The Windmill Farmer

A conscientious farmer tends to his crop of windmills and watches them blossom through the seasons until sadly the crop is damaged by a winter storm.  Helpless the farmer resigns to his fate by the time the thick winter snows arrive. 
​
Teaching Ideas

• Create an emotions line graph charting the farmers mood from hopeful optimism at the beginning of the film, the joy of seeing his crop flourish, into despair after the destruction. 
• The children can write a first person narrative also describing the feelings of the farmer, watching tentatively from the windows waiting for the 'green shoots of 1st growth.'  This can be a set of diaries exploring the mood at certain points. 
• Children research wind farms and have class debates about their effects on the landscape. 
• Write letters of complaint to the farmer about how his wind farm is spoiling the countryside, or messages of support for his beautiful crop and his efforts to help the environment. 
• There are links with Jack and the Beanstalk, perhaps the children can create a story about something else growing from seed.  What would they like to grow from seed?  A money tree perhaps!
• Think about personification of weather describing the 'vicious wind, teasing the windmills before decapitating them one by one as they pleaded for mercy!'
• This could be the basis or some beautiful art work, silhouettes of windmills etc.