Wind Energy 5-6 yrs

Goal:  To learn about wind and its different uses.

Materials Required:

Craft:
Pinwheel

• Construction paper or cardstock (1 per child)
• Ruler
• Scissors
• One-hole punch
• Crayons
• Thumbtack or push pin (1 per child)
• New (unsharpened) pencil with eraser (1 per child)

Activity:
How Powerful is the Wind?

• Straight 8 inch straws (1 per child)
•  Items such as feathers, cotton balls, pieces of cloth or ribbon, leaves, craft sticks, rocks, etc.

Game:
Parachute

• A large round parachute, preferably with handles OR one or two Queen or King size bed sheets

Preparation:

• Time: Twenty minutes.
• Craft - Pinwheel: Cut out a six inch paper square for each child. Draw an “X” from corner to corner and then cut along the lines, stopping one inch from the center. Use a single hole punch to make five holes in the paper: one hole in each corner of the square and one in the center.

Opening

Enjoy your unit’s usual Opening and explain some basic facts about wind and how it can be used by humans to make our lives easier and more enjoyable.

Answers: Wind is moving air. As we have all experienced, wind can be felt but it cannot be seen. People have been putting wind to work for thousands of years. Sailboats are the original example of vehicles powered by wind and windmills are the oldest machinery. Most recently, wind turbines (modern windmills) have been invented to use wind to create electricity to power our world. Electricity is what makes lights and TVs turn on when we flick the switch or click the remote. There are also many fun recreational activities involving wind power such as kite flying, wind surfing, parasailing, hot air ballooning, and parachuting etc. 

Activity

How Powerful is the Wind?

Air is invisible. We can only see how it moves other objects. For example, when you look out the window you can tell that it is a windy day when you see the leaves on a tree blowing. Only extreme wind storms move the whole tree, however, because the tree trunk and roots are heavier than the leaves.

Line up several items of varying weights (see Materials Required: How Powerful is the Wind? for object examples) on a flat surface, such as a table, and give each child a straw. Before they begin, have the group make guesses as to which objects will move and which won’t.  Let the children blow air through their straws and see what happens.

Game

Parachute

Explain to the children how wind can be unpredictable; it can change in strength and direction very suddenly. The good news is that we will never run out of wind and it doesn’t cause pollution or health damage. In this game the participants will act out the different types of wind. It should be played in an open space, such as en empty room, gymnasium or field. 

Each child holds on to the parachute and waits for the leader’s instructions. If using a sheet instead it may be better to break into two smaller groups. The leader calls out directions to the kids at random such as “light, ocean breeze” (make slow ripples in the parachute), “blustery day” (wave the parachute steadily), “gale-force winds” (shake energetically), “hurricane” (hold and shake with one hand and run in a counter clockwise circle) and “cyclone” (hold and shake with one hand and run in a clockwise circle).

Story

Read a windy day story such as Curious George Flies a Kite by Hans Augusto Rey and Margret Rey, Millicent and the Wind by Robert N. Munsch and Suzanne Duranceau, or Whoosh Went the Wind! by Sally Derby.

Closing

Enjoy your regular Closing and commend the group for learning about how wind can be both fun and useful.

Works Cited

Caduto, Michael J. Catch the Wind, Harness the Sun. North Adams, MA: Storey Publishing, 
            2011.

Fitzgerald, Stephanie. Wind Power. New York, NY: Chelsea Clubhouse, 2010.

http://office.microsoft.com/en-ca/images/results.aspx?qu=pinwheel&ex=1&origin=FX01013
            2103#ai:MC900245877|

Woelfle, Gretchen. The Wind At Work: An Activity guide to Windmills. Chicago, IL: Chicago
            Review Press, 1997.