The solo around the world yacht race and other sailing related items.
Lesson Plan 15
Wind Vanes.
SCIENCE
Making and using hand bearing wind vanes from inexpensive and easily available materials.
Audience: Elementary, although, as with all lessons, it should be able to be adapted to any grade level.
Goal: The students will make a hand-bearing wind vane and log the wind direction for a given number of days.
Materials: Each student will require: two paper plates, one plain and one with an app. 1.5 in. triangle drawn on it; two plastic straws, one plain, one with an approximately .5 in. slit cut in one end; one paperclip; a pair of scissors. The class will briefly require the use of a compass.
Procedures: The first lesson should be spent constructing the wind vane. First, have the students take the plain paper plate, and draw a cross on it. Then, have them label the cross N,S,E, and W (you could throw in a lesson about angles and have them use a protractor to appropriately label NW, NE, SW, and SE if you would like). Help students make a hole in the center of the cross. The plain straw will go through the hole to e used as a handle. The students will then cut out the triangle from the other paper plate and wedge the triangle into the slit at the end of the straw. Finally, have the students take the paper clip, straighten it out, and leave one curve in it. The straw with the triangle will be wedged into this curve and the straight end of the paperclip will be place into the top of the plain straw which will allow it to rotate freely. Then take the students outside and, using the compass, find north and orient the wind vane accordingly. The top straw will point into the wind, which can be read by looking at the direction signs drawn on the plate. You will have to demonstrate this for the students, most likely, in order to teach them how to read their wind vanes. Next, have the students make a log with the labels of "date", "time", and "wind direction". The students will then log the wind direction for a given period of time. Then, review the information, and discuss implications. You could also check the predictions of the weather forecasters against the actual wind directions read. If an anonometer is available, speed can be logged, as well. This lesson can be modified in a number of ways.
Lesson plan by Greg Handal.