Wind Power
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Approach:  One to one
ACCESS
Level: Year 4 and year 8
Focus: Why people view resources differently; problem resolution  
Resources:
Video on laptop computer
160Kb
Questions/instructions:

This activity uses the computer.
Some plans are being made to build a wind farm. Wind farms are built to make electricity. In this activity you are going to think about how people might feel about this wind farm. We are going to start by watching a video called Wind Power.
Click the Wind Power button.
[Pan over illustrated stills.]
 
 
voice-over:
We love to walk up the hill behind our house. You can see the whole city. You can see right out to the ocean.
The wind blows there most of the time. It blows the grass flat. It’s too windy for trees to grow. At the top of the hill there is a big machine.
A wind turbine.
The wind turbine looks like a windmill. It is a huge metal tower. It sounds like a windmill as the blades twirl around. Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh! There’s only one turbine but it makes a lot of noise.
The wind blows the blades around. The blades turn the generator.
The generator makes electricity.
And we use electricity every day for all kinds of things….
 
 
% responses
2009 ('05)
y4
y8
The video showed just one wind turbine. When the wind farm is made it will have many wind turbines.    
1. One group of people are really unhappy about the wind farm. Why might they feel this way? Try to tell me at least two reasons. noisy 36 (36) 63 (72)
view/countryside will be spoilt
(aesthetics)		 8 (10) 23 (26)
birds will be killed 1 (2) 1 (2)
land unable to be used 17 (18) 34 (30)
2. Another group of people are really happy about the wind farm. Why might they feel this way? Try to tell me at least two reasons. doesn’t use resources such as coal or gas 1 (0) 5 (5)
doesn’t create air/water pollution (clean way to make electricity)/ good for the environment 3 (2) 18 (19)
urgent need for more electricity 53 (51) 68 (71)
3. What sorts of things could be done so that both groups of people agree about what should happen with the wind farm?
    
Plan: good, coherent plan for gaining agreement 2 (4) 5 (6)
  some ideas for a plan 15 (10) 26 (24)

Total score:
 4–8
4 (3) 21 (22)
3
13 (11) 28 (32)
2
25 (31) 27 (27)
1
29 (30) 17 (13)
0 29 (26) 7 (5)
Subgroup Analysis [Click on charts to enlarge] :
Year 4
Year 8

year 8
Commentary:
There was substantial growth from year 4 to year 8 on this task that asked students to speculate on the reasons people might be happy or unhappy about a wind farm being built near them. Noise was the issue most frequently identified. Mäori and Pakeha students outperformed Pasifika students at both year 4 and year 8.