Monica Watson
Ms. Marcucci
Weather/Seasons Unit
Windy Weather
Grade: Kindergarten
Essential Question(s):
 How can you tell if the wind is blowing very strongly or if it is blowing very
lightly?
 What are some things that the wind can do?
Standards:
 5.4.P.F.1- Observe and record weather.
 5.1.P.A.1- Display curiosity about science objects, materials, activities, and
longer-term investigations in progress.
 5.1.P.B.1- Observe, question, predict, and investigate materials, objects, and
phenomena (e.g., using simple tools to crack a nut and look inside) during indoor
and outdoor classroom activities and during any longer-term investigations.
 5.1.P.B.2- Use basic science terms and topic-related science vocabulary.
Materials:
 Plastic drinking straws
 Lifesavers
 Computer paper
 Paper clips
 Tape
 Scissors
 A fan with different speeds
 A pinwheel
 Weather and Seasons by Susan Halko
 “Weather/Seasons Word Wall”
Learning Objectives
Students will be able to observe and
describe wind strength from light breezes
to strong wind.
Students will be able to determine through
investigation that wind is moving air and it
can make objects move.
Assessments
Students will go outside with the teacher
and observe a pinwheel moving either fast
or slow depending on the wind, observe the
effects of different speeds on a fan, blow
into their hands strongly and lightly, and
compare and contrast pictures of strong and
light breezes.
Students will create “Puff Mobiles,” which
are cars using given materials (1 straw, 4
Lifesavers, 2 pieces of cut paper, tape, and
scissors), and they must make them move
only by blowing on them.
Pre-lesson Assignments/Prior Knowledge: Students should have a general
understanding that windy weather can move objects, and that wind can sometimes be
strong, and sometimes be light.
Lesson Beginning: To begin the lesson, I will bring in a fan and have the “wind” from
the fan blow my hair at the slowest speed possible and I will ask the students, “What is
happening?” I will use the popsicle sticks with the students’ names on them to call on
students for some answers, and then we will conclude that the fan was blowing my hair
all over the place. Then, I will ask the students, “What would happen if I turned the speed
on the fan up higher?” I will take some student responses (hypotheses) and then I will test
them by turning up the speed on the fan. After turning the speed up, I will conclude that
the “wind” from the fan blew my hair even more than the lower speed did. Then I will
ask students, “What is it called when the air moves and blows things around like the fan
just did?” I will take student answers and conclude that this is called wind. I will tell
students that today we will be learning all about wind, and what wind does! I will
introduce my objectives and standards to them using Kindergarten friendly vocabulary,
and we will talk about what we are going to learn about and do today!
Instructional Plan:
 After this discussion, I will write the word, windy, on the board, asking the
students to help me sound it out.
 “Say it with me, windy!”
 “Windy weather is when the air moves and blows things all around!”
 “We are going to add the word, windy, to our “Weather/Seasons Word Wall” that
we talked about yesterday! Now we have the words, observe, thermometer, and
windy on the word wall! We will be adding many more!”
 “Has anyone ever been outside and the wind came and blew your hair around? Or
maybe even blew something right out of your hands? Make the connection
symbol if this has ever happened to you.”
 Assuming all students will be making the connection symbol, I will talk about
how windy weather blows things around.
 Then, I will read 2 short pages from our big book on weather, Weather and
Seasons, by Susan Falko, and then I will ask, “Does wind always have to be
strong?” “Look at these two pictures. Which picture shows really windy weather,
and which picture just shows a light breeze? How can you tell?”
 I will take student answers and we will decide that the picture of the palm trees
shows very windy weather because the tree branches are bent and being blown
over.
 On the other hand, the picture of the clothes line shows the cloth moving a little
bit, but not as much as the palm trees. We will talk about how this is just a gentle
“breeze,” whereas the other picture displays very windy weather.
 After that, I will have them model the wind, by blowing air on their hands, first
gently, then strongly. I will explain that we can feel the air from our mouths, just
as we can feel the air outdoors on windy days.
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“Remember to only blow into your hands, do not blow on anyone, or anything
else!”
“The wind can blow gently, strongly, or hardly at all. The wind can also blow in
any direction!”
“When you blow, you create moving air, or wind. When wind pushes against an
object, it can make the object move, just like the fan made our hair move!”
Then, I will tell the students that we are going to test whether or not the weather
today is just “breezy” like in the picture of the clothes line or when they blew
gently into their hands, or if it is very windy like in the picture of the palm trees,
or when they blew strongly into their hands.
Then, I will take out my pinwheel and ask the students, “What is this?”
I will call on students for responses, and explain that it is a pinwheel.
“How can we use a pinwheel to decide whether the wind is just a breeze, or if it is
very windy?” I will take student responses and then explain that the wind will
cause the pinwheel to spin.
“If the pinwheel is spinning slowly, does that mean it is breezy, or very windy
outside? Why?” I will take student responses, and then conclude that it means that
it is just breezy because the wind is not strong so it does not make the pinwheel
move quickly.
Then, I will ask, “If the pinwheel is spinning quickly, does that mean it is breezy,
or very windy? Why?” I will take student responses again, and conclude that it
would mean that it is very windy because the strong wind would make the
pinwheel spin very quickly.
I will blow on the pinwheel first lightly in order to directly model to the students
that it will move slowly if the wind is light, or breezy. Then, I will blow on it
strongly to show the students how it will move quicker if the wind is stronger.
Then, I will call students by table numbers to line up at the back door so that we
can go outside and test the wind, using our pinwheel.
When we get outside, we will observe the pinwheel as a class.
I will ask students whether they think it is breezy, or very windy based on the
speed of the spinning pinwheel.
Then, we will discuss the answer and make a conclusion based on what the wind
is like on that particular day.
After we have made our conclusion, I will call students by table numbers to come
line up at the door. We will come back inside, and I will instruct the students to
take a seat on the carpet.
Then, I will tell my fabulous “Weather Reporters” that we are going to make
“Puff Mobiles,” to further explore the wind!
I will explain that “Puff Mobiles” are cars that they will be making using only the
materials that we will be giving them. To make their cars move, they can only
blow on it! “You may NOT pick up the car and move it. You can only BLOW on
it to make it move!”
“You will get 1 straw, 4 Lifesavers, 2 pieces of cut paper, tape, and scissors. With
these materials, you are going to make a car that you can blow to make it move!
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Make sure you do NOT eat the lifesavers because you need them to make your
car!”
I will show the students my “Puff Mobile” that I will make prior to the lesson in
order to give them a visual display of what I am expecting them to do. I will go
through my step-by-step process that I used to make my puff mobile.
“First, I cut the straw like this. Then, I put the lifesavers (wheels) on. Then, I
taped on a piece of paper to connect the wheels. After that, I made a wind funnel.
I rolled the paper like this. Then, I blew into the big end of the funnel to make the
Puff Mobile move!”
“Once you have completed your ‘Puff Mobile,’ try to move it by blowing on it!
See how far you can move it with one blow, then two, then three! Blow on it
gently and see how far it moves, then blow on it strongly and see how far it
moves.”
“Just like the wind blows things away, your ‘wind’ from blowing will blow your
‘Puff Mobile’ away!”
All four teachers will be walking around helping students construct their cars, and
asking them guided questions which will help them move their puff mobiles and
compare gentle breezes to strong winds!
Once I have given the directions and answered questions, I will call students by
table numbers to come to their seats and begin working on their cars.
All materials will be handed out by the teachers.
Differentiation: For lower-level students, I will guide them in making their cars by
showing them my “Puff Mobile” so that they can see how I used all of the materials to
make it work. I will go through all of the steps that I went through when I made mine, so
that they can see exactly how it is done which will avoid frustration or confusion. For
higher-level students, I will allow them to use the materials however they want to in order
to give them a challenge in coming up with a design themselves.
Questions:
 How can we tell if the wind is blowing lightly or strongly?
 What does the wind do?
 What will happen when we turn the speed up on the fan? Why?
 In which picture is the wind blowing strongly? How can you tell?
 In which picture is the wind blowing lightly? How can you tell?
Classroom Management: For fairness, I will use the popsicle sticks with the students’
names on them to call on students during our lesson. I will make sure that I remind and
directly model the appropriate way, and the inappropriate way to do all of the activities in
this lesson so that students know what is expected of them. I will remind students to raise
their hands, only use their own materials, and to only blow on their own hands and their
own “Puff Mobiles,” not on anyone, or anything else. I will also put each student’s
materials for their “Puff Mobiles” on a blue tray so that they do not confuse their
materials with anyone else’s, or take any other student’s materials.
Transitions: In order to minimize misbehavior during transitions, I will always call on
students to move by table number. This ensures that there is only a small group of
students moving at once, which helps avoid talking and fooling around.
Closure: In order to close the lesson, I will ask the students “What does the wind do?”
We will conclude that the wind blows things, like our hair, and our “Puff Mobiles!” We
will also talk about how it is important to know if it is windy so you can make sure all of
your things are away when you are outside so that they do not blow away! Then, I will go
over all of the words on the word wall and ask students to tell me what they are and what
they mean. “Keep up the good work, weather reporters, because we will be learning
about another type of weather tomorrow!”