Unit Overview
In Catching the Wind: Designing Windmills, students explore the forces of wind and weather and their many applications in engineering. The unit begins with the storybook Leif Catches the Wind, in which a boy named Leif living in Denmark explores the field of Mechanical Engineering in order to build a windmill to save a friend’s fish. Over the course of the unit, students analyze the structures of different types of machines and compare different technologies that use wind energy. Like Leif, students then follow the steps of the Engineering Design Process to imagine, plan, create, and improve their own windmill blades.
Core Program Unit Components
We recommend one Educator Guide per teacher, one Storybook per student, and one Materials Kit per 30 learners. Together, these components create a high-quality, hands-on STEM learning experience.
Designing Windmills Materials Kit and Educator Guide are currently unavailable. Materials kit will be back in stock Spring 2025. Contact us at 617-589-0230 or yes@mos.org with questions.
Program Components
Educator Guide includes Print + Digital Access
Print + Digital:
- Printed copy of the Educator Guide containing instructions to facilitate the unit
- One (1) copy of the printed accompanying Storybook
- Digital access to the Educator Guide via yes.mos.org/curricula
- Digital PDF of the Storybook
Additional Program Components
- Storybook
- Available in print and digital for individual purchase to accommodate any class size
- Materials Kit
- Includes materials to support 30 learners
Ten Resources for Diverse Learners
As a set of high-impact resources, the Resources for Diverse Learners are designed to help remove distractions and decrease literacy demands so that all students can succeed in engineering and problem solving. They contain built-in vocabulary support, suggestions for objects to create context and background, multiple points of entry for different learning styles, and multiple ways for learners to express understanding meet the needs of today’s diverse classroom.
| Resource for Diverse Learners | Included in the Teacher Guide | Packaged with the Teacher Guide | Included in Digital Unit |
| Student Discussion Support | * | * | * |
| Teacher Discussion Support | * | * | * |
| English Learner Strategies | * | * | * |
| Differentiation Duplication Masters | * | * | * |
| Flip book StorybookEnglish and Spanish1 | * | * | |
| Character Cards1 | * | * | |
| Visual Vocabulary Cards1 | * | * | |
| Illustrated Engineering Design Poster - English | 8.5x11in. included (available for sale in 20x30 in.) |
* | |
| Illustrated Engineering Design Poster - Spanish | 8.5x11in. included (available for sale in 20x30 in.) |
* | |
| Materials Reference Sheet1 | * | * | |
| Alternative Lesson Progression | * |
1 Spanish version available in the Digital Unit only.
Create a STEM mindset. Implement engineering with fidelity. Partner with EiE to create a culture of STEM and problem solving and you learn best practices for teaching STEM and share knowledge through Team Professional Days, EiE training courses and Teacher-in- Residence programs. Explore our professional development programs and start with STEM.
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