Elementary School Science

Input:
What is the most important content in this lesson?
To reach this lesson’s objective, students need to understand:

• The definition to the terms: downburst, derecho, doldrums, Santa Ana winds, monsoons, prevailing westerlies, polar easterlies, and jet stream

• What wind is and where it comes from.

• The Beaufort Scale and how meteorologists measure wind.

• The difference between global winds and local winds.

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How will the learning of this content be facilitated?

• The teacher should begin class by showing the YouTube Video: “Kids Learn About What Makes Wind” by EZ Tales. The video is a book read to the students and is about a minute and a half long. The video discusses what wind is and where it comes from. After the video is over, the teacher should begin a discussion about the content. The teacher should ask the students to describe the different types of wind they have experienced (i.e., wind during storms, breezes in the summer or by the sea). Ask the students the differences between wind during a storm and wind on a regular day.

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• After the discussion is done, the teacher will begin presenting the information on weather. If it is possible, project each page of the teacher’s copy of the “All About Weather” Science Journal worksheet onto the board using a projector or put into a PowerPoint document and project.  The teacher’s copy of the journal has certain words/phrases that are bolded red and highlighted. It is important the teacher explain to the students those words/phrases are to be highlighted in their (students) journal. For this lesson, the teacher should review these pages:

• Page 46: What is Wind?

** This page reviews what wind is and where it comes from**

• Pages 47-48: Wind Terms

**These pages review the different terms associated with wind**

• Page 49: The Beaufort Scale

**This page reviews the Beaufort Scale and how wind is categorized**

• Page 50: How is Wind Measured?

**This page reviews how wind is measured**

• Page 51: Global Winds vs. Local Winds

**This page reviews the differences between global winds and local winds**

• Pages 52-53: Wind Systems

**This page reviews the different wind systems/ names that are found around the world**

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• After the information has been presented, the students will participate in the activity “Will It Blow in the Wind?” The teacher should give each student an experiment worksheet and instruct them to break into groups of three or four. Each group will get one hand-held fan. On desks set up around the room are the experiment materials. The teacher should instruct the students to fill out the first column (predictions) on the experiment worksheet. The students will then go around the room, to each desk, and use the fan to see if the item moves. After testing each item, the students will write done if their prediction was correct. Once all of the groups have finished, the teacher should reconvene and discuss the results.

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• For the closure, the teacher should review the key terms/ any information that may have been difficult for the students.

• Finally, the students should fill out the worksheet “What Do You Think?” explaining why they think some of the objects “blew in the wind” and why some didn’t.