Doe Boyle Hear the Wind Blow: Learning to Recognize the Visible Signs of Air in Motion

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Program Type Residency
Art Form Literary Arts & Storytelling
Curriculum/a STEM | Environmental Awareness
Target Grades Elementary School (1st - 5th grade)
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"Having the opportunity to work with AFLCT has been truly beneficial; they've provided unique experiences that have positively impacted our students. Their professional artists are strong role-models who encouraged students to take risks, find their voices, and be confident young people. They assisted in the process of inspiring our students to discover their individual identities and be able to self-assuredly express and share their ideas and opinions."

Description

Let’s find out how to watch the wind and predict an oncoming storm! Join author Doe Boyle for a poetic exploration of the ways that visible physical signs can help us "see" the wind--the invisible force of air on the move! This workshop introduces wind science and the Beaufort Wind Force Scale of wind velocity.

Objectives

This interactive STEAM-centered workshop is designed for classes, groups, and families who have read Doe’s book, HEAR THE WIND BLOW. Hear the Wind Blow illustrates the stages of the Beaufort wind scale, portrayed with precision and also with poetic free verse, style, and imagination. This book will stretch readers' imaginations as they see the wind pick up from a kiss of air, to a gentle breeze that shivers the shifting grasses, to a roiling hurricane that makes tree roots shudder.

Please be sure that all students have read the book. In this workshop, I’ll read aloud from HEAR THE WIND BLOW and will share the story of how I came to write on the topic of air on the move; how I researched the Beaufort Wind Force Scale, which provides the visible signs of wind velocity; what I discovered that most surprised me; and how I created the poetic text that describes the rising and falling of a windstorm--and its aftermath. With students, I will explore the "visible signs" chart of the Scale and will explore the international symbols for such varied weather conditions such as fog, mist, thunderstorms, and hurricanes.

I will provide links to activity sheets, films, and online resources and books that will align my visit with Next Generation Science Standards on weather systems. For multi-day residencies, we will observe the wind and other weather conditions together and create original observations in verse; we can make pinwheels, windsocks, and kites, with faculty agreement.

Pricing Information

$880 a day for 4 workshops a day.

Program Length

45-60 minutes per class
3-5 sessions

Participants

15-35 students per class

Technical Specifications

In some circumstances, Doe may wish to use classroom technology such as a Smartboard or a projection system to show images that may assist learners. Otherwise, standard classroom materials for writing and illustration may be necessary; paper, pens, pencils, markers, colored pencils, watercolor paints, collage supplies, scissors, and glue will be helpful as students write poems about the wind, rain, and weather conditions they have observed. With faculty agreement, Doe may also offer instructions and a materials list for creation of pinwheels, wind chimes, kites, and other wind-related objects.