This lesson provided by: Author: Meghan Everette
System: Mobile County School: George Hall Elementary
Title: Sailing on the Wind
Overview/Annotation:
This is a hands-on lesson that uses science and the steps of the Engineering Design Process to determine important properties in sail design materials and learn how to harness wind power. Students will learn that a problem can be solved in different ways using different materials, properties of materials change its effectiveness, conducting tests help determine versatility of materials, and that wind can be harnessed to do work.
This lesson is adapted from Catching the Wind: Designing Windmills, Lesson 3: Testing Sail Designs (produced by the Museum of Boston for the Engaging Youth in Engineering program.) Visit for more information.
This lesson plan was created as a result of the Girls Engaged in Math and Science, GEMS Project funded by the Malone Family Foundation.
Content Standard(s):
SC(3) 13. Describe ways to sustain natural resources, including recycling, reusing, conserving, and protecting the environment.
SC(4) 4. Describe effects of friction on moving objects.
SC(5) 4. Describe forms of energy, including chemical, heat, light, and mechanical.
MA2010(3) 18. Draw a scaled picture graph and a scaled bar graph to represent a data set with several categories. Solve one- and two-step "how many more" and "how many less" problems using information presented in scaled bar graphs. [3-MD3]
MA2010(3)
19. Generate measurement data by measuring lengths using rulers marked with halves and fourths of an inch. Show the data by making a line plot where the horizontal scale is marked off in appropriate units - whole numbers, halves, or quarters. [3-MD4]
MA2010(4)
19. Know relative sizes of measurement units within one system of units, including km, m, cm; kg, g; lb, oz; l, ml; and hr, min, sec. Within a single system of measurement, express measurements in a larger unit in terms of a smaller unit. Record measurement equivalents in a two-column table. [4-MD1]
Local/National Standards:
ITEA National Standards and Benchmark
2D Different materials are used in making things
2J Materials have many different properties
8A Everyone can design solutions to a problem
10A Asking questions and making observations helps a person to figure out how things work
MA Engineering & Technology Standards
1.1 (3-5) Identify materials used to accomplish a design task based on a specific property.
As a result of activities in grades K-4, all students should develop
· Abilities necessary to do scientific inquiry · Understanding about scientific inquiry
-As a result of the activities in grades K-4, all students should develop an understanding of
· Properties of objects and materials · Light, heat, electricity, and magnetism
As a result of activities in grades K-4, all students should develop
· Abilities of technological design · Understanding about science and technology · Abilities to distinguish between natural objects and objects made by humans
As a result of activities in grades K-4, all students should develop understanding of
· Types of resources · Changes in environments · Science and technology in local challenges
Primary Learning Objective(s):Students will be able to:
•Understand that wind energy can be harnessed to do useful work
•Make predictions about which materials will make the best sails
•Observe and describe how different materials and shapes catch the wind as when used as sails
•Notice that the material, shape, and size of a sail affect how well the wind can move the boat or aft to which it is attached
•Compare the performance of different sails and decide which properties have the greatest effect on sail performance
•Implement each step the Engineering Design Process
EIE Key Questions:
•What are materials? What are tools?
•How do the properties of materials affect how they can be used?
•What do creativity and careful thinking have to do with engineering?
Additional Learning Objective(s):
Extend and enhance content area vocabulary
Approximate Duration of the Lesson
Greater than 120 Minutes
Materials and Equipment:
For the Class
Rulers (meter sticks would be best)
Large Box-style Fan
Fishing Line (15-20 lb. gauge, 8’ to 10’ long pieces)
Transparent Tape
Tape, masking or duct
2 foam trays (at least 4” x 6”)
4 straws, plastic, drinking, non-flexible
Chart paper
For Each Group
Craft sticks
Coffee stirrers
3”x5” index cards
8.5” x 11” paper
Tissue paper
Dixie-style paper cups (3 or 5 oz.)
Aluminum foil
Wax paper
Felt sheets
Plastic grocery bags
Copies
Be a Mechanical Engineer! Worksheet
Sail Design Plan, Create, and Improve
Student Learning Rubric
Teacher Resources
Assembly Procedures
Sailing PowerPoint
Materials and their Properties
Technology Resources Needed:
Sailboat PPT (for vocabulary/background/examples) and a means to show students
Background/Preparation:
For Students: Share and discuss the Sailboat PowerPoint to develop a background on sails, boats, and the history of wind power with sailing.
For Teachers: Gather supplies and materials. Make copies for each group (three to five students in a group is best). Create the boat and the track. (See assembly directions)
Procedures/Activities:
Step 1
Introduce students to the Engineering Design Process (see the Engineering Design Worksheet). Tell students they need to complete a task, such as building the tallest tour using only paper. They will start to ask questions (how much paper, how tall, why...) This is the ask step. Then have students imagine what they might build and plan it on paper. You can have students create their tower and then identify ways to improve their design. Link this to the Engineering Design Process (and general problem-solving steps).
Title Engineering is Elementary
This website is the basis for the unit this lesson comes from. This particular page displays the Engineering Design Process in a .php format.
Step 2
Introduce the vocabulary needed to complete the lesson. Students with limited background might need more words before completing the task. Students need to be familiar with mast, speed, length, balance, sail, material, predict, property, and test.
Review the PowerPoint that gives a history and background while reviewing the vocabulary.
Step 3
Ask students to identify things that are affected by the wind. (Possible responses include windmills, anemometers, hair, kites, chimney smoke, leaves, etc.)
Explain that students will be building their own sail for this lesson. Possible directing questions might include: What is the purpose of the sail on a sailboat? How do you think the sail works? Have you ever seen a sailboat? What did it look like? What do you think the sail was made of? How are sails and blades on a windmill alike? What else do we use to catch wind?
Step 4
Ask the students "What properties of a sail affect how well it catches the wind?" Allow students to brainstorm. You can prompt them with questions such as:
What are some properties of a sail? Size, shape, material, stiffness, color, transparency, etc.
Which properties do you predict are most important for catching the wind?
How do you think you could test your predictions?
Guide students to the idea of creating and testing sails made with different materials. Show students the track and the raft that they will use when designing their sails. Highlight that they have just used the ask part of the Engineering Design Process. – If breaking the lesson into smaller sessions, this is a good end for session 1. --
Step 5
Tell students they will investigate the kinds of materials that can be used to make their sails. Put students into smaller groups and give each group a sample of the materials available. (Each group can have a selection of all the materials or each group can have just one material to report on.)
Display or recreate the Materials and Their Properties sheet. Fill it in as a class. If students have difficulties, ask the following:
Is the material heavy or light? What color is it? Is it stiff or floppy? Is it clear or opaque?
After filling in the chart, ask: Which of these properties do you think will be important when making a sail? Why? Which of these properties do you think will be unimportant when making a sail? Why not? Using this discussion, have students fill in the Be a Mechanical Engineer worksheet. As long as they use reasoning, there is no "wrong" answer.
You can highlight that mechanical engineers design machines or parts o a machine. They find ways to make machines work better. Link this to a sail being an important part of a machine that will make a boat go faster, safer, smoother, and more efficiently. – This can be a place to stop this session, if needed.--
Step 6
Show students the raft, track, and fan. Explain that the goal is to design a sail that will catch the wind from the fan and smoothly move the raft down the tack. These results will determine which properties of a sail were most useful in catching the wind and harnessing its power.
Demonstrate how to orient the craft stick with the widest part parallel to the short edge of the raft.
Use the Imagine, Plan, and Create worksheets to help guide students through the steps of the design process and creating and testing their sails. After creating sails (15 minutes), students bring their sail and attach it to the raft. Turn the fan on low and then high. Always have the teacher operate the fan to avoid blasting the sail. Record the distance traveled and the smoothness of each test by measuring the distance on the fishing line.
As a class review with the questions:
What worked well in your first design? How do you know?
How far did your sail travel down the track?
How could you improve your design? How will you know if it has been improved?
After students test their sail and record their findings, they should use the Improve part to amend their creations and retest.
Step 7
Use the student learning rubric to determine if students met the objectives. Review and reflect with the following questions:
What properties of a sail affect how well it catches the wind?
Which materials made the best sails? What properties do those materials have in common?
How floppy was your sail? What could improve the stability of your sail?
Which shapes worked best for the sail? How do you know?
Is the biggest sail always the best? Why or why not?
For flawed designs, ask:
Do these sails share any properties? Why did they not work as well? Is it a material issue?
In conclusion:
What do you think is the most important property to think about when designing a sail? Material? Shape? Size? Another factor?
How is designing a sail similar to the work of mechanical engineers?
What steps of the Engineering design process were at work in this activity?
Attachments:**Some files will display in a new window. Others will prompt you to download.
PlanCreate.doc
StudentSailingRubric.doc
HistoryofSailsandSailing.pptx
engineering_design_process.pdf
MaterialProperties.doc
BeaMechanicalEngineer.doc
ALEXLessonPlanEYE2012.doc
AssemblyProcedures.doc
Assessment Strategies:
Reflection questions from Step 7 and/or the attached learning rubric are the suggested ways to determine student learning.
Look for the following misconceptions:
Rafts must move fast to be successful. Slow and steady is just fine.
Bigger sails are always better.
Felt (true fabric) is best for making a sail.
The lightest materials are always best.
Racing is the point of the activity.
Look for common difficulties:
Students have trouble attaching sails to the foam raft.
Students rush to complete the sails with sloppy construction and poor results. (Glue needs to dry to work!)
Students use flimsy materials that are not supported well.
The track must be aligned so the fan is blowing in line with the sail. If the wind is not hitting a sail directly, it is not likely to move, no matter how good the design is.
Extension:
Students can develop more complex testing measures, measure more exactly, or apply this knowledge to create other wind-powered devices, such as the sails for a wind turbine or developing a new type of kite.
Remediation:
Students needing help should review the PowerPoint and make vocabulary cards. They can also go online and research more about sails and boats before making their sale. Students usually pick up on the designs that are best once they see a good test. The teacher can make a simple sail (such as one cup on a stick) and demonstrate the task. Students needing additional help can be grouped with more advanced students as well.
Each area below is a direct link to general teaching strategies/classroom accommodations for students with identified learning and/or behavior problems such as: reading or math performance below grade level; test or classroom assignments/quizzes at a failing level; failure to complete assignments independently; difficulty with short-term memory, abstract concepts, staying on task, or following directions; poor peer interaction or temper tantrums, and other learning or behavior problems.
Presentation of Material
Environment
Time Demands
Materials
Attention
Using Groups and Peers
Assisting the Reluctant Starter
Dealing with Inappropriate Behavior
Be sure to check the student's IEP for specific accommodations.