Download progression document
Includes statements from Development Matters (birth to age five) and the relevant ELGs in full, for the Make a kite provocation
Early Learning Goal links
- Understanding the World ELG: Past and Present
- Understanding the World ELG: People, Culture and Communities
- Understanding the World ELG: The Natural World
- Expressive Arts and Design ELG: Creating with Materials
Characteristics of effective learning
Play, Be, C Units provide enabling environments with teaching and support from adults. Reflecting on the characteristics of effective teaching and learning, children will have opportunity to learn and develop by:
- Playing and exploring – children investigate and experience things, and ‘have a go’.
- Active learning – children concentrate and keep on trying if they encounter difficulties and enjoy achievements.
- Creating and thinking critically – children have and develop their own ideas, make links between ideas, and develop strategies for doing things.
Early Years Foundation Stage Statutory Framework: accessed November 2024. Available under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
What you will need
- Example kite, photograph or our kite provocation
- Paper or card
- Scissors
- Tape
- String
- Scraps of fabric, paper etc to attach to the tail
- The meteorologist poster
Duration
10 minutes or so
STEM vocabulary to introduce
Kite, fly, wind, up, down sky, higher, faster, fall, tight, blow, tail, pull, push, string, design, test
Before you start
You might want to check if all of the children in your setting have seen a kite and flown a before. You could show children these example kite photographs or you could show them a shop bought kite or make a simple kite yourself. You could show the children how to fly a kite outside.
What to do
Tell the children that they are going to be meteorologists. You could show them the meteorologist poster.
Today they are going to be creative like meteorologists and make a kite. They will be curious about the wind, and observe how the wind makes a kite fly.
Put the kite, photograph or our kite provocation and materials out for the children to use. This could be in your creative area or on a table by itself.
Challenge the children to create a kite with a body, tail and string for it to fly on.
Questions to ask to support and extend learning
While building and preparing:
- Have you included a body/tail/string?
- What have you chosen to make each part from? Why did you choose this material?
- How long is your string?
- Where will you fly your kite?
- How will you get it to take off?
While flying the kite:
- Did it fly? Why? Why not?
- How could you make it fly higher?
- How could you make it stay in the air for longer?
While modifying or improving the kite:
- How do you think you could make your kite better?
- How could you make it heavier/lighter?
- How could you make it catch more wind?
- What could you add to/take off the tail?
Remember to refer to the children as meteorologists and praise them for using the attributes. You could say things like:
“You have been curious like a meteorologist by investigating different ways to make your kite…”
“Well done, you observed how the wind helped your kite to take off …”
Other things to try
If you would like to make a kite that really does fly, you could use our make a kite instructions.
You will need our template printout, a kebab stick, string, scissors, a lolly stick, tape, ribbon and an adult to help.
The science of meteorology
We have put together some useful information about the science of meteorology to accompany this activity. Don’t worry, this is for your information only and to help you answer any questions children may have. We don’t expect you to explain this to the children in your setting!
How do kites fly?
There are four forces of flight: lift, drag, weight and thrust.
Lift is the force that pushes the kite upwards. It is generated by differences in air pressure (the force of air pushing down on a surface). Kites are shaped so air moving over the top moves faster than air moving over the bottom. If the air pressure above the kite is less than the air pressure below it, then the kite is pushed up into the air.
Weight is the force that acts in the opposite direction to lift and is generated by gravity. This pulls the kite downwards towards the earth.
Thrust propels the kite forwards. A kite creates thrust with the tension of the string and moving air created by the wind or the forward motion of the kite.
Drag is the force that acts in the opposite direction to thrust and is caused by the difference in air pressure between the front and back of the kite and the friction of air moving over the kite.
For a kite to fly, the force of lift must be greater than the force of weight. To keep a kite flying, the forces must be in balance. Lift must be equal to weight and thrust must be equal to drag.
Where does wind come from?
Wind is the movement of air around the Earth’s atmosphere – called air currents.
Winds can happen from two different causes:
- The difference in surface temperatures near the equator and near the poles. Warm air rises into the atmosphere at the equator and moves north or south towards the poles where it cools and falls. This creates air currents and winds.
- Places at the equator rotates faster than places near the poles of the Earth. This leads to air moving differently in the different places, and this also creates air currents and winds.
Why does the wind blow harder some days than others?
Air moves from places of high pressure to places of low pressure. This is shown on a map by lines called isobars. These lines join places of equal atmospheric pressure together. When the isobars are closer together the wind is stronger and blows harder. When they are further apart the wind is calmer.
Why does the wind blow in different directions?
Air will move from areas of high pressure to areas of low pressure. Depending on where these areas are relative to each other will determine which direction the wind blows in.
