A convenient place to begin discussing overall wind patterns on Earth is to explain coastal winds. If you live near the coast (that would be near an ocean) or even near a large lake, you probably know the general pattern of winds there. During the day, breezes tend to blow from the water in toward the land, and at night, this tends to reverse, with breezes blowing from the land out to sea. In this article, Bill Robertson describes a simple activity that will help students understand wind patterns.