Energy

Let's make a pinwheel

Use construction paper, a pencil and a thumbtack to demonstrate how wheels spin.

Grade

K-4

Duration

30 mins

Type

Hands on

Overview

When wheels move, they can generate energy. The movement of wheels depends on what they are made of and what forces are acting on them. By designing and creating simple pinwheels, your students can explore these variables.

BC Hydro

Instructions

What you'll need

Bring a sample pinwheel to show the class as an example
Cut some construction paper into 8.5-inch x 8.5-inch squares, or source square paper of various sizes and weights
Scissors
Pencils with erasers on the end
Thumbtacks
Erasers cut into small pieces to cover the pointy ends of the tacks
Pencil crayons and markers

Before you get into making pinwheels, get your students to start brainstorming. You can have them call out different things that spin while you list them on the board. As a group, talk about what makes things spin.

Building pinwheels

Start by decorating both sides of the paper. Small pictures and designs work best.
On the squares, draw two diagonal lines from corner to corner.

From each of the four corners, cut towards the centre, about two-thirds of the way.

Fold alternating corners towards the centre of the square paper and push a thumbtack through the four corners.

Next, stick the thumbtack into the eraser at the end of a pencil. If the pointy end of the thumbtack sticks out, use one of the small pieces of eraser to cover it.

Troubleshooting

If the pinwheels aren’t spinning very well, try the following:

Make the thumbtack hole through the paper a little bigger so it can move freely by wiggling the pinwheel against the tack
Pull the tack out from the eraser a little bit so the pinwheel isn’t dragging

Further exploration

Use different materials to create more pinwheels. As a group, talk about:

What makes pinwheels spin faster?
What happens if you change the size of the paper?
When the pinwheel spins, what happens to the designs on the paper?
What other things could be changed when building a pinwheel, and what would be the effect of that change?

Curriculum Fit

Applied Design, Skills and Technologies K, 1, 2, 3

Curricular competencies

Applied design - making

Choose tools and materials
Make a product using known procedures or through modelling of others
Use trial and error to make changes, solve problems, or incorporate new ideas from self or other

Applied design - sharing

Use personal preferences to evaluate the success of their design solutions

Applied skills

Use materials, tools, and technologies in a safe manner in both physical and digital environments
Develop their skills and add new ones through play and collaborative work

Applied technologies

Explore the use of simple, available tools and technologies to extend their capabilities

Science 1, 2

Curricular competencies

Questioning and predicting

Make simple predictions about familiar objects and events

Planning and conducting

Safely manipulate materials to test ideas and predictions

Processing and analyzing data and information

Compare observations with predictions through discussion
Identify simple patterns and connections

Evaluating

Compare observations with those of others

Science 3, 4

Content

Devices that transform energy (Grade 4)

Curricular competencies

Questioning and predicting

Make predictions based on prior knowledge

Planning and conducting

Collect simple data

Processing and analyzing data and information

Compare results with predictions, suggesting possible reasons for findings

Evaluating

Make simple inferences based on their results and prior knowledge

Teaching Notes

You can use the pinwheel activity to introduce and explore various science topics including:

Kindergarten Science: The motion of objects depends on their properties; weather changes; Indigenous Peoples' knowledge of seasonal changes
Grade 1 Science: Local patterns that occur on Earth and in the sky
Grade 2 Science: Forces influence the motion of an object
Grade 4 Science: Energy can be transformed