SCIENCE – Students will learn what causes wind, how scientists measure wind, and how it impacts ships. This NGSS-standards-aligned Earth Science lesson includes an activity to create a wind vane to measure the direction of the wind. Students will also learn though primary sources from the Ship History Center. Students will see a weather station and view images from our collection in a SHIPS short film, featuring a first person narrative about what it was like on board the SS Flandre traveling through a whole gale in 1958.
Education Standards
Next Generation Science Standards
- Performance Expectations – K-ESS2-1: Use and share observations of local weather conditions to describe patterns over time. Note: The activities in this lesson focus on what wind is and how wind is produced. Students will understand the connection between the particles that make up the air and the effects of wind.
- Disciplinary Core Ideas – K-ESS2.D: Weather and Climate – Weather is the combination of sunlight, wind, snow or rain, and temperature in a particular region at a particular time.
- (K-ESS2-1) Students conduct two activities and view an animation to begin to understand that air is made of tiny particles and that wind is moving air. Students are also introduced to the idea that wind results from warm air rising and colder air moving in to take its place.
- Science and Engineering Practices
- Analyzing and Interpreting Data – Use observations (firsthand or from media) to describe patterns in the natural world in order to answer scientific questions.
- (K-ESS2-1) Students blow on strips of paper and wave magazines at student-made towers to model wind. In addition, students also view an animation to help answer the question: What is wind? Students refine their understanding of the connection between the particles in air and the effects of wind by experiencing the way objects move in the “wind” that students make.
- Crosscutting Concepts Patterns – Patterns in the natural world can be observed, used to describe phenomena, and used as evidence.
- (K-ESS2-1) Cause and Effect – Events have causes that generate observable patterns. Students investigate the cause of wind and the reason objects move when wind hits them. They begin to understand that since air is made of tiny particles, and wind is moving air, the tiny particles hit against objects and make them move.
- ELA/Literacy – SL.K.3 – Ask and answer questions in order to seek help, get information, or clarify something that is not understood. (K-ESS3-2)
Lesson Plan
Wind is caused by the heating and cooling of the Earth. Energy from the sun heats the land and the land warms the air over the land. This causes the air molecules to move faster. They begin to spread farther apart so they do not weigh as much for the room that they take up. Cold (dense) air pushes the warm (less dense) air up. While this happens, the Earth is spinning, so the wind starts spinning. That is why we can feel wind coming from all different directions. The bigger the difference in pressure, the stronger the wind. Wind can vary from a slight breeze to a tornado or a whole gale (wind speeds of 55 to 63 miles or 88 to 102 kilometers per hour.
How is wind measured? Meteorologists use two methods of measuring wind: speed and direction.
- Wind Direction – Wind direction is described by using the direction that the wind came from. For example, a southerly wind blows from the south to the north. Wind direction is measured in several ways including weather (or wind) vanes, flags, and windsocks.
- Wind Speed – The speed of wind is measured in miles per hour or kilometers per hour. Scientists typically use a tool called an anemometer to measure the speed of the wind.
Ship’s Compass
E.S. Ritchie & Sons, Boston, MA
Brass, Glass, Wood
Brass ship’s compass, Victorian, cylindrical form, mounted on triple stepped mahogany wooden platform above a high ebonized wooden base.
Compass
Maker unknown
Brass, glass
Small hand-held compass, brass fitting.
Weather Station
By Howard Miller
Metal, glass dome, bakelite base
Combination barometer, thermometer, hygrometer under glass dome. German made. Used for determining weather on a ship.
You can view more objects and maritime art by visiting The Posner Maritime Art Collection Exhibit in our Virtual Museum.
Wind can affect boats in many ways. Sail boats use the wind as energy to propel them in the direction they choose. Watch this short video to learn how sailboats use wind power:
Sailing ships have historically been held victim to the tides, currents, and weather patterns, leaving little predictability for travel. In the late nineteenth century, weather could delay a transatlantic voyage by days or weeks. These trips already took anywhere from four to eight weeks. Imagine the cost of such delays and the impact it would have on crew members and passengers, such as how to ration food.When steamships were invented, travel became more predictable and they could transport goods and people faster and safer.
For larger ships like ocean liners, wind can cause the wave heights to increase and conditions that are dangerous for passengers and the crew. Watch this clip from a SHIPS episode on transatlantic travel to hear a first-person narrative about what it was like traveling on board the French Line’s SS Flandre from Europe to the United States during a whole gale:
K-4 Activity: Create a Wind Vane
Materials Needed:
- A pencil with a new eraser on top
- A straw
- Card cut into the shapes (shown in video below)
- A pin
- Playdoh or clay
- Tape
- Scissors
Instructions:
- Cut out card share for each end of the wind vane and fix them in place on the straw by cutting slits in the straw and sliding them in. You can also fix them with glue or tape.
- Push the pin through the straw and into the eraser making sure that it can spin freely.
- Roll the Playdoh into a ball and push the pencil in with the eraser at the top. OR draw a compass on a paper plate and push the pencil through the plate and into the clay below.
- Choose a spot outside that is not sheltered from the wind and watch the wind vane work!
- Use a compass to determine which way the wind is blowing.
Adaptations for Grades 5-8:
After the wind vane activity, have students keep a record of wind measurements using a compass to chart the wind’s direction over different days. Ask the questions below to stimulate dialogue in class or assign as a written homework assignment.
Questions for Further Thought
- How does wind affect sea travel?
- Explain the difference between sailing vessels and steam vessels in regards to wind and weather.
- What do you think it was like as a passenger traveling across the Atlantic in winter storms?
For Grades 9-12
Try this lesson from PBS Media: The Ocean and Climate – Heat Redistribution.
