Curated OER
Flight Dreams - Folding into Flight
Combine measurement, following directions, physics, and art with one fun activity. Learners read a set of instruction to create three different kinds of paper airplanes. They measure, fold, and fly the planes, and record data and answer...
Teach Engineering
Airplane Tails and Wings: Are You in Control?
Keep everything under control. The lesson, the 16th segment in a 22-part unit, provides a more detailed look at the parts of a plane, specifically the control surfaces. Pupils learn about the construction of the wings and the tails and...
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...
Curated OER
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...
Kenan Fellows
Weight and Balance of an Airplane
A career in aeronautics might be calling your class members. Building from the previous two lessons in the series, learners continue analyzing the mathematics of aeronautics. Groups create a paper airplane using paperclips for balance....
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.
Curated OER
FLIGHT FAIR
Students conduct their personal investigations into paper airplane flight. Cooperative teams are formed, with students choosing the paper airplane design that they are most interested in building.
Teach Engineering
Building-Testing-Improving Paper Airplanes: Head's Up!
Take foldables to all new heights. Pupils build and fly different types of paper airplanes in the 14th portion of a 22-part unit on aviation. Groups collect data on distance and flight time for each plane and compare the data from the...
Teach Engineering
Take Off with Paper Airplanes
Let's go fly a kite ... oops, a paper airplane! The 13th segment in an aviation unit of 22 relates the parts of an airplane to paper airplanes. Pupils learn the functions of the control surfaces of a plane to really make their knowledge...
Curated OER
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...
Teach Engineering
Better By Design
Which modification is the best? Using the scientific method, pairs determine the effects of each control surface on the distance of a glider's flight. The activity, section 16 in a 22-part unit on aviation, allows pupils to gain a better...
Curated OER
Aerospace/Aeronautical Engineering: Build a Paper Airplane
Students brainstorm what it is like to fly on an airplane and discuss the parts of a plane. Students construct a paper plane of their own, decorate it, have a competition, and discuss the importance of each part of a plane and the role...
Curated OER
Paper Airplane Contest
Students 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.
Curated OER
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...
Curated OER
The Art of Flying: Insects
Students study insects. They examine how insect wings operate and make a model airplane that mimics the way insect wings operate as the insect is flying. They compare and contrast different kinds of insect wings and color a page of...
Curated OER
Flight Path
Young mathematicians investigate that things move in a directional path. They construct a paper airplane and measure an airplane's length of flight. Everyone constructs a map with a key showing their airplane's flight path
Curated OER
Build a Paper Plane
Students study the history of the paper plane. In this design lesson students create several types of paper planes and determine if there is a difference in mean flight distances.
Curated OER
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...
Curated OER
Making the "best" airplane
In this airplane worksheet, students compare the mass of an airplane to the mass of a paper clip airplane to see if the mass determines the best flight. Students complete 5 trials for each.
Curated OER
The Shapes of Flight
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...
Curated OER
Mankind's Fascination With Flight
Students read various novels and articles about the contributions of the Wright Brothers. Individually, they are tested on their comprehension of the material and discuss. In groups, they research the role of the people in their life...
Curated OER
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.
NASA
The X-1 Paper Glider Kit
After reading an interesting account of how the X-1 aircraft was designed, built, and utilized, young engineers try their hand at constructing a paper glider version of the airplane. They cut out the plane out of a nicely designed...
Curated OER
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...