Wind Sculptures - An Engineering Design Challenge

Lesson Content

• Lesson Plan Template:

  Guided or Open Inquiry

• Learning Objectives: What will students know and be able to do as a result of this lesson?

  
  
  • Students will describe how wind is a source of energy and can be used to move things.
  • Students will describe orally and in writing how the energy of moving air is used to move things, such as parts in their wind sculpture.
  • Students will design and construct prototypes of a wind sculpture, with moving parts.
  • Students will keep careful records as they test the prototypes, analyze the results, and modify their designs based on their analysis.
  • Student teams will present the prototype to the rest of the class, discussing the successful parts of their design and citing evidence from their notebooks.

• Prior Knowledge: What prior knowledge should students have for this lesson?

  
  

  Students should have already received some initial instruction in wind as a source of energy that can move things. The introduction portion of this lesson provides a review of this concept. The rest of the lesson provides students with an opportunity to apply this concept within an Engineering Design Challenge.

• Guiding Questions: What are the guiding questions for this lesson?

  
  
  1. How do you think your design might move in the wind?
  2. Which parts of this sculpture do you intend to be moving?
  3. Which parts will you hold still?
  4. What did your team decide to change in your first prototype in order to make it move better in the wind?
  5. Why did you decide to try this modification?

• Introduction: How will the teacher inform students of the intent of the lesson? How will students understand or develop an investigable question?

  
  

  Day 1:

  • Use the keywords "wind sculptures" to conduct a web search for images of several different examples made by artists and scientists, without telling students what they are. Direct students to think about what these objects might be made for and what they might do. What do they seem to have in common? (Discussion may include they are made of many different materials; they have parts that might move; they all have a stationary part, they are outside.) Tell students all these items have been constructed in order to capture the energy of moving air (wind) in order to move parts of the sculpture. Tell them your goals, as a class, during the next few science periods, will be to explore how wind energy can move things and to create original wind sculptures.
  • Review what wind is (moving air) and that like all moving things, wind carries energy (mechanical energy) that can be used to do work.
  • Put students together in teams of two to three students. Give each team a pinwheel. If possible, go outside for students to observe how the wind moves the pinwheel. (If outside is not possible, use an electric fan in the classroom. The fan's blowing air models the moving air of wind.) Tell them that a pinwheel is an example of a wind sculpture. Ask questions to direct student observations:
    • What do you observe about the shape of the pinwheel that might help it to move in the wind?
    • Are they any parts of the pinwheel that do not move in the wind? (the stick that you hold or put into the ground)
    • What materials were used to create the moving parts of the pinwheel?
    • What properties do these materials have? (they are light, curved shape)
  • Take students back inside and ask them to draw a labeled picture of their pinwheel in their science notebooks, including an explanation of specifically how it moves. Explanations should include the words wind, moving, and energy.
  • Ask student teams to share their drawings and explanations with each other.
  • Post the following question on the board: How can you design a sculpture that will move in the wind? Tell students that they will begin planning their designs for a wind sculpture in the next science class. They may want to be thinking of ideas to bring to class the next day.

• Investigate: What will the teacher do to give students an opportunity to develop, try, revise, and implement their own methods to gather data?

  
  

  Day 2:

  Note: This engineering design (building a working wind sculpture) may prove to be very challenging for some students. To provide more support, you may decide to go back to Day One's web searched images to review some of the properties the wind sculptures shared. You may also begin this section by giving the pinwheels back to each group to "dissect" and pull apart, so that students can better observe how it is shaped and constructed to help with design ideas.

  • Ask students what they know about engineers and the work they do. Clarify what engineers do and tell students that they will be engineers in this design challenge. Explain to the students that they will be using what they have learned in order to construct a wind sculpture that can move in the wind.
  • Explain the Engineer/Design Challenge Process (refer to the attached graphic, if posted in the room), Phase 1. Explain that they are now in Phase 1: Plan. In this stage, students identify the problem (We need to design a sculpture that can use wind's energy to move it) and any things they need to consider when they design their solution. After they decide on a plan, students should make a labeled drawing of their idea in their notebooks so they can begin to work out the details of the design. Once they have a plan approved by the teacher, they will build a model of their design to test it. This model is called a "prototype."
  • Show the students the materials they will have available for construction (see materials list). Point out that people may have limited resources available in solving real-world problems. Each group should clearly understand what materials they will have to choose from in order to build their prototype wind sculpture before planning begins. They do not have to use all materials provided.
  • Post the following criteria for the wind sculpture on the board:
    1. Only materials provided by the teacher can be used, unless the team has received teacher-approval to use something else.
    2. The wind sculpture must be held or stuck into the ground, with other parts moving in the wind to qualify as "successful." (Students cannot just toss folded paper into the air and call that a wind sculpture.)
  • Teams of students should discuss, brainstorm and draw their plans and designs in their science notebooks.
  • As students discuss their plans with you, ask:
    • How will the wind move your sculpture?
    • Can you use the word energy in your explanation? Formative assessment - does the student understand that moving air carries energy that puts something else in motion?
    • How do you think your design might move in the wind?
    • Which parts of this sculpture do you intend to be moving?
    • Which parts will you hold still? Feedback to Students -does the student understand the criteria for the Engineering Design Challenge?
    • Teams should explain how the materials they've chosen to use will result in a moving wind sculpture. (Feedback to Students)
  • Note: Students want to have the "right" answers and some teams, may not, at this planning stage, fully understand which materials will work to catch wind's energy. This is okay and part of the design process. They will have an opportunity to modify and redesign their prototype as they work through the process, so avoid giving them too much guidance at the stage.
  • Once they have a plan approved by the teacher, they will build a model of their design to test it. This model is called a "prototype."

• Analyze: How will the teacher help students determine a way to represent, analyze, and interpret the data they collect?

  
  

  Day 3:

  • Gather the student teams together and tell them that they are moving into Phase 2: Testing. Refer to the Engineering/Design Challenge Process graphic (if posted). Explain that they will be testing their wind sculptures to observe if they move in the wind. (You can use a fan in the classroom as another option to going outside, and tell students the fan's blowing air models the moving air of wind.) Once the first test is completed, teams will analyze their data/results and discuss together what is working in the model and what might need to be changed. After modifying, they will test again, continuing the test -analyze- modify cycle until they feel their solution is complete.
  • With the students, decide on a way to record the results of the test. Lead the discussion into recognizing the following points:
  • To be considered "successful," wind sculptures must follow the criteria posted on the board.
  • Students should be expected to write their observations in their science notebooks, including their "science thinking." (What parts are not moving? Why might that be? What could we replace on our sculpture that might work better? What teams have been successful? What parts of their design might be working to move in the wind?) They will use these notes later as they modify their designs. Note: This is a very challenging engineering activity! Tell the students ahead of time that it is quite possible that some or perhaps all teams will not be successful at first, and this is okay. The learning comes in working collaboratively to design, test, analyze, modify and retest a design.
  • Teams should take their wind sculptures outside to test if they will move and complete notes into science notebooks.
  • Sit down in a circle outside (or back in the classroom) to discuss each team's results. What did this team have in their design that might be making it such a successful wind sculpture? (Feedback to Students)
  • Tell students they will have the chance to modify and improve their designs and retest again during the next science class. Encourage students to take their notebooks home and discuss with their families the wind sculpture project, and to be thinking of ways to improve their original designs.

  Day 4:

  • Ask the students to look carefully at their own design and decide what is good to keep for the next test and what they may need to modify. Show students the Engineering/Design Challenge Process graphic and remind them they are still in Phase 2. Today they will make any changes they decide to make on their wind sculpture designs and retest. Note: Some students may have a hard time with modifying their current design and instead want to start over with a new design. There is usually something that works in every design -help the team find those things that they can build on. Starting over with a new design each time defeats the purpose of the Engineer Design Process. Students should draw labeled plans for their modified wind sculpture in their notebooks.
  • Teams should build modified sculptures and retest, following the same procedures as the first test. Encourage students to write their observations in their notebooks.

• Closure: What will the teacher do to bring the lesson to a close? How will the students make sense of the investigation?

  
  
  • Gather the student teams together and tell them that they are moving into Phase 3: Final Presentation. Refer to the Engineering/Design Challenge Process graphic. Explain that discussing together the designs and test results are an important part of the engineering process. You could ask teams to choose a representative to share their team's plans, tests, modifications, and results. Students may need to be reminded of the importance of this conference and that actively listening to each group's information is a critical part of the activity.
  • Have a question and answer period after each presentation:
  • Teachers asks teams to use their evidence (in notebooks) to support their claims of effectiveness. For example, "Our straws were not moving the first time we built our prototype, but once we bent them and connected them to each other with cuts, instead of tape, they moved in the wind."
  • Students can ask questions about what inspired the design and what problems were faced.
  • Give students the following prompt to respond to in their notebooks: Choose one of the wind sculptures you saw presented today (it can be your team's sculpture or another team's design.) Explain how it moved in the wind. Your explanation must include:
    • detailed information, in the form of words and/or labeled pictures, about the design.
    • the words wind, energy, move/moving. (Teachers can assess student responses based on the details provided and clarity of describing wind's ability to move things.)
  • Review the Engineer Design Challenge process through class discussions. Do students understand each phase and how the process helps engineers solve challenges and create the best designs they can? Teachers may also choose to use the Engineering Challenge Process Evaluation Rubric (attached to this lesson) for Summative assessment of the design process.

• Summative Assessment

  
  

  Prompt for student notebooks: Choose one of the wind sculptures you saw presented today (it can be your team's sculpture or another team's design.) Explain how it moved in the wind. Your explanation must include:

  • detailed information, in the form of words and/or labeled pictures, about the design.
  • the words wind, energy, move/moving. (Teachers can assess student responses based on the details provided and clarity of describing wind's ability to move things.)

  Teachers may also choose to use the Engineering Design Challenge Process Evaluation Rubric (attached to this lesson) for Summative assessment of the design process.

• Formative Assessment

  
  
  • How will the wind move your sculpture?
  • Can you use the word energy in your explanation?

  Formative assessment - does the student understand that moving air carries energy that puts something else in motion? Listen carefully to students' responses, since they may have an incomplete understanding of the energy in wind. A student saying, "The wind blows it and moves it," does not necessarily understand that the mechanical energy from the wind is causing work to be done (the movement of the sculpture's pieces.)

• Feedback to Students

  
  
  • How do you think your design might move in the wind?
  • What will your team need to do in order to have some pieces of your sculpture attached to a base and yet be free to move in the wind?

  As students bring the teacher their initial plans and test results during the Design Challenge portion they will be asked, "Is your design or modification ready to work better?"

  After the students have tested their design they will be asked, "Did your design do the job it was supposed to do? What would you change or add to make your design better?"