Investigating the wind with a streamer

The idea

Wind is moving air that cannot be seen but can be measured by what it moves.

What you need

• A 1 m crepe-paper streamer taped to a 30 cm stick, one per pair
• A picture scale in four steps drawn by the class: streamer hangs down (calm), streamer lifts a little (light), streamer out sideways (moderate), streamer straight out and flapping hard (strong)
• A card compass rose with N, E, S, W for each pair, turned at each place so its N points north (the adult checks with a compass or the north arrow on the school map)
• Recording sheet: place, streamer step, direction the streamer points

How to do it

1. Predict which of the three places will be the windiest.
2. At each place the adult lines up the card compass rose with north. Stand beside it and hold the stick up at arm's length. Watch the streamer for 20 seconds.
3. Record the step on the picture scale and the letter the streamer points towards (that is where the wind is going).
4. Repeat in three places: the open oval, beside the building, under a tree.
5. Compare the three places with the prediction. Where was the wind strongest.
6. Check against the Beaufort land signs: wind felt on the face and leaves rustling is force 2; leaves and small twigs constantly moving and light flags extended is force 3.

What you should see

The streamer steps and directions recorded at the three places are compared; buildings and trees can block or turn the wind, so the places often differ in strength and sometimes in direction. Matching what the class sees to the Beaufort land descriptions gives a number: smoke rising straight up is force 0 (calm, less than 1 knot); wind felt on the face and leaves rustling is force 2 (4 to 6 knots); leaves and small twigs constantly moving and light flags extended is force 3 (7 to 10 knots). The learner knows it worked when the two partners record the same step and direction.

What changes

What you change

place in the school grounds

What you measure

streamer step on the picture scale; direction pointed

What you keep the same

• same streamer
• held at arm's length
• same 20 second watch
• same time of day

Common misconceptions

Each of these ideas is wrong, and the activity is a chance to test it.

• Wind comes from the direction the streamer points (it blows towards that direction).
• There is no wind unless you can hear it.

Safety card

Curriculum references

The NSW syllabus outcomes and Australian Curriculum v9 codes this activity supports. They are references, not a verified or complete curriculum alignment.

• Science and Technology K-6 Syllabus (2017), NESA. Current syllabus; NESA's timeline is 2026 plan and prepare, 2027 start teaching the 2024 syllabus. Code read from the official syllabus document on 2026-09-22.STe-6ES-SSTe-1WS-S
• Science and Technology K-6 Syllabus (2024), NESA. Implementation from 2027, so this code describes the future syllabus. Code read from the outcomes page on 2026-09-22. The 2024 Early Stage 1 content has no weather: 'Observe and record daily weather to identify changes and patterns' is Stage 1 content (ST1-SCI-01), so from 2027 this activity's weather science sits at Stage 1 and only this inquiry outcome applies at Early Stage 1.STE-PQU-01
• Australian Curriculum v9AC9SFH01AC9SFI01AC9SFI02AC9SFI03AC9SFI04

Sources

The pages the author read to write this activity.

1. www.scootle.edu.au/ec/search?accContentId=AC9SFH01
2. www.nsw.gov.au/education-and-training/nesa/curriculum/science/science-and-technology-k-6-2017
3. primaryconnections.org.au/v84-sequences/weather-my-world
4. primaryconnections.org.au/teaching-sequences/year-1/any-day-outdoors
5. www.spc.noaa.gov/faq/tornado/beaufort.html