Students will demonstrate that wind is moving air and measure wind strength using a simple pinwheel or streamers.

🔬 The Big Idea

Wind is air in motion. You can't see air, but you can see what it does — it spins pinwheels, bends trees, and carries clouds across the sky. Wind is actually caused by the sun heating Earth's surface unevenly, creating areas of different air pressure. Air always moves from high pressure areas toward low pressure areas — and that movement is wind!

📦 Materials

🏠 What You Need

One square of paper (any size — 6"×6" or 8"×8" works well)
A pencil or drinking straw
A brad fastener (brass paper fastener) or small piece of tape (preferred for young children)
Safety note: If using a straight pin instead of a brad fastener, an adult must handle the pin — do not let young children manage it independently.
Scissors
Outdoor access OR an electric fan indoors
Optional: Streamers or strips of tissue paper

🔬 Let's Get Started

Step 1 — Make a Pinwheel (10 min)

Start with a square piece of paper
Draw diagonal lines from each corner to the center (but don't cut all the way — stop about 1 inch from the center)
Cut along each diagonal line toward the center
Fold every other corner point to the center (don't crease — just hold)
Pin or tape through all the folded points and through the center, then attach to the eraser end of a pencil or the top of a straw

Your pinwheel should spin freely when you blow on it!

Step 2 — Test Your Pinwheel (5 min)
Try these conditions and observe what happens:

Hold still in a calm room — does it spin?
Blow very gently — slight spin?
Blow hard — fast spin?
Hold near a fan on low — medium spin?
Hold near an open window — what happens?

Step 3 — Create the Wind Strength Scale (5 min)
Fill in the Wind Strength Scale on your worksheet (next page). Rate each condition you tested:

0 = still (no spin)
1 = slight/slow spin
2 = steady spin
3 = fast spin

Step 4 — Outdoor Observation (5–10 min)
Take the pinwheel outside. Hold it up and observe. Rate the outdoor wind strength (0–3). Look for other signs of wind: moving leaves, swaying grass, flags, smoke direction. Can you tell which direction the wind is coming from?

💬 Discussion Questions

🗣️ Talk about these together:

Can you see wind? How do you know it's there?
What makes your pinwheel spin faster? What makes it spin slower?
Have you ever been outside on a really windy day? What did it feel like?
Big Question: What makes wind? Where does it come from?

💡 Suggested answer: Wind is air moving from high pressure areas to low pressure areas. The sun heats Earth's surface unevenly — land heats up faster than water, and the equator heats more than the poles. This uneven heating causes air to rise and fall, creating the pressure differences that make wind. It's all powered by the sun!

🚀 Extensions

🎏 Streamer Test: Tape strips of tissue paper or ribbon to a stick. Walk around outside with them — can you map which direction the wind is blowing?
🧭 Wind Direction: Look up which direction the wind is coming from today using a weather app. North? South? East? West?
🌳 Tree Observer: Watch trees for 5 minutes. How much are the branches moving? Can you match it to your 0–3 scale?
📚 Read Aloud: Feel the Wind by Arthur Dorros

👩‍🏫 Parent/Teacher Notes

Pinwheel assembly tip: Pre-scoring the folds with a ruler makes it easier for small hands. Don't press the corners all the way flat — they should stay angled to catch air.
If no pin is available: A small piece of sticky tack or a brad fastener works. The pinwheel just needs to spin freely without falling off.
The science concept: Keep "wind is moving air" front and center. Kids don't need to understand pressure systems deeply — just the idea that air moves and we can feel/measure it.
Assessment: Can the child demonstrate that blowing harder makes the pinwheel spin faster? Can they rate wind strength on the 0–3 scale?

🌬️ Student Worksheet — Wind Strength

Name: ________________________________ Date: ________________

🔢 My Wind Strength Scale

Level	What the Pinwheel Does	Wind Strength
0	Does not spin at all	🟢 Calm — no wind
1	Spins slowly or just barely moves	🟡 Light breeze
2	Spins steadily	🟠 Moderate wind
3	Spins very fast!	🔴 Strong wind

📊 My Test Results

What I tested	My rating (0–3)	What I observed
Still room, no blowing
Blowing gently
Blowing hard
Near a fan OR open window
Outside

🖊️ Draw Your Pinwheel in the Wind!

Draw your pinwheel spinning! Add arrows to show which way the wind is blowing.

Today the wind outside was (circle one): 0 — Calm | 1 — Light | 2 — Moderate | 3 — Strong

🔑 PARENT ANSWER KEY — Detach before giving worksheet to students

Expected Test Results (approximate)

Still room, no blowing → 0 (calm) — the pinwheel should not spin on its own if the room is still
Blowing gently → 1 (light) — slight, irregular spinning
Blowing hard → 3 (strong) — fast, sustained spin
Near a fan/open window → 2 or 3 depending on fan setting
Outside → varies; on a calm day expect 0–1; a breezy day 2–3

Key Science Concepts

Wind is moving air — you can't see it, but you can observe its effects
More air movement = higher wind speed = faster pinwheel
An anemometer is the real scientific tool for measuring wind speed (works the same way as the pinwheel)
Wind is caused by uneven heating of Earth's surface by the sun — warm air rises (low pressure), cool air flows in to replace it

✅ What Success Looks Like

Child can show that blowing harder = faster spin
Child can rate at least 3 conditions using the 0–3 scale
Child understands that wind is air that is moving

🌬️ Wind — Invisible but Powerful! 🌬️

🎯 Learning Objective