Pigs in the Wind
Season 1 Episode 2
Themes: Growth Mindset, Working Together
Prominent Characters
Ms. Frizzle
The class’s quirky science teacher, Ms. Frizzle encourages the students in this episode to embrace failure as a learning opportunity.
Keesha
One of the students in Ms. Frizzle’s class, Keesha is directing the class’s play and also directs the building of the tower. As they build, she’s initially resistant to incorporating the ideas of others, but when the rest of the group becomes disgruntled she learns the importance of listening to the ideas of others.
Plot Highlights
- The class is rehearsing for their upcoming play, a sequel to The Three Little Pigs where the wolf will return for revenge. As they practice, another child, Janet, approaches and criticizes their set for using fake bricks to build the pigs’ wind-resistant tower. Concerned that Janet, who is also a theater critic, will write their play a bad review, they decide to build a stronger tower out of real brick, and set off on a field trip.
- Ms. Frizzle brings the group to Mount Washington, and Keesha directs the group as they build a tower outside using bricks produced by the bus. After they build it, Ms. Frizzle suggests they test it, like real engineers do. They use the bus’s fans to test the structure against the wind, but it falls down.
- Keesha and the other students are disappointed by the apparent failure of the tower, but Ms. Frizzle is enthusiastic that it’s actually a wonderful thing because they can learn from it. They rebuild the tower, this time using mortar to hold bricks together and adding a roof, but it falls apart again when the roof flies off in the wind.
- Throughout their building, Keesha has not been willing to listen to the ideas of other students in the group. When she again directs them to rebuild it, the disgruntled students decide to leave and get back on the bus.
- The bus ends up turning all of the students into trees just as a windstorm sets in. As it gets very windy, they watch as the wind goes around the trees instead of knocking them down. They learn that the round shape of the trees, the roots in the ground, and their flexibility that lets them sway in the wind contribute to allowing them to withstand the wind.
- After the storm, the kids are returned to human-form, and Keesha apologizes for not listening to their ideas. Different members of the group contribute ideas to use the trees as inspiration for making a more wind-resistant structure.
- During the final performance, the tower they’ve created widthstands the strong winds produced by the bus’s fans, amazing the audience. Though the theater critic Janet still writes them a bad review for special effects that are “too scary,” the group is proud of their work and happy that their play still sold out.
Discussion Questions
This episode explores themes including learning from mistakes and listening to the ideas of others. We encourage you to explore some of the following questions in discussion with your child:
- How did the group of students feel when their first tower fell down in the wind? How did Ms. Frizzle view the situation? Why was Ms. Frizzle excited about the tower falling down, even when it seemed like a failure to the students? Can you think of a time that something went wrong for you but you learned from it? Do you think it can be a good thing when things don’t go as planned?
- How did the other students feel when Keesha didn’t listen to their ideas while they were building? Do you think it’s a good idea to listen to other people’s ideas? Why?
This episode also covered scientific concepts related to how wind moves and how buildings can be constructed to withstand it. We encourage you to ask your child what they learned about wind from the episode, and consider exploring some of the following resources if they’re interested in the topic:
- Learn more about where wind comes from in this Youtube video from It’s AumSum Time
- Learn more about how bridges are built strong enough to withstand wind in this Youtube video from Science Channel.
- Consider trying out some of the hands-on wind energy activities listed here.
