Copyright © The Norwood Science Center 2006
Norwood Science Center
Weather
Grade 2
Background Information:
Wind is the flow of air over the Earth’s surface. It is primarily
caused by the uneven heating of the Earth’s surface by the Sun.
Warm air expands, becomes lighter, and rises. Cooler air rushes in
to fill the space left by the rising warm air. Wind is caused by a
temperature difference, with warm air, which is light, being pushed up
by cool air, which is heavier. This movement is called convection.
The Earth’s rotation deflects the wind, steering it in various
directions. Because of the effects of our rotation, there are six belts
of wind around the globe that form where the air heats and rises or
cools and sinks. These belts determine the prevailing direction of the
wind in any area.
Winds are identified by the direction that they are blowing from,
not by the direction they are blowing toward.
Wind Gr. 2
Page 1
Copyright © The Norwood Science Center 2006
TITLE:
WIND
PURPOSE:
Determine that wind is moving air
Describe winds based on their source direction
Construct a device to determine wind direction
Construct a device to measure wind speed
MATERIALS:
(per class)
Overheads or maps of the United States
Classroom anemometer
(per student)
Compass Rose Wind Tracker worksheet
Pencil
Red string
Adhesive tape
Clothespin
PROCEDURE:
Compass Rose Wind Tracker
01. Bring the attention of the class to the map of the United States.
02.
Ask for student input as to the four Cardinal directions on the
map.
03.
Ask the students to predict what the temperature/precipitation
would be if the wind entered the United States from the North.
A general consensus might be that it most likely would be
cold(er).
04.
Have the students predict the weather for each of the three
remaining Cardinal compass points.
05.
Distribute Compass Rose Wind Tracker worksheets and have
the students record their name and date.
Wind Gr. 2
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Copyright © The Norwood Science Center 2006
06.
Students are to write in “North” on the line at the top of the page
and the word “cold” on the line below that.
07.
Students are to turn the paper upside down. They are to write
“South” on what is now the line at the top of the page and the
word “hot” on the line below that.
08.
The students are to rotate the paper so the direction they think
is East will now be at the top. The teacher goes around the
room and checks the work.
09.
Students are to record “East” on the top line and “wet” on the
line below that.
10.
Students are to bring the remaining Cardinal compass point to
the top. They are to write in the word “West” on the top line and
“dry” on the line below that.
11.
Review with the students how to align the Compass Rose with
Magnetic North. Using the front of the room as Magnetic North,
all the tile lines running from the front of the room to the back of
the room are meridians of longitude. There may be no need to
mention this to the students at this point but it could be a helpful
reminder that their Compass Rose should be aligned with these
lines.
12.
Distribute a 6-inch length of string, a pencil, and a small piece
of tape to each student. Have them tape the string across the
top of their eraser.
13.
Distribute clothespins to each student. Holding their pencils in
a vertical position with the eraser at the top, students should
have the “business end” of their pencil held by the “business
end” of the clothespins. When placed on the desk, the
clothespin should now hold the pencil in an upright position.
14.
Remind students to use their Compass Rose Wind Tracker in
an open area.
Wind Gr. 2
Page 3
Copyright © The Norwood Science Center 2006
15.
In order to determine the cardinal directions without a magnetic
compass, students can use the following procedure. Face the
direction they observe the Sun setting. This direction is West.
Students should place their Compass Rose Wind Tracker on
the ground with the clothespin/pencil centered on the Compass
Rose and align their Compass Rose with West.
16.
Students are to note in which Cardinal direction the string is
pointing.
17.
Students should then ask themselves, “From what direction is
the wind coming?” From this data, students can generate the
short-term weather forecast.
18.
Another method to determine the wind direction is to take the
students to the flagpole, and use the flag to determine wind
direction.
Wind Gr. 2
Page 4
Copyright © The Norwood Science Center 2006
Anemometer Demonstration
01. The anemometer measures the strength of the wind on the
Beaufort scale or the speed of the wind in meters per second.
The greater the speed of the cups, the higher the reading.
02.
The unique design features of the anemometer give direct wind
speed readings without the need to count revolutions. It can be
hand held or permanently fixed. As the wind blows harder, the
arms move further out, lifting the reading bar.
03.
Slide the arms out and “pop” into place for high wind speeds.
CONCLUSION:
01. Summarize with the class that the direction from which the wind
is coming can be used to make general predictions of the
weather.
The Beaufort Scale
Force Number
Wind Name
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
Calm
Light air
Light breeze
Gentle breeze
Moderate breeze
Fresh breeze
Strong breeze
Moderate gale
Fresh gale
Strong gale
Whole gale
Storm
Hurricane
Wind Gr. 2
Wind Speed
Miles/hour
0
1-3
4-7
8-12
13-18
19-24
25-31
32.38
39-46
47.54
55-63
64-72
73+
Wind Speed
Meters/second
0
0.3-1.5
1.6-3.1
3.2-5.4
5.5-7.9
8.0-10.8
10.9-13.7
13.8-17.0
17.1-20.5
20.6-24.5
24.6-28.4
28.5-32.6
32.7+
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Copyright © The Norwood Science Center 2006
Wind Gr. 2
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