It’s a Windy Day!

What is wind?

Wind is air in motion. Wind is produced by the uneven heating of the Earth’s surface by the sun. As the sun warms the Earth’s surface the atmosphere warms too. Some parts of the Earth receive direct rays of sun and others do not. Warm air weighs less than cold air and rises; cold air moves in and replaces the warm air. This movement of cold and warm air creates wind.

Wind Study

Ask children about their experiences with wind. Have they felt the wind? Seen the wind blow? What do they think causes wind?

Using a fan, or their own breath, experiment with blowing objects like the wind. Have a variety of objects, from light-weight feathers to heavy pebbles, ask the children which objects they think the wind can blow? Make a chart with their predictions. Blow the experimental objects. Record your findings on the chart. Were their predictions accurate? Why or why not?

Study the Wind Outside

Make a chart and keep track of the wind daily. Is it windy today? Which direction is the wind blowing? How strong is the wind blowing? Have a scale for deciding this, either check the actual speed with a local weather service or create your own scale based on watching a windsock outside. Take a walk in the wind on different days to feel the different wind. Talk about the benefits (cool breeze in summer, wind energy, sailboats, seed and pollen dispersal for plants) of wind and the damage wind can cause. Have they ever been in a sailboat? Do they enjoy the breeze in the summer? Have they ever flown a kite?

Wind Craft

PBSparents: DIY Windsock

http://www.pbs.org/parents/crafts-for-kids/windsock-craft/

Wind Rhyme

The Playful Wind

The wind came out to play one day. (Cup hands and pretend to blow like the wind)

He swept the clouds out of his way. (Make a sweeping motion with hands)

He blew the leaves and away they flew. (Make fluttering motions with fingers)

The trees bent low and their branches did too! (Lift arms up high and lower them)

The wind blew the great big ships at sea. (Repeat sweeping motion)

The wind blew the kite away from me. (Cup hand over eyes and tilt head as if watching kite go)

Book List

Bauer, M. D., and J. Wallace. 2003. Wind. Simon Spotlight.

Cobb, V., and J. Gorton. 2003. I Face the Wind. HarperCollins Publishers.

Dorros, A. 1990. Feel the Wind. HarperCollins Publishers.

Frost, H. 2004. Weather: Wind. Coughlan Publishing.

Hutchins, P. 1993. The Wind Blew. Aladdin.

Kamkwamba, W., B. Mealer, and E. Zunon. 2012. The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind. Penguin Group (USA).

Markle, S., and J. Holub. 1998. Windy Weather Science. Scholastic.