Skip Navigation
Image of the K-4 Earth Science Modules logo that links to the K-4 Earth Science Modules home page. Button that takes you to the Exploring the Environment Website. Image that says: a K-4 addition to the Exploring the Environment Web site.  
Button that takes you to the Situation page.Button that takes you to the Biomes page.Button that takes you to the Weather, Seasons, and Climate page.Button that takes you to the Remote Sensing page.Button that takes you to the Earth System page.
Button that takes you to the User Notes page.
Image that says Earth Action Stories.
Button that takes you to the A Rainbow for Spider Boy and Butterfly Girl page.
Image that says Hands-On Activities.
Button that takes you to the Earth System Cards page.
Button that takes you to the Observing the Water Cycle page.
Button that takes you to the Raindrops Keep Falling page.
Image that says Online Activities.
Button that takes you to the Earth System Cards page.
Image that says Topic Overview.
Button that takes you to the Overview page.
Button that takes you to the Spheres page.
Button that takes you to the Cycles page.
Button that takes you to the Online Activities page.

Earth Action Stories: A Rainbow for Spider Boy and Butterfly Girl

"Come, Image of three native americans in a boat.my grandchildren. Come with me on a great trip."

In this, the spring of his 65th year on Earth, Flying Eagle heard a calling. He knew it was time to thank Mother Sky for her gifts.

And what gifts they were, he told his grandchildren, Spider Boy and Butterfly, as they walked through the day over rolling hills, across open plains, through tree-filled valleys and into the night to a great bay.

One gift was the Wind Voices—the cooling gust and its much-loved cousin, the warm breeze.

Another gift was Coloring Mist—the soft warm rain now falling, the biting snow that covered the winter ground, the rolling streams, and the deep lakes.

The other gift was Earth Warmth—the rich soil that had supplied Flying Eagle and his people with tasty plants for many years.

"I will introduce you to Mother Sky," Flying Eagle assured the children.

When they reached the bay that night, the great water in the bay was dancing at the call of the wind. Large high clouds were dropping a soft, misty rain from the darkened night sky.

"There will be better nights. The sky has many clouds," Mother Fawn Racer had told her husband before he had left, but Flying Eagle would not hear of it.

"The Wind Voices are calling me to the water," he replied.

Flying Eagle took Spider Boy and Butterfly Girl out into the bay on a small canoe they had brought. The air still smelled sweet from lightning that afternoon. The night was comfortable and warm.

Spider Boy paddled the canoe. How proud he felt, providing the energy for his grandfather's journey. "I am just like a grown hunter or fisher," he thought. Soon, he would be.

His small movements glided the canoe in the shallow bay with barely a sound. Butterfly Girl sat in front holding a cedar branch, a gift for Mother Sky. Mother Fawn Racer had braided her granddaughter's hair before the trip. Her braids moved in time with the paddle as it stroked the water.

"The glow of Full Moon is there, in the eastern sky," Flying Eagle told his grandchildren. With his words the clouds seemed to part as a shaken blanket. There it was.

Full Moon was richly bright. It sent shimmers of light across the water. Full Moon was a proud and loyal partner to Earth.

Image of a native american girl sitting in a boat and she is looking at a rainbow.Butterfly Girl squealed with delight. "Look!" she exclaimed.

Arcing across Mother Sky to the west was a lunar rainbow. The colors were faint and delicate.

"Such rainbows are rare gifts from Mother Sky," Flying Eagle told them. He had seen one only once before, when he was a small child.

"It is now time," Flying Eagle told his grandchildren.

With that Butterfly Girl smiled, then leaned over the front of the canoe. She gently laid the cedar branch on the Great Water.

Her brother, Spider Boy, smiled too. He knew in his heart that the coming summer would be special. He would become a great hunter. The lunar rainbow was his sign. He would be forever grateful to the Full Moon of Mother Sky.

As their canoe approached the shore, Butterfly Girl turned for a final glance at the night sky over the Great Water. She could see the cedar branch as it topped the crest of a small wave.

"Mother Sky will reach down and touch the sweet cedar in the distance where the sky and the water meet," Flying Eagle told her.

Butterfly Girl looked to the sky. She had seen the gentle side of a great chief, her grandfather. Her heart was forever warmed. She would see all things differently now.

In a whisper she breathed, "Thank you, Mother Sky."

Earth System Earth Action Problem 1: Seasonal Picnic (K-2)
Your class is going on a picnic to celebrate the change of seasons. How should you prepare? What clothes should you wear. What food is available this time of year? How would seasonal changes in the air, water, land, and living things affect your picnic?

Earth System Earth Action Problem 2: Where Did the Birds Go? (3-4)
Your class set up a bird feeder outside the window to your room. Each day you watch the pretty birds flitter around the feeder. One December morning you saw a bright red bird. You realized all of the other birds you had watched in September were gone, and new ones were at the feeder. What happened to the birds that were there this fall? Where did the new ones come from? How would changes in the air, water, and land affect the types of birds you see at the feeder?

Earth System Earth Action Problem 3: How Does Your Garden Grow? (3-4)
Every spring Sammy's grandmother plants a vegetable garden. Every autumn she harvests the vegetables. How do air temperature, soil, and water affect how the garden grows? How do they affect when Sammy's grandmother plants and harvests her garden?

Earth action story written by Regina Wolterman. Artwork by Anne Foreman.

Biomes | Weather, Season & Climate | Remote Sensing | Earth System
ETE Website

Earth Action Stories: A Rainbow for Spider Boy and Butterfly Girl
Hands-On Activities
: Earth System Cards | Observing the Water Cycle | Raindrops Keep Falling
Online Activities: Earth System Cards
Topic Overview: Overview | Spheres | Cycles


Maintained by ETE Team
Last updated November 10, 2004

Some images © 2004 www.clipart.com

Privacy Statement and Copyright © 1997-2004 by Wheeling Jesuit University/NASA-supported Classroom of the Future. All rights reserved.

Center for Educational Technologies, Circuit Board/Apple graphic logo, and COTF Classroom of the Future logo are registered trademarks of Wheeling Jesuit University.