University of Manitoba

EDUB 2260-A33 Teaching Biology in Senior Years

Winter 2015

Page 1
! of 3
!

Created by Ashley Borgstrom (2015).

Title: Introduction to Wind and Ocean Currents

Grade level: Senior 2

Unit: Science - Cluster 4: Weather Dynamics

GLOs: A2, A4, A5, B1, C2, C3, C4, C5, C6, C7, C8, D5, E2, E4

SLOs: S2-4-03

Cluster 0 (S2-0-): 1a, 1c, 2d, 3a, 4d, 4e, 4f, 6a, 7a, 7e, 8c, 8d, 8e, 9a, 9d
Objective:
Students should understand effects of heat transfer within the atmosphere and hydrosphere
on the development and movement of wind and ocean currents (Manitoba Curriculum)
Additional focus put on effects of currents on migrational patterns of animals and resulting
implications on Indigenous lifestyle regarding hunting.
Aboriginal Perspective Methods: storytelling, circle representation, ball toss game/movement
activity, history inclusion, cooperative and experiential learning-focused
Rationale for Activity:
By conducting a science lesson in this nature students are actively involved and collaborating
with other students in the learning process. Including a story invites interest and imagination
while adding a perspective to why this content is important in that it has actual affects on
Canadian people, creating connection and relevance between students and the material. The
historical component is cross-curricular and allows students to contrast early approaches to
life on Earth regarding a scientific topic, provoking critical thinking and problem solving. The
learning is further extended by going beyond the systems of currents and considering what
changes and patterns they produce throughout the world, emphasizing the
interconnectedness between science and life. Much consideration was given to multimodalities, universal design for learning, community building, and Aboriginal perspectives in
the preparation of this lesson.
Materials Needed:

In advance:

Blank sheets of white paper (for mind-map)

Collect all items under

materials to have ready
before class

Small slips of paper (for exit slip)

Bill Nye video
4-6 soft balls (preferably foam)
Caribou Song book

If possible mark off

circles where the activity
will take place

Timeframe and Description of Activities:

0 10 min

Activate: Ask students to get together with the person beside them and
brainstorm what they know about wind and ocean currents, creating a mindmap of their ideas on blank sheets of paper. If they are having trouble getting
started, prompt the class to focus on the Ws; why currents happen, what and
who they affect, when and where they take place, how conditions differ around
the world, their relation to weather, etc. Write these items at the front of the
room so students can refer to them throughout this process. Circulate the room
to monitor progress.

University of Manitoba
EDUB 2260-A33 Teaching Biology in Senior Years
Winter 2015

Page 2
! of 3
!

10 15 min

Once each pair of students has a good collection of ideas, ask to hear from the
various teams to share with the entire class and encourage students to add
missing ideas to their maps. Challenge ideas that are unclear or incorrect as to
not reinforce misconceptions.

15 20 min

Acquire: Introduce Bill Nyes video about wind, emphasizing students pay close
attention. After the video, check understanding by asking questions such as,
What causes the movement of air? Why does colder air sink and warmer air
rises? What effect does the rotation of Earth have on air movement? etc. Then
initiate the next activity, informing students that we are going to practice some
of these actions as a class.

20 45 min

Acquire/Apply: This activity works best with lots of space for the entire class to
move free of obstacles. The teacher should also participate with the students.
Clear the tables and chairs to the sides of the room, use the gym, or most
preferably, conduct this activity outside (it is the weather unit, after all).
The first task is to have students form two equal lines facing each other. Using
what they learned from the video, they will recreate the air movement by
alternating underhand (cool air) and overhand (warm air) tosses back and forth
across and down the lines. When successfully done once or twice, propose
some questions to the class: Do you think this is the way air moves over
Earth? What happens when you get to the end of the line? Air never stops
moving, so how can we fix this and make it more like Earth?. Hopefully
students will suggest forming circles to represent the shape of the planet.
One line of the students form the inner circle and one forms the outer, still
facing each other. Using the over-under technique, students would begin
tossing the ball around the circle creating a continuous flow, add in the
additional balls to represent constant circulation around the world. Now suggest
the idea of the Earths rotation, leading into the Coriolis Effect.
At this point (depending on the size of the class), have students form one (or
two) large circle(s) with everyone facing in (having the circle(s) marked is an
added bonus). One student would start with the ball and would be asked to pick
someone on the other side to throw it to. The person who catches it does the
same and so on. After about 30 seconds, ask the student with the ball to hold it
and for everyone to start moving in the circle (all same direction). As students
are moving ask the student to try and throw the ball to a specified person, it will
miss the person intended and hit someone to the side of the target, displaying
a similar effect to the Coriolis. Have the students continue to try this, changing
the speed to see what happens.
Lastly, sit as a class in the circle and discuss the results of the activities.

45 70 min

Apply Contd: While still in the circle, read/dramatize the Caribou Song to the
students. After the story invite the students into discussion about what the story
has to do with what we have been learning in this unit (using one of the balls as
a talking stick to be respectful of others). This last task ties in the earlier
lessons (seasons, sun radiation, etc) of the unit to the current class and
extends the learning by having the students apply the story to the science of
how weather patterns incur other patterns on Earth, such as animal migration.
This also gives the students a historical perspective about Indigenous people of
Canada, as well as how weather as a science affects life for living things on
Earth, emphasizing that everything is intertwined and relies on a balance, and
should be respected and appreciated.

University of Manitoba
EDUB 2260-A33 Teaching Biology in Senior Years
Winter 2015

70 75 min

Page 3
! of 3
!

With the last 5 minutes of class, instruct students to write down 3 things they
learned from todays class and hand them in as their ticket out of class.
Allowing you to evaluate what was absorbed and/or missed.

NOTES:
During this class you would be using ongoing assessment FOR learning from the mind-maps,
discussions, and student conversations to check new understanding/developing clarity.
Students will also being using assessment AS learning when collaborating during the activator
and exchanging their ideas throughout the rest of the class.
The following class will involve a more assessment OF learning approach where we will look
further at where the role of ocean currents fits in to what we have learned thus far and
observe the system interactions as a whole. The options for displaying their understanding will
be an open-ended project in which they will have the choice of delivery to encourage
engagement with the content, creativity, and deeper learning.
References:
1. Nye, B. (2009). Bill Nye the science guy on wind [Television series clip]. In Bill Nye The
Science Guy. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uBqohRu2RRk
2. Highway, T., & Rombough, J. (2013). Caribou song. Fifth House.