Wind Around Us

Overview

In this seventh lesson of How Weather Shapes Our Lives and Communities, students investigate wind as a weather condition and consider how it affects people, places, and daily activities. They then make a simple wind-direction indicator using art materials and use it to observe which way the wind is moving.

Learning intentions

• WALT describe wind using weather words.
• WALT explain some ways wind can affect daily life and our community.
• WALT make and use a wind-direction indicator.
• WALT communicate an observation about changing weather.

Success criteria

• I can use words such as windy, calm, strong and gentle to describe wind.
• I can give an example of how wind affects people, places, or activities.
• I can make a wind-direction indicator that moves safely in the wind.
• I can record or tell someone which way the wind is moving.

Curriculum links

• Weather conditions — using weather words such as sun, cloud, rain, hot, and cold, with wind as a weather feature.
• Weather variation — noticing that weather can be different in places across New Zealand.
• Seasonal changes in temperature and sunlight during the year.
• Communicating ideas about how weather changes throughout the year.

Lesson structure (30 minutes)

1. 0–4 min · Hook and notice. Teacher opens with the wind hook and observation image and asks, “What can wind move, change, or help us do?” Students silently watch a short outdoor view or image, then share observations with a partner.

2. 4–9 min · Build understanding. Teacher explains that wind is moving air and models the words calm, gentle, strong, still, and windy; show the wind vocabulary and community examples. Students act out or gesture each word and discuss how wind might affect washing, trees, boats, cyclists, sports, or outdoor plans.

3. 9–13 min · Demonstrate the indicator. Teacher shows the wind-indicator instructions and demonstrates making a paper streamer indicator: attach a strip of lightweight paper to a straw or stick with tape, leaving it free to flutter. Explain that the streamer points away from where the wind comes from, so students should describe the direction carefully rather than guess. Students watch, repeat the safety rules, and predict what their indicator will do outside.

4. 13–23 min · Create and test. Teacher gives each pair materials and the wind indicator design and observation sheet; support pairs to decorate, assemble, and test their indicators in a supervised outdoor area or beside an open window. Students work in pairs, taking turns holding the indicator, observing its movement, and recording or drawing whether the wind is calm, gentle, or strong and which way the streamer points.

5. 23–27 min · Compare observations. Teacher brings the class together and asks, “Did every indicator point the same way? Why might observations differ?” Students compare results with another pair and share one observation, using the sentence frame: “Our wind was ___, and the streamer pointed ___.”

6. 27–30 min · Plenary and check. Teacher revisits the reflection and key-question slide and asks students to complete the final boxes on the worksheet: one way wind affects life and one wind word. Students share responses with a partner and place their worksheet in the collection tray.

Resources

• the wind inquiry slide deck
• the wind indicator design and observation sheet
• Lightweight paper strips or crepe paper
• Paper straws, drinking straws, or short sticks
• Tape and child-safe scissors
• Coloured pencils or crayons
• Outdoor observation space or a safe open window
• Teacher clipboard and pencil

Assessment

• Listen for students using accurate weather words and distinguishing calm, gentle, and strong wind.
• During testing, check whether students can make the indicator move, observe its direction, and explain what they notice.
• Collect the worksheet to check for a wind description, a community effect, and a labelled or drawn observation.

Differentiation

• Provide picture cues, gestures, and sentence starters: “Wind can ___,” “The streamer points ___,” and “Our wind is ___.”
• Pre-cut paper strips, offer larger materials, and pair students strategically; an adult can support taping or cutting where needed.
• For EAL learners, rehearse the key words orally with actions and allow drawing, pointing, or home-language discussion before sharing in English.
• Extend confident students by asking them to explain why indicators in different places may point differently, or to predict how wind might change at another time of day or season.
• Keep indicators away from faces and moving equipment, and supervise all outdoor observation. Do not ask students to stand in unsafe weather or near roads, trees, or water.