a thundercloud was approaching. It rumbled in the distance, prowling through the sky like a jaguar hunting. It was headed straight towards the rainforest. Only animals with sensitive ears were able to detect the storm coming. They made preparations for their homes and secured enough food to last about a week. As the group of friends slept, the sun crept into the sky. By the time everyone awakened, the sun was beaming down upon them. 

“Good morning guys!”, chirped Cierra. Everyone mumbled a reply. “While you all wake up and start moving around, I am going to find some breakfast!” said Cierra. Rain Gauge grumbled, “No, worms!” Raindrop blew his breath and ignored Rain Gauge. “Thank you so much Cierra! We appreciate your generosity” Raindrop said. As Cierra flew away, the rest of the guys cleaned up their sleeping areas and talked about the past school year. Just then, lightning jolted across the sky. Everyone screamed and hid under a nearby leaf. “Where is Cierra? Why is it lightning?”, yelled Rain Gauge. Cierra flutters in quickly with a mouthful of berries. “Hey guys! Glad I made it back before it starts raining”, said Cierra. 

She offered everyone some berries and shook off her wings. Glancing up at the sky, she shook her head and said ,“We need to move to a different location.” Everyone looked at her with wide eyes. “It’s okay! It’s a minor storm, but it may bring a cold front with it”, she grumbled. Thermometer and Rain Gauge seemed unbothered, but Raindrop was confused. “A cold what? Someone please explain!”, he exclaimed.

Rain gauge explained, “Fronts are the leading mass of air that moves into a region following a storm. After the storm occurs, it can possibly bring three different types of fronts: warm, cold, or stationary.” Raindrop took out his journal and took notes. “So I’m assuming that if it is a cold front, the storm is bringing cooler temperatures and if it is a warm front, warmer air will be approaching”, stated Raindrop. “Exactly!”, shouted Rain Gauge. Cierra picked up the carrier and chirped quickly, “Let’s go!” They all gathered in the carrier and fluttered up into the sky. Cierra flew for about ten minutes gliding through the air. Thermometer called out, “That looks like a great spot!” Cierra swooped down and gracefully landed. “Hop off!”, she yelled. The guys slid off and looked up at the sky. As they were chattering amongst each other, a toucan bellowed, “Prepare for some chilly temps! This storm is bringing a cold front. We have about two or three days to prepare.”

Raindrop immediately began to panic. He shouted, “No way. I could freeze!” Thermometer calmed him down and reminded him they have three days to prepare. He also suggested that Raindrop should create a weather pattern journal to keep track of the weather. Thermometer explained, “This could help you prepare and see how long it takes for the storm to reach our location. It could change locations and barely affect us.” Raindrop nodded and looked for his journal. 

Thermometer looked for an example of a weather pattern chart as Raindrop looked for a pen. “Here’s a great one!”, Thermometer exclaimed. Raindrop looked at the chart and wrote down possible types of weather patterns. “So the types of weather patterns can be cloudy, sunny, or rainy", said Raindrop, "If the pattern of weather stays a certain way for extended periods of time, that's called climate."  Cierra added, “Well there could be some other types too! I have a cousin who experienced snowy weather up North. She accidentally missed the migration bus and had to stay huddled up all winter with some squirrels!” Everyone listened as Cierra provided more examples of the types of weather with stories about her cousins. After she finished talking, Raindrop added partly cloudy, windy, stormy, and snowing to his chart.