Wind Power: A Hands on Experience
Intended Grade Level(s):
3-8
Learning Goal(s):
- Students will understand that wind energy can be converted into other forms of energy.
- Students will determine different methods to increase the effectiveness of a wind turbine blade at harnessing and converting the mechanical energy of the wind.
Unit:
Lesson Number:
3
Pedagogy & Practice:
NGSS Science and Engineering Practices:
Estimated Activity Length:
2 hours
Files Associated with this Activity:
Description:
This lesson challenges students to work in teams to design successful turbine blades for the “KidWind Firefly”. The firefly has an LED light that lights up when the students have designed turbine blades that spin effectively. This lesson provides students with hands on experience in designing turbines blades. This will scaffold them nicely into Lesson 4 when they design their own paper turbine for a Solar Updraft Tower toy.
Other Material(s) Used:
• Recharge Labs Firefly Classroom Pack (RL-FIREFX, includes 10 firefly models with motors and lights) • 10 unsharpened pencils to be used as handles for the “Fireflies”• Box fan for testing turbine designs
