Curated OER
Wright Again: 100 Years of Flight
Aspiring aeronautical engineers demonstrate different forces as they construct and test paper airplanes. This lesson plan links you to a website that models the most effective paper airplane design, an animation describing the forces...
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Paper Dart Airplane
Students create a paper dart airplane and measure its flight pattern. In this flight lesson, students follow the included directions to build their own paper airplane. The students change the aileron configurations to see how it affects...
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Paper Airplane Activity
Ninth graders select and build one of five different paper airplane designs and test them for distance and for time aloft. Part of this activity is designed to explore NASA developed software, FoilSim, with respect to the lift of an...
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Forces of Flight - Lift
Students design and test paper airplanes to understand the concept of lift and how it affects flight. This technology-based Science lesson is excellent for use with upper-elementary and middle-level learners and uses spreadsheet software...
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Principles of Flight: Flying Paper Airplanes
Learners investigate ways to enhance an object's flying ability. In this model construction lesson, students construct two paper airplanes, one of which is twice as big as the first. Learners compare and contrast the two separate...
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Understanding: Flight
Students review the principles of flight before performing a series of simple experiments. Working in small groups, they complete hands-on activities that demonstrate the principles that make it possible for an airplane to lift into air...
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The Airplane
Students demonstrate the Bernoulli Principle, review the influences that affected the Wright Brothers, and make and modify paper airplanes. This amazing lesson plan has an excellent structure, and very clear plans for the students to...
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Graphing the Four Forces
Using the Cartesian coordinate system, future flight experts plot points to determine whether or not an airplane will fly. With the four forces of weight, lift, drag, and thrust represented in different quadrants, your physics learners...
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Bernoulli's Principle
Students explore Bernoulli's principle, how it is related to flight, and the effect of lift, thrust, and drag on flight. They design and develop an experiment that tests for distance traveled by their paper airplane, and record and...
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Exploring Aerodynamics
Students explore aerodynamics. For this aerodynamics lesson, students study the flight patterns of three paper airplanes and discover the underlying principles of aerodynamics. Resources and grade level modifications are present.
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Principles of Flight: Bernoulli's Lift
Students discover how air pressure effects flight. In this physics lesson, students create two types of airplane wings so they can observe the way air pressure creates lift. Students utilize a printout to create the airplane wings.
Yale University
Airplane Mathematics
The history of aerodynamics is rich with experimentation and international collaboration. Author Joyce Bryant relays this dynamic past and provides math word problems using the formula of lift, the force that makes airplanes fly. She...
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Airplane Wings
Students examine the aerodynamics of a wing and how it generates lift. In this flight activity students complete several experiments including how to build a paper plane and how airfoils affect performance.
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What Makes Thing Fly?
Second graders study lift, drag and thrust from a real flight instructor. In this physical science lesson students build and fly paper airplanes and experiment with variations and design.
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How Do Airplanes Get Off the Ground
Students construct various types of paper airplanes, exploring action and reaction forces by conducting a paper airplane rodeo. Students then discuss how Newton's Third Law of Motion affected their planes.
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Crash Course in Flight
High school physicists demonstrate Bernoulli's Principle by blowing on different items and finding that they do not move in the expected direction! They apply Bernoulli's equation to the flight of an airplane. This well-organized lesson...
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Aviation, Aeronautics and Aerodynamics
Students investigate the physics of flight through various experiments. In this physics lesson plan, students construct different flying objects. They explain the dynamics that make these object fly.
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A Clasroom Study of the Life of an Airplane
Students participate in an experiment to discover the properties of lift. They work together to complete calculations and collect data. They share their results with the class.
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Nosedive
Students use paper to design an airplane. In this airplane experiment lesson, students use their airplane to perform experiments with lift and drag. Students make changes in their planes and observe the differences when throwing the...
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Four Forces of Flight
Students explore the four forces of flight. They investigate the four forces of flight: lift, drag, thrust and weight (gravity). They experiment with flight-testing various objects commonly found around the house and constructing paper...
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Paperplane Flying Circus
Students create paper airplanes. They compare and contrast the airplanes created in class and test them out. They adjust their airplanes until they all fly. They discuss the forces that allow flight to occur.
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The Science of Airplane Flight
Students define terms, explain Bernoulli's principle and identify the control surfaces of an airplane. For this investigative lesson students complete a lab activity.
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An Uplifting Experience
Learners examine the forces that affect the flight of airplanes through the use of paper airplanes. They conduct Internet research, conduct experiments demonstrating Bernoulli's Principle, and design and construct a paper airplane.
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How Airplanes Fly?
Fifth graders explore drag, thrust, lift and weight. In this airplane lesson, 5th graders define the forces that effect airplanes and design a model airplane. Students compare their models for the furthest flight.