The Topic:  Wind Easier - Wind is air that moves over the earth's surface. Wind is moving air. Wind can move so softly that it can hardly be felt. Or it may blow so hard and fast that it smashes over trees and buildings.   Harder - Wind is often defined as the horizontal movement of air relative to the earth's surface. All winds, from gentle breezes to raging hurricanes, are caused by differences in the temperature of the atmosphere, by rotation of the Earth, and by unequal heating of the continents and the oceans. The sun heats the earth's surfaces unevenly. Air above hot areas expands and rises. Air from cooler areas then flows in to replace the heated air. This process is called circulation.   There are three types of wind circulation. Circulation over the entire earth is the general circulation. Smaller-scale circulations that cause day-to-day wind changes are known as synoptic-scale circulations. Winds that occur only in one place are called local winds.     Forces and Wind: Online Meteorology Guide from University of Illinois http://ww2010.atmos.uiuc.edu/(Gh)/guides/mtr/fw/home.rxml This module introduces the pressure gradient and Coriolis forces and their role in generating wind. Other Wind Reference Sites: 2) Fierce Local Winds http://www2.sunysuffolk.edu/mandias/honors/student/fierce_winds/index.htm  3) Forces Acting to Create Wind http://www.geog.ouc.bc.ca/physgeog/contents/7n.html 4) Names of Wind http://ggweather.com/winds.html 5) What Makes Wind at the National Weather Service http://www.nws.noaa.gov/er/mhx/windg.htm 6) Where Wind Comes From at Kite Science http://www.gombergkites.com/nkm/wind1.html 7) Wind http://205.67.213.10/Information/Wind/WIND.htm 8) Wind http://www.cnmoc.navy.mil/pub/wxtalk/wind.htm 9) Winds and Global Circulation (Chapter 5) http://www2.una.edu/geography/classes/ge101/101ch5.html   What and Why of Wind at USA Today  http://www.usatoday.com/weather/wwind0.htm This site has a wind calculator link for estimating wind speed and direction, and jumps to discussions of different wind types (some blow uphill, others down), wind chill, how winds form, jet stream formation, the jet stream's influence on weather conditions, wind flow patterns (including the "Pineapple Express") and wind shear.   Wind at Franklin Institute http://sln.fi.edu//tfi/units/energy/wind.html Enemy or ally? Friend or foe? Our relationship with the wind is often uncertain. Learn more about our fierce friend by exploring the science of wind energy. Related Websites: 2) Wind: Our Fierce Friend from Millville School http://205.121.65.141/millville/teachers/carles/Carles94_95/wind/wind.htm 3) Studying Wind Using Hands-on Science http://hillside.coled.umn.edu/Wind/Wind.html 4) Wind http://cmp1.ucr.edu/exhibitions/hoffer/home/hoffer.wind.html   Wind Energy (Chapter 10) at The Energy Story  http://www.energy.ca.gov/education/story/story-html/chapter10.html Learn about wind energy and how it is used to produce electricity and mechanical energy. Other Sites on Wind Energy: 2) Wind Power (Grade 7-12) http://solstice.crest.org/renewables/re-kiosk/wind/index.shtml 3) Windpower http://www.windpower.dk/ 4) Wind in a Minute http://www.nrel.gov/wind/windfact.html 5) National Wind Technology Center from National Renewable Energy Laboratory http://www.nrel.gov/wind/ 6) Wind Energy Program from U.S. Department of Energy http://www.eren.doe.gov/wind/ 7) Wind Power-Part I at About.com http://energyindustry.about.com/library/weekly/aa071299.htm 8) Wind Power-Part II at About.com http://energyindustry.about.com/library/weekly/aa072699.htm 9) Wind Energy at About.com http://environment.about.com/msubae3.htm   After visiting several of the websites, complete one or more of the following 'windy' activities.   Celebrate National Kite Month . . .   Go Fly a Kite! But before you do that, make your own kite. Go to 20 Kids * 20 Kites * 20 Minutes and Learn2 Make a Kite to get ideas and procedures for making your kite. For more complex designs visit Tetrahedron Kites. Or you may want to try making some other wind gadgets following the drawings found at Flight Experiments from The Children's Museum of Indianapolis. Before you try out your new kite, check your local kite flying weather conditions and review sites like Rules for Safe Kite Flying.   Build Your Own Wind Observation Station. Get started with a visit to Observing Wind at the Miami Museum of Science. Follow the directions for making your own wind measurement tools. Don't forget to make an Anemometer from directions at the Franklin Institute--or at Make a Anemometer. After constructing the needed tools, begin keeping a daily record of your wind observations. Consider recording data at the same time every day - - for example taking measurements in the morning, at noon, and in the afternoon. You also might use the online Wind Chill Calculator and Wind Speed Unit Conversion.   Create Your Own Wind Whirlygig. For ideas, go to Create Your Own Wild Wind Whirlygig at About.com. You can order a kit, but it might be more fun and challenging to build your own creation from scratch. Have a contest with your friends or classmates. Display your projects.   Write a Wind Poem. If you need to know more about poetry, first go to Poetry for Kids. Then write some of your own poems about wind. You might include a simile like 'the wind roared in like a lion.'   Websites By Kids For Kids Channel Wind: Silent Force of Nature (1999 ThinkQuest Project)  http://library.thinkquest.org/28035/ Here you can learn what is wind, the different types of wind, how man uses wind, and the destructive nature of wind as well as links to other wind sites.   All About Wind  http://www.gahanna.k12.oh.us/schools/MSS/weather/7th/winds/index.html This website presents facts about wind.   Good Friday and Bermuda Kites (1996 Cyberfair Project at St George's Prep School, Bermuda)  http://cyberfair.gsn.org/gprep/kites.html Learn about a tradition of flying kites on Good Friday in Bermuda, rules for safte kite flying, and how to make a kite.   Wind Erosion (Grade 5, Princess Margaret School)  http://www.resd.mb.ca/schools/princess.margaret/changing_earth/erosion/wind_erosion.html This brief website examines wind erosion.   Wind at Weather on the Web (5th grade project. Shabonee School, Northbrook, IL)  http://shabonee.northbrook27.k12.il.us/archives/WeatherWeb/KarenLesliew . . . This student-produced website about winds has good information and a few links.   Winds at Weather (6th grade project, CA)  http://www.foshay.k12.ca.us/Curriculum/Science/Public%20Science%20Day/ . . . This page describes global and local winds.   Winds and Weather (Section of Weather, a ThinkQuest Junior project)  http://tqjunior.advanced.org/5818/globalwinds.html This webpage examines global and local winds.   More Windy Websites From Windmills to Whirligigs  http://www.sci.mus.mn.us/sln/vollis/ This site provides a unique science and art connection to wind. Here you can tour Simpson's farm and see close-ups of how his fanciful windmills work. Another Great Windmill Site: 2) Windmills http://www.geocities.com/Yosemite/1001/windmill.htm   KITEcast  http://kitecast.com/ This is the spot to get kite weather information along with articles, tips, and other unique kite information features. Other Kite Websites: 2) Kid Kite Web by B. Childers http://home.everestkc.net/bchilders/KKWeb/ 3) Kite History: A Simple History of Kiting http://www.gombergkites.com/nkm/hist1.html 4) Kites as an Educational Tool http://www.gombergkites.com/nkm/index.html 5) History of Kites in Japan and Other Parts of the World http://www.art.unt.edu/ntieva/artcurr/japan/kites.htm   Shape Tutorial for a Cross Country Glider Flight  http://www.patprojects.org/glider/aovt/tutintro.htm This introduction to glider aeronautics was developed as an aid for educators and learners who are interested in aeronautics as demonstrated by the flight of a glider. Another Windsport Instruction Site: 2) Riding the Winds http://abetech.com.tw/users/chris.wu/lesson/winds-lesson.htm   Wind at Dan's Wild Weather Page, D. Satterfield, WHNT-TV, Huntsville, AL  http://www.whnt19.com/kidwx/wind.htm This site tells all about wind and its relationship to our changing weather.   Wind Information at the American Association for Wind Engineering  http://www.civil.buffalo.edu/aawe/aawe-text/windinfo/windinfo.htm Site contains lots of information about wind, severe wind, and much more.   Wind Storms, Gust Fronts & Outflow http://www.chaseday.com/wind.htm This site provides background information and images of damage that can be caused by wind storms.   Websites for Teachers Bubble Fun and Learning at KinderArt (Preschool and Kindergarten)  http://www.kinderart.com/across/bubbles.htm Youngsters can learn about the wind and the colors in the sky while sharpening observation skills.   Blowin' in the Wind  http://nesen.unl.edu/teacher/activities/weather/priwind.html Students will learn how wind is created on earth, identify good and bad effects of the wind, make a weather vane and practice using it, and understand what a wind gauge/anemometer does.   Lessons on Wind  http://www.sln.fi.edu/fellows/fellow6/may99/May%20Project/windlessons.html Here you find a few links to lessons for wind and kites.   Ride the Wind at Teaching Online (Grade 3-5)  http://www.teachingonline.org/wind.html This is a cross-curricular lesson involving science, art, math, and music.   Soar Into Spring With Kites! at Education World  http://www.education-world.com/a_lesson/lesson056.shtml Soar out of the winter doldrums with a lesson plan both you and your students are sure to enjoy. Related Websites: 2) Kindergarten Air and Space Transportation Unit http://www.dot.state.mn.us/aeronautics/AVEDU/CURRICULA/OLSON/do_aero.html 3) Kites in the Classroom http://www.kfs.org/kites/zoo/class.html 4) National Kite Month Teacher Resources http://kitetrade.org/NationalKiteMonth/teachrsc.shtml   Teach at Channel Wind  http://library.thinkquest.org/28035/Preweb/index.html This site has activities to focus on characteristics of wind, forces that cause wind, the effects of wind, and wind as a viable source of renewable energy for the 21st century.   Understanding Wind Direction and Making a Wind Vane at AskEric Lessons (Grade K-3)  http://askeric.org/Virtual/Lessons/Science/Meteorology/MET0022.html Wind vanes have been used to measure wind direction for hundreds of years. The students will make wind vanes and decorate them with symbols that represent their interests.   Wind at Wind, Water & Sun (Grade K-3)  http://data.4j.lane.edu:591/wws/windhome.html This site has lesson activities for a wind observation walk, sailboats, windmills, wind cars, and more.   windsock kite sailing weathervane thunderstorm Beaufort's scale wind energy solar wind pinwheel windmill tornado wind chill prevailing winds density low pressure wind speed wind direction North wind Jet Stream weather balloon anemometer wind farm names of wind wind instrument gust wind storm light solar energy surface wind trade winds wind flow wind turbine sun wind tunnel wind westerlies wind tail wind Doldrums El Nino Coriolis Effect sea breeze 'mariah' draft 'chinook' 'santa ana' upwind easterlies       Created by Annette Lamb and Larry Johnson, 4/00. Updated, 01/02.