Curated OER
Experimental Flight
Students use experimental procedures to design and test the flight distances of paper airplanes. In this flight experiment lesson plan, students use the experimental science process to design and conduct an investigation to determine if...
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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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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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An Uplifting Experience
Fifth graders research and complete a graphic organizer about the principles of flight. In this aviation lesson, 5th graders experiment to understand the work of Daniel Bernouli and his discoveries about air pressure. Students create...
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Flying High in Ohio
Her is a lesson using the Ohio State Quarter. Pupils utilize beautifully-designed worksheets embedded in the plan, to study about the origins of aviation. Many of the pioneers of aviation were born in Ohio. They compare some of the...
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Paper Helicopters
In this helicopter activity worksheet, students construct a paper helicopter and learn how weight, size and shape affect the way the helicopter spins. The activity outline includes background information, trigger questions, helicopter...
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Forces, Controls And Aircraft Systems
Students are introduced to the physics of flight through video and PowerPoint presentations. They construct and fly model gliders and compete for height, distance, time, etc.
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Paper Airplane Contest
Learners research principles of flight. They design their own paper airplanes and make predictions about the performance of different designs. Students keep track of their findings in an electronic journal.
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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...
Teach Engineering
Future Flights: Imagine Your Own Flying Machines!
What will flying look like in the future? The 21st lesson in a 22-part unit on aviation reviews the major aspects of the lesson. Pupils brainstorm ideas of a future flying machine.
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What Flies?
Young learners consider what flies and what kinds of sounds airplanes, animals, etc. make when they fly. They also get to generate a brainstorm list. Children discuss what the categories should be once the list is completed. Some really...
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Problems and Solutions in Aircraft Design
Students watch demonstrations of paper folded designs that do and do not fly and discuss their observations. They identify problems that they, the Wright Brothers, or NASA scientists face when designing an aircraft, and identify...
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The Great Paper Airplane Factory
Learners investigate the economics of starting a business in this series of lessons. They role play parts of a business organization that sells paper airplanes making decisions based on calculations to make the most profitable organization.
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Sculptures from the Skies
Fourth graders research the design of the aircraft used by the Wright Brothers at Kitty Hawk. They design a sculpture of aircraft using recycled materials.
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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...
Teach Engineering
Can You Take the Pressure?
Do not let the pressure get to you. The first lesson in a unit of 22 introduces the concept of air pressure. Using background knowledge, the resource gives teachers the information they need to discuss how people measure air pressure and...
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Assembling an Aircraft
Students practice reading directions from a task card to assemble a paper aircraft during their Moon, Mars and Beyond mission. They relate the activity to their mission work and recognize the importance of reading directions.
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Fly Away With Averages
Young scholars study mean, median, and mode. They construct paper airplanes and test them to see how far they fly. They measure the distance and then find the averages of their throws. They use spreadsheet software to record the data...
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Play Battleship on Graph Paper
Who says learning can't be enjoyable? Your class will love identifying the x axis and y axis of a coordinate plane and plotting various points when it's dressed up in the guise of a Battleship game. Rather than sets of the actual game,...
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Paper Gliders
Sixth graders study friction and drag. In this science lesson plan, 6th graders use different models of gliders and test to see which of the gliders fly the farthest. Students analyze their data and construct a graph.
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Kite Experiments and Building Information
Students build their own kite following certain procedures. In this physics lesson, students explain the aerodynamics concepts involved in flying kites. They trace the development of aviation.
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Criteria and Constraints in Aircraft Design
Students investigate criteria and constraints for designing any aircraft. They define these terms and categorize a series of examples of both. Using the constraints and criteria set before them, they design and construct airplanes in...
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Fighter Pilots of World War II
Young scholars explore the types of airplanes that were used in World War II. In this World History lesson, students write a research paper that compares and contrasts three types of American airplanes and three types of foreign...
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How Airplanes Fly?
Fifth graders explore drag, thrust, lift and weight. In this airplane instructional activity, 5th graders define the forces that effect airplanes and design a model airplane. Students compare their models for the furthest flight.