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Which Way Is the Wind? Reading a Weather Vane How-To

Set a purpose for reading, then read a grade 5 how-to text about building a paper-cup weather vane and answer questions that check understanding.

Grade 5ELAInteractive · Printable

Aligned toRF.5.4.a

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What’s included

Single worksheet
Auto-graded online
1 Common Core standard
Printable answer key
11 questions
Classroom-ready

Details

Format: Interactive · Printable
Grade: Grade 5
Subject: ELA
Question types: Fill in the blank, Multiple choice, Matching, Circle the answer, Sorting, Short answer

About this worksheet

What students practice

Students set a purpose before reading a how-to text.
Students find the details that match their reading purpose.
Students show understanding of directions by applying them to new situations.

How to use

Have students answer the first question before reading, then read the how-to text with that purpose in mind. Partners can compare answers and point to the paragraph that helped.

Curriculum

Common Core standard covered

RF.5.4.a

Read grade-level text with purpose and understanding.

Preview

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Which Way Is the Wind? Reading a Weather Vane How-To

Set a purpose, read the directions, and show what you understood.

Before you read

Read the situation. Then choose your purpose for reading.

Your class wants to put a homemade weather vane in the schoolyard. Your teacher hands you the how-to text below and says, "Find out how to build it, where to set it up, and how to tell which way the wind is blowing."

What is the best purpose for reading this text?

A. to enjoy a funny story about a windy day
B. to learn how to make and use a weather vane
C. to decide which season has the most wind
D. to compare weather vanes from long ago

Build a Paper-Cup Weather Vane

1A weather vane is a tool that turns to show the direction of the wind. People have used weather vanes for hundreds of years, often on the tops of barns and towers. You can build a simple one with things you may already have at home or at school.

2What you need: a paper plate, a paper cup, a sharpened pencil with an eraser, a plastic straw, a straight pin, a sheet of card stock, scissors, tape, a marker, a few small rocks, and a compass.

3Step 1: Write the letters N, E, S and W around the edge of the plate, the same way they appear on a map. Put N at the top, E on the right, S at the bottom and W on the left.

4Step 2: Turn the cup upside down and tape it to the center of the plate. Carefully push the sharpened end of the pencil down through the middle of the cup's bottom, so the eraser stays on top.

5Step 3: Cut a small triangle and a larger square from the card stock. The triangle will be the pointer, and the square will be the tail. Cut a short slit in each end of the straw. Slide the triangle into one end and the square into the other.

6Step 4: Ask an adult to help you push the pin through the middle of the straw and into the eraser. Blow on the straw gently. It should spin easily.

7Step 5: Take your weather vane to an open spot outside. Buildings and trees can block the wind, so stay away from them. Use the compass to find north, and turn the plate until the N faces that way. Set a few rocks on the plate so it does not blow away.

8How to read it: When the wind blows, it pushes harder on the large square tail. The tail swings away from the wind, so the pointer turns to face the direction the wind is coming from. Winds are named for where they come from. If the pointer faces the W, a west wind is blowing.

9Fixing problems: If the straw will not turn, wiggle the pin to make the hole in the straw a little bigger. If one end of the straw tips down, move the pin a little closer to that end. If the plate slides around, add another rock.

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