Lesson Plan
Smithsonian Institution

Smithsonian Learning Lab: How Things Fly: Activities for Teaching Flight

For Teachers 3rd - 8th
Through this series of three lessons, students will gain an understanding of the basics of flight. They will learn about the four forces of flight and practice their observation skills through a number of fun experiments. In addition,...
Lesson Plan
TeachEngineering

Teach Engineering: Will It Fly?

For Teachers 5th - 7th
In this instructional activity, students will learn about kites and gliders and how these models can help in understanding the concept of flight. Students will design and build their own balsa wood models and experiment with different...
Lesson Plan
TeachEngineering

Teach Engineering: May the Force Be With You: Lift

For Teachers 5th - 7th
Students revisit Bernoulli's Principle (Lesson 1 of the Airplanes unit) and learn how engineers use this principle to design airplane wings. Airplane wings create lift by changing the pressure of the air around it. This is the first of...
Lesson Plan
Other

E Gfi: Lesson: Get a Lift

For Teachers 9th - 10th
In this lesson, students are introduced to the four forces of flight-drag, lift, thrust, and weight-through a variety of fun-filled flight experiments. Students will "fly" for short periods and then evaluate factors that might either...
Lesson Plan
Alabama Learning Exchange

Alex: Building a Paper Airplane Using Bernoulli's Principle

For Teachers 6th - 8th
This is a culmination activity used after learners have studied Bernoulli's Principle as part of a unit on forces and fluids. Students will use the Internet, textbooks, library resources and their cooperative learning group to design...
Activity
TeachEngineering

Teach Engineering: Adaptations for Aeronautical Engineering

For Teachers 9th - 10th
This activity first asks the students to study the patterns of bird flight and understand that four main forces affect the flight abilities of a bird. They will study the shape, feather structure, and resulting differences in the pattern...