Hi, everybody.

It's Mr. Brown.

Looking forward to working with you on this lesson of making your windmill, and looking forward to seeing what you can come up with and all the different ideas that you've got and how we can make these windmills really stable but also looking fabulous.

So, without further ado, let's get on and we'll look at the lesson outcome and the learning cycles.

Today's learning outcome is to make a windmill freestanding, and we're gonna be talking about exactly what that means over the next few slides.

So, keywords that we're going to be focusing on throughout this slide deck and throughout this lesson.

The first one is ballast.

Now, ballast is a heavy material used to keep something upright or in position.

Structure, structure is how something is built or put together.

Freestanding is something standing up by itself.

And stable is something in place and will not fall over.

The learning cycles today.

We've got three learning cycles within this lesson.

We're gonna be focusing on windmill structures.

We're going to be looking at making the windmill structure stable.

And then we're gonna be thinking about finishing the windmill.

Let's get on with learning cycle one, windmill structures.

So, when we're thinking about windmills, they do come in different shapes and sizes.

And you've got four examples there.

They all look, there are some similarities, but actually, there are also differences as well.

So we've got one that's square, one that's round, tall and thin, and short and wide.

Now, they've all got different shaped structures, and a structure means how something is built.

And all structures can look different.

Like I said, they can look different.

They can have some similarities.

They've all got sails there.

There are some similar shapes there, but they are in different shapes and sizes.

Check for understanding now.

True or false? All windmills look the same.

Is that true, or is that.

Right, of course, it's false.

Now, there are, as we said earlier, some similarities, but not all windmills look exactly the same.

But why? So windmills come in lots of different shapes and sizes, and designers often design windmills to look different to make them look unique.

And unique means individual or its own design, and that's what designers are trying to do.

They might use some of the aspects of designs from previous windmills, but they're trying to think of their own ways of doing it too.

Windmills need to be freestanding.

Now, freestanding means that they stand up on their own and they don't fall over.

So something that stands up, doesn't fall over on its own without any support, that is an object that is called freestanding.

So, here's some examples.

We have a plastic bottle, a glue stick, a chair.

Have a look around you in the classroom now.

Can you spot anything that's freestanding? Okay, I'm sure you found lots of different ideas there.

Now, some things do need to be supported so that they can stand up by themselves.

They might not be able to do that, or they might not be very strong, so they might need some extra support so that they can stand up by themselves.

So a tree, for example, doesn't just sit on top of the ground.

It has roots underneath the ground that really help hold it into the ground.

A windmill or houses have foundations which are dug into the ground, similar to a tree.

So your house or houses or big buildings that you see will have foundations which are dug to help keep the houses or the buildings stable.

It's important to think about materials when we're trying to make a windmill, and certainly when we're trying to make structures of a windmill.

So windmills need to be strong because of course, they're gonna be blown about a lot by the wind, so they're probably gonna be in very windy places.

They need to be freestanding, and they need to look like a windmill, and they need to have sails that turn in the wind.

Now, what we're going to be doing when you're making your windmill is trying to use different recyclable materials.

And by choosing them, we can choose very carefully about the sorts of materials we're going to use and how we might choose certain materials that are gonna be better at being more stable than others.

You might choose a plastic bottle or a cardboard box or a tube or something else.

These are just some ideas.

You might have your own ideas.

So, I want you to think about the materials that you might choose to make the tower for your windmill.

Remember, we're just thinking about the tower here.

We're not thinking about the sails.

So for the main part of the building, what are you going to use? I'm sure you've come up with lots of different ideas.

And maybe some of you have chosen some of the materials that are here, but maybe you've come up with your own ideas too.

Okay, now, here's an example of some children talking about building their own windmills.

And they've talked about the sorts of shape they're going to be making the windmill and thinking about how big the windmill's actually going to be and thinking about the materials that they're gonna use to make the tower on their windmill.

So after discussing all of the different materials that they could use, the children noticed a few things.

So Sam noticed that using a plastic bottle might actually be quite hard to cut.

And Jacob thought that using cardboard was gonna be best, so he's gonna use a cardboard box or a tube.

Now, when you are choosing your material that you are gonna be making the tower of the windmill, I'd like you to think about how easy it might be to shape the material, to cut the material, and also how to decorate it.

So how easy will it be to shape, cut, or decorate your material? Check for understanding now.

A windmill needs to be, A, be flexible, B, be strong, C, have sails that turn in the wind, or D, be made from wood.

Which do you think? That's correct, it's a windmill needs to be strong.

It does also need to have sails that turn in the wind.

Onto task A.

So this is the first task, three tasks today.

So your first task is to choose a recyclable material to make a freestanding structure for your windmill.

Talk to your classmates, get some ideas.

Talk about why you have chosen the material you have chosen.

Consider, remember, how easy it is to cut, to shape, or to decorate.

Your first task is to choose the recyclable material that you are going to be using.

Right, welcome back.

Let's go through some feedback for task A.

So these children chose materials.

Sam chose cardboard tube, Sofia chose a cardboard box, and Jacob also chose a cardboard tube, just like Sam did.

Now, of course, Sam and Jacob have chosen the same material, but does it really matter? No, it doesn't.

They're going to be choosing the same material for their basic tower, but their end designs, I'm sure, are going to look very different indeed.

Onto lesson cycle two, making the windmill structure stable.

Now, old windmills are often made from wood and cast iron, and this windmill has foundations to hold it in the ground and keep it stable.

Windmills stay upright in a field or sea because they are stable.

Stable means it's not going to fall over.

But what does unstable mean? So, stable means that it will not fall over.

What might unstable mean? That's right, unstable means it might fall over.

Doesn't mean it will, but it might still fall over, and that's why we've got to be very careful with making sure our windmill structures are stable because they need to stay up.

True or false? If something is unstable, it will fall over.

Is that true or false? That's right, it's true.

If something is unstable, it might fall over.

But why? Well, if something's unstable, it's usually unbalanced and it will probably fall over.

So a garden chair might be stable most of the time, but if the wind is really strong, then the garden chair might fall over, and so therefore that would make it unstable.

A way of actually addressing this and changing this to make sure something that was unstable is now stable is by adding something we call ballast.

Now, ballast is something heavy that can keep things stable, and you might find it, for example, in a garden parasol, like the one in the picture.

And there'll be ballast inside.

Sometimes you put water in, sometimes sand.

Sometimes you can actually get ones that have actually got weights on, and that will keep the parasol in place, even if the wind does start picking up.

Now, these are types of materials that can be used as ballast, so sand, rice, or porridge oats.

Have a think now.

Which one would you choose to keep a windmill stable? I'm sure you can think of ways of using any of these, actually, to keep a windmill structure stable.

It doesn't really matter which one you choose, it's entirely up to you thinking about your design.

So, what is ballast? Talk to your friends, decide which ballast you'd like to use.

Remember, ballast is a heavy material that keeps things stable.

Here is an example of the porridge oats, but don't forget, we also talked about rice, and we also talked about sand.

You might think of something completely different that would be really worthwhile using.

Do not feel that you need to just choose the ones that we have provided you with.

Do think creatively and come up with your own ideas too.

Jacob has chosen porridge oats for his ballast.

I wonder what you've chosen for yours.

Now, some windmills might need more help to stand up.

And to make your windmill more stable, you might support it in different ways, and you can change the design of your main material.

So you could join it to some card, or you could make the bottom wider by adding some supports there.

Nothing wrong with doing that whatsoever.

It's just a really good way of changing the design so it makes it more stable.

True or false? If your windmill structure is unstable, should you add extra support? Is that true, or is that false? Well done.

It is true, but why? Well, you need to have extra support so it won't fall over, and this will make it stable and freestanding.

Now, there are different ways of doing this.

You could add the extra support.

You could also add the ballast as well, which we've spoken about.

And here's how we can actually put the ballast into our windmill structure to make it more stable.

So we can get a bag.

We can put the bag inside the structure.

And then we can fill it with the chosen ballast, you choosing which one you want to use, and then put some sticky tape around the top to seal it so it doesn't come out and spill.

Of course, what we're trying to do here is to try to reuse any bags that might be lying around, anything that could be reused and have a different purpose.

So don't try to, necessarily try to get a brand-new bag, but try to think about how you can creatively use a recycled bag for this purpose because all we're going to be doing is putting in some sand or maybe even some pebbles or some rice or some oats just to give that ballast.

But we need to have the ballast in something so that it doesn't actually come out through the cardboard tube, for example, or the cardboard box.

Onto the actual task then.

So we've talked a lot about ballast.

We've talked about making structures stable.

So, first thing, can you choose which ballast you're gonna choose, and then add it to your windmill structure, and then test that it works.

Put your windmill on the table.

Flap a piece of paper to create some wind.

Does it fall over? Remember, the windmill, we want the sails to turn around.

We don't want the structure to actually fall over.

Okay, time for you to go off and do that now, and I'll see you in a few moments.

Welcome back.

So, after adding ballast, children tested whether their windmill was stable.

So Sam used sand, and it worked really well, and the cardboard tube didn't fall over.

Jacob used oats.

His tube nearly fell over, but probably because his tube was really tall.

Sofia thought about making, adding extra support to the bottom of the tube by attaching it to some card, just like a house has foundations.

You may have come up with similar solutions to adding ballast with your work.

Now, thinking about what Sofia said, we're going to be completing task B3, and that's making the windmill more stable at the base.

So, maybe you can join it to card, or you can make the bottom wider.

Or you might come up with another solution as well, maybe using some other materials or considering the design of it.

We'll leave that with you.

Go back to your designs, see what you can do, and we look forward to seeing the results.

Okay, off you go.

Right, welcome back.

So, after adding the base supports, children tested if their windmill was stable.

So Sam joined her windmill to card using sticky tape, and it's now really stable.

And Jacob made the base wider by sticking card to the base with glue, and it stands up now all on its own.

And the question is, is your windmill stable now? I'm sure it is.

Well done for today, and that's task B completed.

We move on now to the third learning cycle.

Third learning cycle is finishing the windmill.

Now, there's lots of things you can join to your windmill to make it look unique and have its own identity.

We have coloured card, felt, fabric, ribbon, straws, lolly sticks, bubble wrap, cellophane, foils.

Now, what I would suggest is that we actually consider the recycling of these.

So we're looking for bits of scraps of coloured card and scraps of felt and fabric and ribbon and maybe some unused straws or lolly sticks that may be lying around that might need repurposing, or any bubble wrap or cellophane or foils that may have been used.

And just, we're looking for not starting to use new materials, but actually trying to reuse materials.

And these are the sorts of things that you can use really effectively to actually finish the windmill.

To join different materials to your windmill structure, you might want to choose some of the following.

You might to use sticky tape, masking tape, glue stick, or perhaps PVA glue.

Which of these are ways to join materials? A, glue stick, B, scissors, or C sticky tape? Which do you think are ways to join materials? That's correct, there's two answers here.

You can join materials using glue sticks, or you could use sticky tape.

We tend to use scissors to cut materials rather than join them.

So task C is to decorate and finish your windmill structure.

Consider all the different materials you're going to use.

You can keep it as simple or as complicated as you like.

Think about the design that you want to achieve and how that can be achieved simply and effectively.

You can use coloured card.

Remember, scraps of coloured card, scraps of felt, fabric, ribbon, straws, lollipop sticks, bubble wrap, cellophane, foils, anything that you think would be really useful for your design.

But you can choose whatever you wish.

You don't have to choose these.

You could simply use pieces of scrap card or scrap paper or felt pens or other ways of decorating.

Just consider what's going to be best for your design.

There might be a way that you might actually want to just use paint, crayons, wax crayons, or coloured pencils.

Any of these can work, but do think creatively.

Think about what you are going to choose for your product.

It's your work.

Okay, I'm looking forward to seeing all of the wonderful designs that you're going to come up with, and I'll leave you to get on.

Well done.

Right, welcome back.

Now, your windmill structure might look like Sofia's.

This is just an example that Sofia's done.

So she's used a cardboard box.

It's got rice inside as the ballast to keep it stable, and she's decorated it.

And she's done it very simply.

She's used felt pens there and considered using some different types of paper to give it some more decorative.

And it's freestanding, it's stable, and it looks great as well.

What I'd like you to do is to go back and have a look at your design.

Is yours freestanding? Is yours stable? And does it look great? I'm sure it does.

You've worked really hard today.

Well done.

We've had three learning cycles, and you've done a great job.

Let's go through the summary of the key learning points from today.

Windmill structures can be made from different mixed materials.

You can consider the right shape and size when choosing windmill material.

Adding ballast or base support can make structures stable.

And lastly, finished windmills need to be decorated.

I think you've learned all of those for today.

Thank you ever so much for being with me, and I look forward to working with you next time.