Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Shapes of Flight

For Teachers 4th - 8th
Students explore interaction between mathematics, science, and technology as they look at process of researching, developing, testing, and evaluating airplane design. They calculate glide ratio for model paper airplane by using data...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Flying the Friendly Skies

For Teachers 1st - 3rd
Students investigate aerodynamics by comparing and contrasting the flight of two gliders. They make prediction and observation charts and test a variety of hypotheses using paper gliders.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Come Fly With Me...Aviation

For Teachers 4th - 8th
Students conduct internet research on aviation and pioneer aviators. They create an alphabet book r with flight related terms, write a short biography of a pioneer aviator and take part in a paper plane flying contest.
Lesson Plan
Cornell University

Physics of Flight

For Students 3rd - 8th
Up, up, and away! Take your classes on a physics adventure. Learners explore the concepts important for flight. They experiment with the Bernoulli Principle while learning the forces that act on airplanes in flight.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Flying High in Math

For Teachers 7th
Seventh graders study how real airplanes fly and then they construct models of paper airplanes using design resources for the Internet and their own design. They use meaurement and caluculations in order to help them construct their...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

An Uplifting Experience

For Teachers 4th - 6th
Students 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.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Variables and Controls in an Investigation

For Teachers 7th
Seventh graders identify variables and controls in a paper airplane investigation. In this scientific method lesson, 7th graders conduct an experiment to determine the variables that affect the flight of paper airplanes. They design an...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Selection and Variation in the Egyptian Origami Bird

For Teachers 9th - 10th
Students participate in a contrived natural selection simulation in which they build and modify simple paper airplanes. They study divergent and convergent evolution and how it is isolated in sub-populations.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

How Things Fly

For Teachers 5th - 8th
Students explain basic principles of aeronautics such as gravity and lift. In this How Things Fly lesson plan, students visit the interactive, hands-on How Things Fly gallery at the Smithsonian. Students perform three experiments that...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

What Makes Thing Fly?

For Teachers 2nd
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. 
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Flying With The Wright Stuff

For Teachers 7th - 8th
Students explore the history of flight, specifically the Wright brothers. Pupils create paper airplanes. They discuss considerations in building an aircraft such as drag, thrust, and weight. Classmates compare the Wright Brother's...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Raptors: Senses and Influences

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students compare the traits of humans to raptors.  In this senses and beneficial traits lesson students create a newsletter and compare raptors to aircraft. 
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Controlling Flight: Rudders, Ailerons, and Elevators

For Teachers 5th
Fifth graders create paper gliders and check for flight distance and time. In this flight lesson, 5th graders create a paper glider from the attached worksheet and adjust the rudder, aileron, and elevator. They see how these adjustments...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Paper Airplane Scientific Method

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Pupils explain the steps of the scientific method.  In this paper airplane lesson students design and test their own paper airplane. 
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Things That Fly

For Teachers 5th - 6th
Students locate images of two things that fly on the Internet and print them. They develop graphic organizers to compare and contrast the two images and exhibit the images along with the organizers in a classroom gallery.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

For the Fun of It

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students view pictures of Amelia Earhart and discuss the social and historical context of her life. They read excerpts of Earhart's autobiography "The Fun of It" and analyze her purpose in writing it.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Wright Stuff

For Teachers 6th - 12th
In this lesson, students design an exhibition on the history of aviation for a science museum. For homework, they write short stories envisioning the future of flight in the year 2014.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Principles Of Flight: Wings That Spin

For Teachers K - 1st
Students discover how flight is possible.  In this physics lesson plan, students investigate the properties of a blimp and gyro-copter, comparing rotating wings and fixed wings of aircraft.  Students create their own model...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Milestones of Flight

For Teachers 4th - 8th
Students identify significant milestones in the history of flight. In this aviation history instructional activity, students study various resource materials and construct timelines of significant achievements.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Child Labor

For Teachers 5th - 6th
Young scholars examine how how groups and institutions work to meet individual needs and promote the common good, and identify examples of where they fail to do so. They describe how workers with specialized jobs and the ways in which...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

A Clasroom Study of the Life of an Airplane

For Teachers 9th - 12th
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.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Art of "Green" Flying

For Teachers 5th - 6th
Students create an airship that doesn't use fossil fuel. For this flying lesson, students research different types of flying machines that only use wind power. They discuss invention designs by Alexander Graham Bell and Leonardo Da Vinci...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Missing in MiG Alley

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students consider how technology impacted American conflicts. In this technological advances lesson, students read, "The Changing Face of War," and then describe how technology made differences in World War I, World War II, the Korean...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Dayna Lykins, Leanna Prater

For Teachers 4th
Fourth graders compare and contrast gliding flight and true flight. They investigate the basic principles of aeronautics. The class participates in activities to observe lift and the effect of air. Students design and fly their own...