About this resource
After reading The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind (Kamkwamba, 2012) and Energy Island (Drummond, 2011), students will build an anemometer in the form of a wind catcher.
Curriculum & Standards
Related General Curriculum / Common Core Area
Science, Social Studies
Related Curriculum / Common Core Standard
Kansas College and Career Readiness Anchor Standards for Literacy Learning Standard 1: Engage in literacy learning through a collaborative and community effort and in an integrated fashion, rather than as discreet skills in isolation.
What students will do
The student will create a STEM project based on prior knowledge and new learning. Students will have the opportunity to experiment and collect data based on real world experiences.
Resources Needed
Six paper cups, three wooden skewers, one straw, scissors, adhesive putty, tape, and cardstock
The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind, graph paper, windmill supplies
Lesson sequence & procedures
Steps:
- Cut a straw to a four-inch size. Use scissors to split one end of straw into four flaps (each about ¾ inch long).
- Open out the straw flaps. Using a few blobs of adhesive putty, fix the flaps onto the bottom of an upturned paper cup. Stand the straw up as straight as possible. In your finished anemometer, this cup will be the other way up.
- Push the skewer through the cup with the attached straw. Do the same with the second skewer, placing it at right angles to the first one.
- Use the third skewer to pierce holes through the middles of four more cups. These cups will slot on to the two skewers sticking out of the middle cup. Push them into place.