The Cloudmaker

A young cloud maker tries to make clouds when a sudden explosion sends him soaring to the surface from his cloud island, where he meets an unexpected friend.

Watch this video with your children, and then try some of our teaching and activity ideas below.

Teaching Ideas and Resources:

English

• Write some recipes for making clouds.
• Write a job description for a Cloudmaker. What kind of skills and qualities would a Cloudmaker need?
• Make a story map of the story.
• Write a character sketch of the Cloudmaker.
• Stop the video at certain points (for example 00:12, 00:27 and 00:39). What is the Cloudmaker thinking?
• Retell the story from the Cloudmaker’s point of view.
• Compare this short film to the Sorcerer’s Apprentice section from Fantasia – a spell that goes wrong. Do you notice any similarities?
• Write some narration for the film.
• Retell the story from the Cloudmaker’s point of view.
• Use the title of this short film for your own story about a ‘Cloudmaker’.
• Write a prequel to this story. Where did this boy come from? Why is it his job to make clouds?

Science

• Find out about flight. What kind of animals can fly? What kind of vehicles?

Computing

• Create a multimedia presentation about clouds. You could include your own photographs, text and narration.

Art

• Paint a picture of a floating island.
• Make sheep clouds using cotton wool, sticks and cardboard faces.
• Go outside on a cloudy day and draw / paint the picture that you see in front of you.
• Look at these examples of sky and cloud paintings. Could you try to create your own?

Music

• Compose a new soundtrack for the film. What kind of instruments could you use?

Geography

• Talk about how clouds are made. Look at a simple version of the water cycle.
• Go outside and do some cloud spotting. Can you see any shapes or patterns in the clouds?
• Try making a cloud in a glass.
• Write a report / make a poster about different kinds of clouds. What are they, and how are they similar / different?
• Carry out a survey of the clouds that you see in the sky over the course of a week / month. Do you notice any patterns?
• Investigate the weather in different parts of the world. How is it similar / different to where you live? Can you give any reasons for the differences?

PSHE

• At the beginning of the film, the Cloudmaker is having difficulty making clouds. Do you have difficulty doing some things you really want to do? How could you overcome it?