Boy Who Harnessed the Wind by William Kamkwamba

Building Windmills

The boy who harnessed the wind by Kamkwamba, William — Dial Books for Young Readers, an imprint of Penguin Group (USA) Inc., 2012--621.4; Int Lvl: K-3; Rd Lvl: 5.3 The author details how he ignored naysayers and was able to bring electricity and running water to his Malawian village when he built a makeshift windmill out of scrap metal and spare parts.

Rationale: My husband has been a science teacher all his life, teaching ninth grade physical science most of the time. Physical science lends itself to many hands-on lessons, but few library related activities. That is, unless you consider careers and famous scientists, the Makerspace trend, and energy or element topics. This Inspiration Book is an excellent spin off for investigation in physical science career opportunities for students in middle school. My first grade granddaughter led me to a Makerspace project and that is the direction this Books Alive post is heading. Elizabeth joined a Lego League group this fall, and their project had to do with water problems. They needed to identify a water problem, then create a Lego model that helped solve the problem and be able to explain how their model worked. She was working like a scientist and using scientific inquiry, and that is the approach I developed using this Inspiration Book. Although the book is earmarked for K-3 students, the book and lesson can be used K-8 to develop experience with the Inquiry Method.

Procedural How To Ideas:

1. Prepare a chart of the Inquiry Method : Make Observations, Do Some Research. Form a Hypothesis, Test Your Hypothesis, And Draw Conclusions. Collect Lego pieces to begin to develop a collection for Makerspace projects in the library.
2. Discuss the steps and ask students to note how William Kampwamka followed these steps or followed in a modified way while you read the book aloud.
3. Read the Inspiration Book.
4. Now ask students what Kamkwamba observed? What research did he do? What did he plan? How did he test his plan? What were the results?
5. Brainstorm water problems. Brainstorm solutions to the problems? Build something, using the Legos, with a partner to solve the problem. Explain you project. Does the class think it will work? Why or why not?

Related Titles:

All the water in the world by Lyon, George Ella; illustrated by Tillotson, Katherine— Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 2011. Dewey: 551.48; Int Lvl: K-3; Rd Lvl: 3.0. A lyrical, illustrated look at the water cycle, showing how water rises to the clouds and is rained back down again to be used by plants, people, and every living thing.

When the wind blows by Clark, Stacy; illustrated by Sneed, Brad— Holiday House, 2015. Dewey: 551.51; Int Lvl: K-3; Rd Lvl: 5.8, Watercolor paintings and rhyming text describe wind power.

The wind at work : an activity guide to windmills by Woelfle, Gretchen — Chicago Review Press, 2013. Dewey: 621.4; Int Lvl: 5-8; Rd Lvl: 5.9. An introduction to windmills, their history, and their advantages as renewable energy providers, with activities for understanding some of the principles of wind.

The boy who harnessed the wind by Kamkwamba, William; illustrated by Hymas, Anna— Dial Books for Young Readers, an imprint of Penguin Group (USA) Inc., 2015. Dewey: 621.4; Int Lvl: 5-8; Rd Lvl: 6.2. African teenager William Kamkwamba explored science books in his village library when he was forced to drop out of school, and was able to change his family's life by creating a windmill to pump water for his family's farm.

Our Earth : how kids are saving the planet by Wilson, Janet — Second Story Press, 2010. Dewey: 333.72; Int Lvl: 3-6; Rd Lvl: 6.3. Describes how ten kids from around the world fought to protect the environment, including twelve-year-old Severn Cullis-Suzuki, fourteen-year-old William Kamkwamba, and seven-year-old Ryan Hreljac, and encourages young readers get involved and to take action.

Wind and water (Future Energy) by Ollhoff, Jim  — ABDO Pub., 2010. Dewey: 621.4; Int Lvl: 5-8; Rd Lvl: 6.4. An exploration of renewable energy resources that focuses on wind and water power, providing information about how they are produced and used, discussing advantages and disadvantages, and including photographs, illustrations, and diagrams.

The way things work now : from levers to lasers, windmills to Wi-Fi, a visual guide to the world of machines by Macaulay, David — Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2016. Dewey: 600; Int Lvl: 5-8; Rd Lvl: 7.0.  Text and numerous detailed illustrations introduce and explain the scientific principles and workings of hundreds of machines. Includes new material about digital technology.

Boys who rocked the world : heroes from King Tut to Bruce Lee — Aladdin, 2012. Dewey: 920.71; Int Lvl: 3-6; Rd Lvl: 8.5.  Recounts the stories of forty-six men throughout history who impacted the world when they were teenagers or younger, covering Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Steve Jobs, Crazy Horse, Stephen King, and William Kamkwamba.