Read this to the class:
The school board wants to know if a wind turbine could help power the school. One trustee says, "Wind is free, so let's do it." Another says, "Wind doesn't always blow, and a little turbine can't do much." Before anyone spends money, the board wants evidence. Your team's job: build a wind machine, measure how much work the wind can do, and find out what makes it do more.
Teams of three, with jobs that rotate after each test: Builder (handles the machine), Timer (runs the stopwatch and counts clips), Recorder (writes results).
In the full lesson PDF
- Bet (5–10 min)
- Hunt (25 min)
- Reveal (10–15 min)
- Act (10 min)
- Extension: make electricity
- Background for the teacher
- Assessment
- Student sheet
US Letter, prints cleanly in black and white. The student sheet is on its own page, ready to photocopy.