Grade Level: Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth

Subjects:  Language Arts, Math, Science, and Technology

Learner Outcomes:
       The student will:

• become familiar with the Beaufort scale for measuring the force and speed of wind.
• identify and measure changes in wind speed and direction.
• demonstrate safe and proper techniques for handling manipulatives and caring for science materials.
• make a wind sock to determine the wind direction.
• make an anemometer and observe wind variations around the school.
• interpret wind speeds through observation.
• prepare graphs from self collected data
• apply measuring and scaling skills to the design and building of a kite.
• explain what a front is and define the terms (warm front, cold front, stationary front).
• give an oral presentation about fronts using a triorama.
• research wind belts and the variables that affect wind.
• identify weather symbols for fronts on a weather map
• describe how different types of air masses are formed and what happens when air masses meet.
• describe the type of weather most commonly associated with fronts.

Materials:  science journal, marble, turntable (lazy Susan or stereo turntable), kite string, graph paper, newsprint or other large drawing paper for design work, rulers, pencils, kite design activity sheet, ping pong ball, nylon fish line, protractor, level bubbles, 3" x 15" board, cardboard, glue, 2" x 2" stick about 5 ft. long, 2 beads, long nail, jar, water, food coloring, cooking oil, newspaper weather report, red and blue transparency marker, globe, construction paper (9" x 9"), 2 liter soda bottle,  2 aluminum pie pans, opaque, white dishwashing liquid, red or green food coloring, candle in a holder and matches, watch with second hand

Technology Tools/Courseware: data projector, Internet connection, graphing software

Teacher Notes:

• Students can use the activity sheet to assist them in organizing their thoughts as they begin to design and build their kites.  Before students begin construction on their kites, the designs should be fully drawn out on graph paper.  Once completed, the design can be enlarged to scale and transferred to newsprint or other suitable large drawing paper for a rough draft design of the kite.  This design drawing can then be cut out and used as a template for the final kite construction.  Students can bring materials they will need to construct their kites.  Suggest nylon cloth, sail cloth, sturdy but lightweight paper, large plastic garbage bags, silk, or other material suitable for the kite material.
• Access background information on fronts : warm front , cold front , stationary front , occluded front and The Wind...Air in Motion before beginning the lesson.  Also, search through the photos and videos about wind.
• Collect and date newspaper weather reports for five consecutive days.
• Observations about wind speed and direction can be used to predict weather.  Gentle breezes shifting northwest, north, or northeast in summer generally are fair weather indicators.  Moderate to increasing south, southwest, or west winds are storm indicators throughout the year.  Also, east wind in winter can bring snow or freezing rain.  Clearing weather conditions are indicated by moderate to decreasing northwest or north winds throughout the year and east winds in summer.

1.  Begin the lesson by asking:  What is wind?  What do you think makes it blow?  Where does the energy come from to power the wind?  Do storms or bad weather occur when the wind is from a certain direction?  Does wind direction promote good weather in the area?  Why does the direction of the wind bring different weather conditions?  Begin a KWHL chart on wind and add to it throughout the lesson.  Continue to add to the Weather and Forecasting Clues chart.

2.  Use this activity as a discrepant event.  Place an empty balloon over the top of an empty, clean, 2 liter soda bottle.  Ask the class, "What do you think will happen to the balloon if we begin to heat the bottle with a hair dryer?"  Heat the bottle until the balloon inflates.  Explain that wind is moving air, and the energy to drive it comes from the sun.  When air is heated, it expands and becomes less dense.  As a result, hot air rises.  In the real world, the sun heats Earth's surface, which in turn heats the air.

3.  Do the activity, "The Heat is On ," to demonstrate how heat from the sun creates wind and how Earth's rotation changes its path.

4.  Divide the class into five groups and give each group a research task about wind from each of the bulleted lists below.  Have the groups present reports to explain what they learned from their research.  Provide a world globe to help students illustrate some of the things they learned about winds.

• The circulation of air in our atmosphere is affected by solar radiation, gravitation, land and sea areas, the alternation of day and night, and the seasons.  Choose one of these influences and explain how it affects the winds, or air circulation, around our earth.
• There are areas on earth, called wind belts, where the winds follow the same general direction for months.  Choose one of the wind belts to research:  the doldrums, the trades and anti trades, the horse latitudes, the westerlies, and the polar winds.  Tell where the wind belt is found and describe it.

6. Looking at a weather map, point out the symbols for fronts.  To investigate what kind of weather each front produces, fill a jar half full with water and add a few drops of food coloring.  Very slowly, fill the rest of the jar with cooking oil.  Put a lid on the jar, tip it slightly, and observe what happens to the water and oil.  Identify which is the cold air mass and which is the warm air mass.  (The water is the cold air mass and the oil is the warm air mass because the oil is lighter and moves up over the water as warm air moves up and over colder air.  Ask, "Where does the oil eventually lie with respect to the water?"  "If the oil represents a warm air mass and the water represents a cold air mass, what happens to the weather on the ground when a warm air mass meets a cold one?  (Both fronts will produce clouds which will produce rain because the warm air will rise and cool).  Take the same jar and fill it half full with cooking oil. Very slowly, pour some water on top of the oil and observe what happens.  Under normal conditions, the water would be under the oil (a cold mass beneath a warm mass), but under different conditions called a temperature inversion, the colder air holds the warmer air down and prevents it from rising.

7.  Choose a weather report from the local newspaper and prepare a transparency for use with an overhead projector.  Pay special attention to weather maps, graphics, and weather symbols (especially those that indicate high and low pressure; warm, cold, and stationary fronts; and precipitation) until the students readily understand the information conveyed.  Project a weather map on a large screen and quiz students to see how much information they comprehend.

8.  For 5 days in a row, collect the weather maps and forecasts found in the newspaper.  Be sure both are dated.  Arrange the maps and forecasts by date on a large sheet of paper and glue them in place.  Lay a sheet of acetate over the first map.  Line up the top left corner of the acetate with the top left corner of the map.  Trace any cold fronts on the map with a blue pencil.  Trace any warm fronts with a red pencil.  Label these lines 1, to stand for the first day.  On the same sheet of acetate, repeat the above steps with the other maps.  Each time, label the lines to show the correct day.  Ask, "In what general direction do fronts seem to move?  For the 5 days studied, did warm fronts or cold fronts seem to move faster?  What kind of weather does a warm front bring?  What kind of weather does a cold front bring?"

9.  Demonstrate the Coriolis force by rolling a marble from the center to the edge of a lazy Susan.  (It will roll straight).  Start spinning the turntable and try it again to notice what happens.
(The marble seems to twist as it rolls from or towards the center).  Spin the turntable and try it again to notice what happens.  Repeat the experiment, rolling the marble from the edge to the center.  Explain that the Earth rotates (spins) from east to west.  This affects the direction in which the winds blow.  This spin creates world-wide patterns of winds called "prevailing winds" which are winds blowing from the same direction most of the time.  See a demonstration of the Coriolis Effect.

10.   In cooperative groups, have students plan presentations that describe a front, how it moves, and the weather patterns, clouds, and temperature associated with it.  Make a triarama to be used in the oral presentation.  Directions for making a triarama are as follows:  Fold the top right corner of a square piece of construction paper (9" x 9") down to the lower left corner.  Repeat with opposite corners.  Open and cut one fold line to the center of the square.  Draw a front on half of the square (turn the square to look like 2 triangles).  Overlap the 2 bottom triangles and glue.  Add stand-up parts to complete the triarama.

11. Print out the article about the history of kites entitled, " Flying High ," and make a copy for each student to read and discuss.  They can begin designing and building their kites.  After they have experimented with their kites, have them try attaching a thermometer to their kite.

12.  As a culminating activity, contact a consultant on wind energy.

Modifications:

• The lessons should be modified according to the individual student's IEP.
• For students who have physical disabilities, they can dictate science journal entries and other writings to the teacher, a peer, or an adult classroom helper.
• Cooperative groups can be arranged so that students with learning disabilities are grouped with students who are on-level or advanced.

• Obtain a copy of the following poem from the Internet.  Read it aloud and have students list the different winds in the poetry selection.  Students can write and illustrate their own poems about wind.

• Research wind and its relationship to energy .   Make a hypotheses stating if wind would/would not be a good energy source for your state.  Explain and describe specific locations.
• Compare average wind speeds and wind directions of hurricanes and tornadoes.

• The research project and oral presentation can be evaluated on teacher's specific criteria.
• Write a descriptive paragraph explaining what happens when air masses meet and explain how air masses are formed.
• Identify weather symbols on a map.

West Virginia Instructional Goals and Objectives:

Language Arts:

• Listening/Speaking:  4.16, 4.40, 5.5, 5.12, 6.2, 6.14
• Study Skills:  6.143, 6.147, 6.148
• Computer/Technology:  4.95, 4.98, 4.100, 5.23, 5.33, 6.16, 6.34, 6.160. 6.162

• Problem Solving/Statistics:  4.28, 5.23, 5.26, 6.24
• Computer/Technology:  4.56, 5.54, 649, 6.55, 6.59

• Nature of Science:  4.28, 5.23, 5.26, 6.24
• Scientific Attitudes/Habits of Mind:  4.13, 5.10, 6.10, 6.11
• Scientific Processes/Thinking Skills:  4.24, 4.25, 5.16, 5.17, 5.18, 5.19, 6.16, 6.17 Laboratory Investigations/Hands-On Learning:  4.28, 5.2, 5.23, 6.22
• Science Themes and Subject Matter:  4.30, 4.32, 4.52, 4.58, 4.59, 5.28, 5.31, 5.40, 5.46, 5.54, 6.52, 6.66, 6.70
• Science History:  4.70, 5.56, 6.73
• Science Technology and Society:  6.78
• Computer/Technology:  4.79, 4.80, 4.81, 4.85, 5.67, 5.68, 5.69, 5.70, 5.71, 5.79, 6.83, 6.86, 6.93, 6.98

a)  resources cited

Accuweather  http://www.accuweather.com/
Mandell, Muriel.  Simple Weather  Experiments With Everyday Materials.  Sterling Publishing Co., Inc.  New York, 1990.
Newton's Apple.  Show number 1510.  http://www.ktca.org/newtons

b)  student resources
Weather Glossary  http://www.glacier.rice.edu/misc/glossary.html

b)  additional resources
Weather Symbols   http://www.marineweather.com/FrameWXsymbols.html

c)  Internet links
Air Mass
Air Masses and Fronts    http://ww2010.atmos.uiuc.edu/(Gh)/guides/mtr/af/home.rxml

Authors:

Carol Mathis	cmathis@access.k12.wv.us	Lakewood Elementary
Donna Hebb	dhebb@access.k12.wv.us	2089 Lakewood Dr.
Yvonne Martin	ymartin@access.k12.wv.us	St. Albans, WV 25177

 
 

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