Busy Winds

by Irma Simonton Black

Illustrated by Robert Quackenbush

Reading activities for 4th grade

Busy Winds begins with . . .

Blow, spring wind, and bring soft rain.

Blow, summer breeze, softly blow.

Blow, fall gusts, chase the leaves again.

Blow, winter wind, over the snow.

There are many kinds of wind.

Read this book and do these activities to find out about different kinds of winds and why they occur. Learn about the gentle wind that turns a pinwheel or blows a kite, to the stormy weather such as tornados and hurricanes. Read about where winds come from and what makes them blow around the earth.

Before you read . . .

Activity 1: Make a pinwheel - Have fun with creating your own pinwheel using this link for directions. Pinwheel

Activity 2: Experiment with different levels of wind intensity. Go to this link for directions. Experiment

Activity 3: Print and complete this K-W-L Chart to list what you know, what you want to know, and what you learn as you read this book. K-W-L

Reading......

Activity 4: Go here to find out what your local weather forecast is today by putting in your zip code. Weather forecast

Activity 5: Create a virtual tornado! See what causes a tornado to form and what happens when it hits. Follow this link: Tornado

Activity 6: Create your own hurricane. Follow this link: Hurricane

Activity 7: Why does the wind blow? What does the wind carry? Go to this link to learn more about wind and try the fun experiment that goes with it. (Check out the links to find out more about hurricanes and tornadoes.) Wind

Go to this worksheet and write in your own words why the winds blow. Worksheet

After Reading . . .

Activity 8: Make a paper airplane based on a pattern by Ken Blackburn, who has set a world record for keeping paper airplanes in flight. Learn more by going to this site. Paper Airplane

Activity 9: Make you own kite to fly on a windy day. Go to this link for directions. Kite

Go here to self assess your work. Rubric

About the Author . . .

Irma Simonton Black, born in 1906, wrote several books in this series. Along with Busy Winds, she wrote Busy Water and Busy Seeds. Irma Simonton Black was a writer and editor of children's books and a founding member in the 1930's of the Bank Street Writers Laboratory. This group included other writers such as Margaret Wise Brown and Maurice Sendak. The Irma Simonton Black and James H. Black Award for Excellence in Children's Literature has been awarded annually since 1973. The award is made to an outstanding book for children in which the text and illustrations enhance the other for a complete work.