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The Powerful Force of Wind

Difficulty: Grade 3-5
Time: 45-60 mins
Categories: Renewable Energy, Wind Turbine

In this activity, students will explore how the wind acts as a force on wind turbines to provide renewable energy to our communities. In the ‘Take Action’ section of the lesson, they will use the Climate Action Kit to build their own wind turbine. They will code the dial component to turn the wind turbine in both directions.

Get Started
What this lesson includes
Lesson Content
Forces, Renewable Energy
Real-World Example

El Cabrito Wind Farm

Coding Tutorial
Block-based
Assessment
Triangulated Assessment Options
Educator Resources
Finished Code Link
Quickstart Guide

Looking for more resources? Look  here.

Learning Goals

  • Describe how wind turbines generate electricity through unbalanced force and energy transfer
  • Consider the benefit of using wind power
  • Build a basic wind turbine project using the breakout board, dial, and continuous servo motor in the Climate Action Kit
  • Explain how input can allow us to interact with and control the output of projects

Prerequisites

This lesson provides a strong real-world application and hands-on activity to supplement the following Grade 3-5 Next Generation Science Standards:

We recommend students have a basic understanding of balanced and unbalanced forces before starting this lesson.

Materials

Get to Know the Content

  1. Make sure you've completed our 'Getting Started with the Climate Action Kit' course
  2. If it has been awhile, review the kit components featured in this lesson:
  3. Review the lesson, particularly the following thinking routines from Project Zero (Harvard Graduate School of Education):

Big Idea (15 minutes)

Learn how wind turbines power our communities through the application of unbalanced force and energy transfer.

Take Action (45 minutes)

Build your own wind turbine with the Climate Action Kit!

We've provided 3 ways students may build the project to support scaffolding and differentiation in your classroom: 'Use', 'Modify', and 'Create'.*

Activity Description
Use

Students will follow a step-by-step tutorial to build & use their wind turbine.

Success Criteria

I can:

  • build a wind turbine with the Climate Action Kit
  • explain how I can make my wind turbine move

Resources

Tutorial
Final Code
Modify

Students will follow a step-by-step tutorial to build their wind turbine and modify its code!

Success Criteria

I can:

  • build a wind turbine with the Climate Action Kit
  • make changes to my code to learn how it works
  • change the speed and direction of my wind turbine

Resources

Tutorial
Final Code
Create

Students will work in small groups to research wind turbines and design a prototype with the Climate Action Kit.

Success Criteria

I can build a wind turbine with the Climate Action Kit that:

  • stands tall
  • is sturdy
  • has blades to catch the wind
  • spins in both directions

Resources

Blank Project

*Irene Lee, Fred Martin, Jill Denner, Bob Coulter, Walter Allan, Jeri Erickson, Joyce Malyn-Smith, and Linda Werner. 2011. Computational thinking for youth in practice. Acm Inroads 2, 1 (2011), 32–37.

Use the following criteria to assess student learning. Students can:

Conversations

  • Describe how wind acts as an unbalanced force on wind turbines
  • Describe the transfer of energy during electricity generation with wind turbines
  • Explain the purpose of each smart component and building block in the main build (Use, Modify, Create)
  • Explain the purpose of the input and output blocks in the starter code (Use, Modify, Create)

Observations

  • Methodically test and debug their code to ensure it functions as intended (Modify, Create)

Products

  • Add comments to the code to demonstrate their understanding of each block (Use, Modify, Create)
  • Add a new event block to make their wind turbine turn in the opposite direction (Modify, Create)
  • Design their own wind turbine prototype that satisfies provided criteria (Create)

Next Generation Science Standards

Grade 3-5

3-PS2-1 Plan and conduct an investigation to provide evidence of the effects of balanced and unbalanced forces on the motion of an object.

4-PS3-2 Make observations to provide evidence that energy can be transferred from place to place by sound, light, heat, and electric currents.

4-PS3-4 Apply scientific ideas to design, test, and refine a device that converts energy from one form to another.

4-ESS3-1 Obtain and combine information to describe that energy and fuels are derived from natural resources and their uses affect the environment.

Computer Science Teachers Association Standards

Grade 3-5

1B-CS-01 Describe how internal and external parts of computing devices function to form a system.

1B-CS-02 Model how computer hardware and software work together as a system to accomplish tasks.

1B-AP-15 Test and debug (identify and fix errors) a program or algorithm to ensure it runs as intended.

1B-AP-16 Take on varying roles, with teacher guidance, when collaborating with peers during the design, implementation, and review stages of program development.

1B-AP-17 Describe choices made during program development using code comments, presentations, and demonstrations.

Common Career Technical Core Standards

STEM Cluster: Engineering & Technology Career Pathway

ST-ET 1.3 Use computer applications to solve problems by creating and using algorithms, and through simulation and modeling techniques.

ST-ET 3.1 Use knowledge, techniques, skills and modern tools necessary for engineering practice.

ST-ET 3.2 Describe the elements of good engineering practice (e.g., understanding customer needs, planning requirements analysis, using appropriate engineering tools, prototyping, testing, evaluating and verifying).

ST-ET 3.4 Illustrate the ability to characterize a plan and identify the necessary engineering tools that will produce a technical solution when given a problem statement.

ST-ET 4.1 Explain why and how the contributions of great innovators are important to society.

ST-ET 4.2 Explain the elements and steps of the design process and tools or techniques that can be used for each step.

ST-ET 4.3 Describe design constraints, criteria, and trade-offs in regard to variety of conditions (e.g., technology, cost, safety, society, environment, time, human resources, manufacturability).

ST-ET 5.1 Apply the design process using appropriate modeling and prototyping, testing, verification and implementation techniques.

ST-ET 5.2 Demonstrate the ability to evaluate a design or product and improve the design using testing, modeling and research.

ST-ET 5.3 Demonstrate the ability to record and organize information and test data during design evaluation.

STEM Cluster: Science and Math Career Pathway

ST-SM 1.1 Apply science and mathematics concepts and principles to resolve plans, projects, processes, issues or problems through methods of inquiry.

ST-SM 1.2 Use the skills and abilities in science and mathematics to access, share, and use data to develop plans, processes, projects and solutions.

ST-SM 1.3 Use the skills and abilities in science and mathematics to integrate solutions related to technical or engineering activities using the content and concepts related to the situations.

ST-SM 1.4 Explain the role of modeling in science and engineering.

ST-SM 1.6 Communicate with others on inquiry or resolution of issues/problems in the global community.

ST-SM 2.1 Demonstrate the ability to recognize cause and effect when faced with assigned projects or issues.

ST-SM 3.1 Evaluate the impact of science on society based on products and processes used in the real world.

ST-SM 3.3 Research how science and mathematics influence the professions and occupations supported by the STEM Career Cluster.

Information Technology Cluster: Programming & Software Development Career Pathway

IT-PRG 4.1 Employ tools in developing software applications.

IT-PRG 6.1 Explain programming language concepts.

IT-PRG 6.3 Demonstrate proficiency in developing an application using an appropriate programming language.

IT-PRG 6.4 Explain basic software systems implementation.

IT-PRG 7.1 Develop a software test plan.

IT-PRG 7.2 Perform testing and validation.

Agriculture, Food & Natural Resources Cluster: Power, Structural & Technical Systems Career Pathway

AG-PST 1.1 Select energy sources for power generation.

AG-PST 1.3 Investigate solutions to AFNR power, structural, and technical systems.

AG-PST 1.4 Design or modify equipment, structures, or biological systems to improve performance of an AFNR enterprise or business unit.