Hanging Around

Grade Level:  Fourth

Subjects:  Math, Language Arts, Science and Technology

Learner Outcomes: 
Students will use estimating skills, measure using customary or metric units, use lines of symmetry and determine balance of weight.  Students will increase their amount of independent reading, and will make connections to self and to the world.  Students will read different types of poetry.  Students will use everyday materials to investigate the natural world.  Students will establish variables and controls in an experiment and they will draw and support conclusions based on patterns of evidence. 

Technology: Internet and video "What Is Air?"

Duration of Lesson:  Three 30 minute lessons

Materials:  wind chimes, string, metal forks, spoons, metal hangers, jewelry, washers and nuts.

Technology Tools/Courseware: The computer and Internet.

Teacher Notes:  Permission slips to access the Internet must be obtained from each student according to schools acceptable use policy.

Procedures:
1.  Provide several sets of chimes to each group of children so they can examine them. 
2.  Have students make a KWL chart in each group.
3.  Have students hang the chimes in different places, inside and outside. Ask them to explore the parts that makes noise.  What causes the chimes to make noise?
4.  Ask students to discuss and name all of the places that they hung the chimes.  Make a list of these places on the board.
5.  Discuss what makes the chimes move in the different locations.  They should determine that wind, drafts, fans, etc. makes the chimes move.
6.  Students may read The Wind Blew by Pat Hutchins, a book about wind.
7.  Students may use the Internet to research chimes.
8.  Students may find poems on wind, air, chimes, etc.

Modifications: Hand out chimes to groups of four. Have the students continue with the experiment. Students will fill our one KWL chart.  The teacher will put a blank KWL chart on the overhead.  At the beginning of the lesson, the teacher will fill the K part as the students discuss what they know. Each group will fill out the W part to show what they want to know.  The teacher can put some of these ideas on the overhead. The students will conduct the experiment and fill out the part for L.  The teacher will put as many examples as she can on the overhead of what the students learned.  Check students Individualized Educational Plan for additional modifications.

Enrichment Activities:

•   Distribute string, metal forks, spoons, metal hangers, jewelry, washers and nuts.  Have the students make their own wind chime.  Have them hang them and observe when they move and why.  Ask them to keep a journal of their findings (location of chime, where they hung their chime, what makes the chimes move).

Evaluation/Assessment:  Discuss observations at the end of the week.  These observations could be kept in a journal.  Discuss whose chimes moved the most and why.

State and National Standards:

West Virginia Department of Education Content Standards and Objectives:
Math (MA):  4.4.1, 4.3.6, 4.4.5
Language Arts (RLA):  4.1.4, 4.1.8, 4.1.10
Science (SC):  4.2.1, 4.2.3, 4.2.4, 4.2.9
Technology: (TEC): 4.3.1, 4.3.3, 4, 4.4.1, 4.5.1

National Standards:
Math: 4. Understands and applies basic and advanced properties of the concepts of measurements.
Language Arts: 8.  Uses listening and speaking strategies for different purposes.
Science: 12. Understands the nature of scientific inquiry.
Technology: 6. Understands the nature and uses the different forms of technology.

References:

Resources Cited:

Additional Resources:

Student Resources:

Authors:

Sue Armentrout
Teresa Knight
Trish Tallman
Washington District Elementary School