How does wind move objects?

The Best Day Ever! This is the Best Day!

 I heard those words over and over again the day we flew our Kites. My students were so excited. They had decorated their Kites, assembled them, and couldn’t wait to take them out for a test drive. I guess that’s what I must have been like when I got my Driver’s License! Ready to take the car out for a Spin!

The Kites that we ordered from Donors Choose were so easy for the students to put together and especially for them to fly. They were amazed that all they had to do was basically walk outside, raise the Kite and let go. I wish you could have seen their faces! Several students had never even flown a Kite before, so imagine what that day meant to them.

Do my students know how wind moves objects? You bet they do! In one moment 22 Kites are flying high, and then just a couple of minutes later only 1 or 2 were still up. What a great moment for us to discuss why that happened. All I had to do was say, “Guys why aren’t you still flying your Kites? What happened?” They immediately told me there wasn’t enough wind to make their Kites fly.

Can a textbook explain that same concept? Of course it could, but it wouldn’t be as meaningful to students as the day they saw it happen right before their eyes. This is my second year in a row to fly Kites with my students and it has to be one of my favorite experiences. Because of the Kites, they not only learned the required content, they experienced it and can explain what happens with enthusiasm.