“The Wind Blew,” by, Pat Hutchins
This is the second lesson in a series about the wind for primary students. In the first science lesson, the students learned about the wind. This is an extension of the activity, to add writing to the lesson plan and to teach with picture books.
The Wind Blew, by, Pat Hutchins
A windy day
Chart paper and markers
White or manilla construction paper (best 12″ x 18″)
Prior Knowledge and Process
The class should review the previous lesson about the wind. Review scientific terms, wind, weather, air, force, and what the wind can do.
Read the book, The Wind Blew, by Pat Hutchins. Talk to the students about what the wind was able to blow on the windy day in the book. Tell the students that they will be going outside to see if they can find things that the wind blows. Discuss what happened in the story when the wind ‘died down.’
- Take the students outside. Guide the students to see things they may not otherwise notice, like the clouds. Once inside, have the students journal by pictures, labels, or sentences, what the wind blew.
- Tell the students that they will make a predictable chart and class book based upon their experience with the wind.
- Children dictate their sentence, “The Wind Blew…” and the teacher writes them on a chart. This will take 1-2 class periods.
- The students touch and read their sentence (for practice reading, finding sight words, or beginning/ending sounds.) Again, usually this will take 1-2 class periods.
- The teacher cuts apart the each sentence into the words. The student reassembles the sentence, glues it onto the construction paper, and draws a picture that depicts the sentence.
- Once the glue has dried, the teacher staples the pages together to create a class book called, “The Wind Blew.”
- Can the students tell you what the wind blew?
- Can the students create a sentence and read it back?
- Does the illustration match the picture?
- For an older class, or to differentiate instruction, students can rewrite the sentence independently with or without the sentence strip as a guide.
A predictable chart is a chart of structured sentences, written about a shared experience by the class. A predictable chart has a pattern (Hall & Williams, 2001). In this lesson, the pattern is, the wind blew. Using a predictable chart to teach students sentence structure and writing will increase confidence. In the beginning, the students are reading by memory, but as their understanding of words, phonemes, and sentence structure matures, they will read the sentences. Pat Cunningham is best known for her work with predictable charts. Included below is a great teacher resource to learn about and use predictable charts in the classroom and a source of reference for this lesson plan.
This post is part of the series: Kindergarten Science Lessons
- Blow Wind, Blow! A Blustery Lesson for Kindergarten
- The Wind Blew: A Predictable Chart Science Lesson Plan
- Celebrate Women's History With a Brown Paper Bag Kite