Lesson Plan Template – ED 3501 (Version C)

Lesson
Building Wind Vanes Date November 28, 2019
Title/Focus
Subject/Grade Time
Science/Grade 5 105 min.
Level Duration

Unit Weather Teacher Mr. Wiebe

OUTCOMES FROM ALBERTA PROGRAM OF STUDIES

General & Understanding - Topic D: Weather Watch 
Specific  5-8 Observe, describe and interpret weather phenomena; and relate weather to the
Learning heating and cooling of Earth's surface. 
Outcomes:  Describe and demonstrate methods for measuring wind speed and for finding wind
direction. 
Skills: 
 Focus 
 ask questions that lead to exploration and investigation 
 identify one or more possible answers to questions by stating a prediction or a hypothesis 
 Explore and Investigate 
 identify one or more ways of finding answers to given questions 
 plan, with guidance, and carry out procedures that comprise a fair test 
 work individually or cooperatively in planning and carrying out procedures 
Attitudes 
 5-4 Demonstrate positive attitudes for the study of science and for the application of
science in responsible ways. 
 Students will show growth in acquiring and applying the following traits: 
 curiosity 
 confidence in personal ability to learn and develop problem-solving skills 
 inventiveness and open-mindedness 
 perseverance in the search for understandings and for solutions to problems 
 flexibility in considering new ideas 
 critical-mindedness in examining evidence and determining what the evidence means 
 a willingness to use evidence as the basis for their conclusions and actions 
 a willingness to work with others in shared activities and in sharing of experiences 
 appreciation of the benefits gained from shared effort and cooperation
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
Students will:
1. Develop their skill in building and following written and oral instruction
2. Understand the concept of wind direction
3. Identify wind direction based on the evidence of their weathervanes
ASSESSMENTS
Observations: 
Key Questions: 
Products/Performances 
:
LEARNING RESOURCES CONSULTED MATERIALS AND EQUIPMENT
 101 Great Science Experiments – Neil Ardley  26 pins
 26 styrofoam drinking cups
 Hot Glue/Glue Gun
 26 pieces of cardstock
 26 drinking straws
 26 styrofoam plates
 26 small lumps of modeling clay
 26 handouts with wind vane instructions
 Pencils for drawing (student supplied)
 Pencils with good eraser (student supplied)
Adapted from a template created by Dr. K. Roscoe 1
 Lesson Plan Template – ED 3501 (Version C)
 Projector for showing PowerPoint instructions
 5 bins for containing materials
PROCEDURE
Prior to lesson  I will cut cardstock sheets in half, then fold them in half
 I will put tacks, straws, cups, plates, cardstock, and clay in bins on the counter
 I create a PowerPoint presentation to make the instructions more digestible
during demonstration
5A Time
Calming Activity  I will let the students in from recess
 Students will come in from recess amped up
15 min.
 I will set up the fish tank video and the students will settle down
until it is time to leave for Social Studies.
Attention Grabber  “I wonder what the weather is like outside. Can anyone tell me
which direction the wind is coming from?”
Assessment of Prior  The class touched on wind direction but did not cover directions
Knowledge as much as the other class.
Expectations for  “Today we are going to learn how to tell which direction the wind
Learning and is coming from. We will be making something to take home, so
Behaviour it’s important that we work hard and focus so that we can be
proud of what we bring home to our families.”
Body Time
Introduction for 5C  “Today we are going to do some building, but before we get
started, we need to make sure we understand directions.”
 “Can anyone tell me what the four cardinal directions are?” 5 min.
 “So, when we look on a map, which direction is usually at the top?
Bottom? Right? Left?”
Learning Activity #1  “How can we tell which way the wind is blowing? Can anyone
give me some ideas?”
Demonstration of  Students might bring up ways that one could test wind direction
Building Weathervane while being outside or looking at trees. If they need help, I can
suggest things like tossing grass into the air to see which way it
flies. If they bring up weathervanes or windsocks, I will add that
to the list, and they can refer to it when I ask the following:
 “What if I don’t want to go outside to feel the wind or pick up
grass? What if there are no trees outside? Or what if it’s not
10 min.
windy enough to see the trees move?”
 “Today we are going to build our very own wind vanes that you
can take home! If you work hard and stay on task, you will finish
your vane today and we will take them outside next week.”
 “Before we begin building, I will show you how to build one.”
 I will use the instructions on the powerpoint presentation to
guide me and show the students what I am doing.
 I will then go through the instructions, step by step, answering
questions along the way.
Teacher Notes: Assessments/  Instead of pre-tracing triangles, I will allow them to cut their own
Differentiation sizes. Some will likely be smaller, and some bigger, which should
provide a discussion point if the smaller triangles don’t move
with the wind.
Learning Activity #2  I will get them to collect their materials. I will call by name 70 min.
someone from each desk group to get the supplies in the bins
Building Weathervanes from the counter.
 I will also get two students to hand out instruction papers to the
rest of the class.
 “When you need something from the supply bin, remember you
only get ONE item from the bin. If you break your pin, you do not
get to take another one, so be careful. If something breaks, talk to
me and I will see what we can do.”
Adapted from a template created by Dr. K. Roscoe 2
 Lesson Plan Template – ED 3501 (Version C)
 “Be very, very careful when taking the pins please. I cannot stress
that enough.”
 “In order to make this wind vane, you will need to follow the
instructions on the handout very carefully! Remember what we
just did.”
 “What can we do if there’s something we don’t understand?”
After the students provide their ideas, I want to impress on them
that they should first use each other for support, and then ask me
questions if they are still at a loss.
 “Before we begin, I want you to look at the picture on the first
page of your handout. This is what we are building. Maybe yours
won’t look exactly like this, but if you follow the instructions well,
it will look very close.”
 “If you understand what we’re doing, put your thumbs waaay up!
If you think you know but you have a few questions, show me
your thumbs sideways like this. If you are completely lost, put
your thumbs waaay down.” If there are many students who are
completely confused, I’ll address their questions in front of the
whole class. If there are only one or two, I’ll meet with them
personally and allow the rest of the class to continue.
 “It’s important that you follow these instructions step-by-step. If
you begin at step 1 and move down the list, your wind vane
should turn out very well. If you are finished early, look for a
classmate at your table that you can help. You may begin.”
 While the class is working, I will walk throughout the class. I will
try not to help those with problems too much, but rather include
their partners in the conversation to see if they can help.
 Once they get to the point of needing their direction triangles
glued to their cups, Mrs. Cross will man the glue gun for as long
as needed.
Teacher Notes: Assessments/  Instead of working in groups, I will have the students help others
Differentiation at their table when they have completed their own work. The
students who will most likely face difficulties are seated near
students who are capable of helping them.
 If everything else is going smoothly and I have time, I will also
guide struggling students through the activity.
Closure Time
Transition To Next  “Next week, if the weather cooperates, we will take the wind
Lesson vanes outside to test them.”
 I will draw directional arrows on the whiteboard
 “Let’s make some predictions about what will happen. If the
5 min.
wind is blowing from the north to the south, which way will your
wind vane point? By show of hands, how many people think it
will point West? East? South? North?”
 I will tally the votes on the whiteboard.

Sponge
 They have science word searches they can do
Activity/Activities

Reflections from the

lesson

Adapted from a template created by Dr. K. Roscoe 3