Table of Contents Teacher Lessons Implementation Assistance
 

Lesson #2: Windy Words

Overview

In this lesson the students will engage in writing activities that will communicate their feelings, experiences, and knowledge about wind. 

Objectives

After completing this lesson, students will be able to:
  • Use written language to communicate personal interpretations of information
  • Incorporate content-area vocabulary into creative writing

Materials

  • Chart paper
  • Writing and drawing materials for the students
  • Flower Moon Snow: A Book of Haiku by Kazue Mizamura (Crowell, 1977). This is a collection of thirty illustrated nature haiku, appropriate for grades 2 and up.  There are many other sources of haiku for children that could be used in this lesson.
Time: One hour

Procedure

Activity #1: Words About Wind

For this activity, do the following:

  1. Discuss what the students already know about wind. Ask questions such as: 
     
    • How can you tell if a wind is strong or gentle?
    • How do you know that the wind is coming from a certain direction?

     
  2. Brainstorm and  list "windy words"on the chart. Students should try to think of words that describe:
     
    • How wind feels (cooling, soft, etc.) 
    • Kinds of wind (breezes, gusts, etc.), 
    • Things they like to do on a windy day
Activity #2: A Weather Haiku

Traditional Japanese haiku is a verse form that began in Japan during the 17th century. Haiku are short poems about things that make people feel a connection to nature. Each haiku is made up of three unrhymed lines of poetry with a total of 17 syllables.  The first and third lines have five syllables each; the middle line has 7.
For this activity, do the following:

  1. Gather the students together as a group
  2. Read several examples of haiku from Flower Moon Snow. For the first reading, have the students close their eyes and see if they can picture the scene that the poet is describing. For the second reading, have them count the syllables with you.
  3. Have the students to try to remember a windy day that they experienced last week, last month or even last year. Have them share anecdotes and feelings about that day.
  4. Tell the students that they will try to recreate that day in writing by composing their own haiku. They should try to use some of the words on the chart and make their "word pictures" seem so real that those who read them will have a special feeling.
  5. Give the students time to work on their haiku and to read it to a classmate.  They can clap out the syllables together.
  6. Students can publish their haiku in the Student Work section of this project.
Activity #3: What's in a Name?

For this activity, do the following:

  1. Gather the students together where they can view a world map.
  2. Tell them that there are special winds that blow only certain times of the year and only in certain places. Many of these winds have names and some of them are very unusual; a few are funny.
  3. Give them the following examples and have the students find the locations on the map:
     
    • India: Monsoon and Elephanta
    • Africa: Haboob and Sirocco
    • Alaska: Williwaw
    • United States Rockies: Chinook
    • Australia: Cockeyed Bob
    • China: Kwat
    • Argentina: Pamperos

     
  4. Ask: If you had a chance to name a wind, what would you call it?  Why? Where would it blow? What kind of a wind would it be? What weather would it bring?
  5. Give them a choice of writing:
     
    • A story about their imaginary wind
    • A report about one of the winds above or another that interests them

     
  6. Students can publish their stories and reports in the Student Area section of this project.

 

 

 
 
 

 

 
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