William Kamkwamba: How I Harnessed the Wind
Videos
Grades9, 10, 11, 12Physics
This resource has been reviewed by SubjectToClimate's climate scientists and verified for scientific accuracy and up-to-date information. Learn about our review process →
Provided by TED
What it is
- This six-minute TED video features a young farmer from Malawi who taught himself how to engineer windmills to help his family as they struggled through famine.
- This is a great accompanying piece to any learning activity that is focused on perseverance through climate impacts, the use of recycled materials, a young person's sheer will to learn, or the power of innovation in the face of difficulties.
Teaching tips
Positives
- This is an inspiring story of creativity, resilience, and imagination.
- Extension activities and opportunities to follow this video are plentiful.
Prerequisites
- It may be helpful if your students know the basic function of a windmill or wind generation of electricity ahead of watching the video.
Differentiation & Implementation
- If your students are interested in learning where wind energy is used around the world, they can check out this interactive resource.
- Teachers can use this video after learning about renewable energy, including wind, as a solution to climate change.
- There are a ton of opportunities to differentiate the use of this video depending on how the learning activities are designed. Here are some ideas for extension activities:
- Activate Student Thinking: The innovation and sheer will to solve a problem in the face of adversity that is featured in this video is remarkable. Perhaps pose this scenario/question to your students: "Think of a problem that your family/community/school currently faces. What might you design to help move that problem towards a solution, as William did in the video?"
- Scavenger Hunt: The search for construction materials is a key feature of William's story. Consider asking your students to look for materials in their homes or communities that are discarded but might be repurposed into something useful to solve a problem.
- Activate Student Thinking: The innovation and sheer will to solve a problem in the face of adversity that is featured in this video is remarkable. Perhaps pose this scenario/question to your students: "Think of a problem that your family/community/school currently faces. What might you design to help move that problem towards a solution, as William did in the video?"
From the scientist review
This 6-minute video is a TED talk given in 2009 by William Kamkwamba from Malawi, in which he tells the story of how and why he built a windmill of available reused parts to help his family generate electricity and pump water. This resource is recommended for teaching.
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