In this lesson, students will gain a basic knowledge of how things move. The students will:

- observe and participate in experiments illustrating force and motion.

- identify air as a source of movement.

- explain how air moves objects.

- What is movement and what are its causes?

- Force: Push or pull that can make something move.

- Push: To apply pressure against for the purpose of moving.

- Pull: To apply force to in order to cause or tend to cause motion toward the source of the force. To remove from a fixed position.

- Motion: The act of moving.

- Wind: Air motion.

- Air: Directed air is a source of movement.

- straws

- chart paper or board for writing ideas

- cotton balls

- material for building obstacle courses, such as pattern blocks, unifix cubes, or other blocks

- paint, paper, and straws for the painting project

- paper for assembling paper planes

- The Wind Blew by Pat Hutchins. Penguin, 1974.

Assess students' comprehension of how things move and how air is a source of movement.

Make observations while moving around the room. Keep track of student responses throughout the observation.

Use the checklist below to assess students progress:

- The student experimented with moving a cotton ball and building an obstacle course.

- The student can collaborate with a partner and discuss the process and outcomes.

- The student can take part in conversations regarding air as a source of movement and wind as an example of air motion.

- The student completes the blow-painting and airplane-construction projects.

- Individually assess students' abilities in describing their results while constructing the airplanes. Ask students to describe their observations on what happened to their planes.

Scaffolding, Explicit Instruction
W: Students comprehend that wind is air in motion.

H: Students participate in the lesson through blow painting, discussions, obstacle course design, and paper airplane creation.

E: Model air as a source of motion. Explain that it is difficult to illustrate since you cannot see air. Have students walk outside and examine how wind affects objects.

R: Students discuss ideas in small groups, with the teacher, and with the entire class. This allows students to ask guided questions while also providing time for reflection and problem solving.

E: Use formative assessment, observation, problem-solving, group work, and experiments to measure student comprehension of the lesson. Provide further practice and instruction as needed. Students illustrate how air causes movement.

T: This lesson engages students in several learning styles and activities, including construction, observation, discussion, reading, and comparison.

O: Students are engaged and can contribute in various ways. Students solve difficulties and collaborate with their peers to finish tasks.

Provide a brief review of wind, emphasizing that it is air in motion. Explain that it is difficult to show air since you cannot see it. Have students walk outside and examine how wind affects objects. Observe the trees, birds, and clouds. Introduce wind vocabulary such as gust, breeze, and blast, as well as descriptive adjectives such as gentle, blustery, or refreshing.

Read aloud Pat Hutchins' book The Wind Blew. In the story, the wind does blow and snatches something from almost everyone we face. Each person pursues his or her things, and the chain of chasers grows longer as they near the city. When the wind blows, their belongings get disorganized.

Activity 1

"In today's lesson we will be exploring how things move or go and what are the causes." Students will recognize air as a cause of movement.

Students should sit at their desks or on the floor, at least two or three feet apart. If the students are sitting on the floor, place a tiny piece of tape two or three feet in front of them. Give every student a straw and a cotton ball. Students should try to move the cotton ball across their desk or to the tape on the floor by blowing into the straw. Allow them time to experiment with this activity. Come together to make conclusions from the experiment and discuss their findings and opinions on the chalkboard or poster. Review the vocabulary words and write them on the board. Explain that directed air is a source of movement and that you were able to direct the cotton ball with it.

"What kind of force caused the cotton ball to move?"

"What are other examples of things that are moved by air?"

"What does wind have to do with moving air?"

Finish with a discussion of their viewpoints, which will help students grasp that wind is directed air that may cause objects to move.

Activity 2

In this activity, students work in small groups to create a blow painting. Before you allow students to participate in this exercise, demonstrate how to accomplish it. Before beginning any activity, establish a few basic guidelines. Students can work in groups of two to three or on their own. Place paint drips on a piece of paper. Allow students to direct the paint in different ways by blowing air through a straw. Reinforce the vocabulary from the beginning of the lesson. When the paintings have dried, display them for a Gallery Museum Walk. Discuss how the pictures differ because each student directed the paint in various directions.

Extension:

Students that exceed standards can design an obstacle course and attempt to move an object through it with a paper fan.

Students who need more learning opportunities can blow up a little balloon and hold its end. Students release the balloon in response to a signal. Describe how the balloon moved. What was the cause?