Earth and Sky - Wind and Clouds

Focus: Winds carrying moisture-laden clouds bring weather, both fair and foul, to all parts of the planet.

Puppets (Henry, Mother, Casey Cumulus, Stella Stratus, Celia Cirrus, Wind, Thunderhead)

Materials Checklist
Puppet Show (puppets, script, flag, thunderhead cloud)
Hot and Cold (small balloons, 20-oz. plastic soda bottles, thermos of very hot water, ice water, bowls)
Wind Vanes (drinking straws, pencils with erasers, straight pins, construction paper, tape, electric fan, compass rose)
Cloudscapes (slide show, projector, screen, pictures or photos of clouds, cloud chart)
Weather Watchers (Weather Watcher cards, clipboards, pencils, wind vane, bubble mix with wand, compasses, Wind Force Scale, flag, cloud chart, optional plastic tarpaulin)

Supplemental Reference Materials (Slide show scripts: Grades K-2, Grades 3-6, Cloud Descriptions, Wind Force Scale, Weather Watchers recording sheet, Compass Rose)

Correction
In Hands-On Nature and in the handout on the Beaufort Wind Force Scale, there is an error: the descriptions of "Fresh gale" and "Strong Gale" are the same. The description of Strong Gale should read, "Slight building damage; TV antennas may break off; awnings rip."

Additional Reading/Resources
Ranger Rick's Naturescope: Wild About Weather, by Judy Braus, National Wildlife Federation, Washington, D.C., 1986.
Eyewitness Books: Weather, by Brian Cosgrove, Alfred A. Knopf, New York, 1991.
Interesting website about weather proverbs.
More rhyming weather sayings.
More on cloud formations.
For information on wind power, check out the fact sheets at the American Wind Energy Association web site.
ELF Corner: Swallowtailed Kites (pdf file)

ELF Notes - Template for newsletter on Wind and Clouds
* Word document * pdf file

For Younger Children
Many of the activities in VINS's new Small Wonders book can be used in ELF, too. To find appropriate activities for children aged 3-6, click here.

Teaching Suggestions

Puppet Show
Henry's final lines could read: “…When the wind is FROM the west…When the wind is FROM the east…”

Hot and Cold
You might try setting up a candle under a pinwheel that would then spin as air rises and new air moves in.

You could have the group act out warm and cold molecules: "You are cold air molecules – everyone huddle close together, talk about being cold, not moving, and how in one tight group the weight/pressure within our area is relatively great. Now, the Earth warms us up. As we get warmer, we move around a lot and take up more space. We take up more area, but there are no more of us, so our pounds per square foot are much less, and the weight/pressure is low."

Wind Vanes
When making the wind vanes, have each person start with one 8 ½ x 11" sheet of paper. Tear this exactly in half. Fold one half into a small triangle. The other half into a larger triangle. Cut slits in the straws for the paper arrow and tail (quicker and easier than using tape). Find the straw's center of gravity by balancing it on your finger then insert the pin through at this point to attach to pencil.

Have students predict how the wind vanes will behave in the wind (which end would point into the wind). Then set the box fan on high and hold the wind vanes up standing about 6-8 feet away from the fan. If some work and others don't, is there a pattern that might explain why?

For younger kids, have pencil wind vanes made ahead of time for each child. Hand these out to kids as they head outside for their ELF exploration. Ask all to line up in a straight line and hold up their little wind vanes over their heads. From which direction is the wind coming? Have kids see if they can get their wind vane to point a different direction if they turn their bodies around.

You might want to have kids make a simple kite to take home. There are directions for such a kite in ELF's “Breath of Life” materials.

In the city, the way vertical structures such as buildings channel the wind creates spots that are extra windy and areas that seem wind free. The kids can observe this by finding areas in the schoolyard where the wind vane spins freely and where it spins hardly at all, next to a building on the 'lee' or out-of-the-wind side. On a blustery winter day in the sun, the windward side of a building can appear to have completely different weather than the sheltered side. Stone and brick building materials which absorb the sun's heat can add to the temperature differential. If you were a bird or animal, where would you perch or seek shelter on a cold day? How about hot day?

Weather Watchers
One volunteer drew the 4 compass points in crayon on dollar store mirrors. Each small group had a compass and a mirror. They lined the mirror up so that north on the mirror was pointing north per the compass reading. Then the small group of kids stood over the mirror and watched the mirror for a cloud to come by (don't look at the sun reflection!). Watch which direction the cloud is moving. Which direction is the wind blowing from?

If you have kids forecast the weather, make sure they go outside the next day to check their predictions. Do they want to try again the next day?

Extensions
Do “Coming and Going of the Rain” activity. Have all kids stand in a circle facing the back of the child next to him or her. The leader starts the actions, and each passes along the circle until the leader feels it on his/her own back signaling time to move to next motion. Begin with palms flat on neighbor's back and rotate your hands for a swishing sound; make a drumming motion with your fingers; change to a light slapping; then drumming; then back to swishing sound.

For older children, bring in a large poster showing a weather map.

Learning Goals

Concepts/Ideas

• All winds are created when warm air rises and expands while cooler, denser air flows in to replace it.
• Winds pick up moisture as they blow over the earth; this moisture collects in the air and forms clouds.
• Wind affects the shape of clouds by evaporating them in some places and adding moisture to them in others.
• Wind direction and types of cloud formations can give clues about the weather, making it possible to predict changes in weather.

Vocabulary: clouds, wind, wind direction, cumulus, stratus, cirrus, cumulonimbus (definitions)

Skills

• Active listening to learn how wind and clouds can give us clues about the weather.
• Observing that warm air rises and expands, while cold air sinks and shrinks and discussing how the heating and cooling of air in the atmosphere creates wind.
• Constructing a simple wind vane to use to determine wind direction
• Observing different types of clouds and discussing how they are affected by wind.
• Using simple tools and charts to evaluate wind speed, wind direction, and cloud types outdoors and to make a weather prediction.

Grade Expectations:
Grades PK-K (S48) Wind and clouds are part of changing weather. Weather changes every day.

Grades 1-2 (S48) Clouds are made of water droplets. Clouds change in shape and size. Wind moves and shapes clouds.

Grades 3-4 (S48) Clouds and fog are made of small drops of water. Weather changes from day to day and over seasons. Weather can be described by measurable quantities such as temperature, wind direction and speed, precipitation and air pressure.

Grades 5-6 (S48) Cycling of water in and out of the atmosphere plays an important part in determining weather conditions and climatic patterns.

Return to March or April ELF.