Lesson Plan
Curated OER

How do engineless planes stay aloft?

For Teachers 5th
Fifth graders explore how a plane can stay aloft. In this engineless airplane flying lesson, 5th graders experiment to find how the design of a plane and Bernoulli's principle keep planes in the air. Student's create a plane and answer...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Leaving on A Jet Plane

For Teachers 2nd - 4th
Students create an airplane by listening to directions. They also to measure the pieces for the airplane and compare and contrast their test flights.
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
Yale University

Airplane Mathematics

For Teachers 6th - 8th
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...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Look Mom, No Wings!

For Teachers 4th - 7th
Learners explain how drag, weight, lift and thrust work together to make something fly. For this physics lesson, students measure their jump height and record data on the table. They reason out why they can't remain airborne for long.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Flight Home Lesson Plan 3

For Teachers 5th - 8th
Students examine photographs of twentieth-century aircraft from the National Air and Space Museum. They compare aircraft wings, fuselages, and engines to investigate different approaches to aircraft design.
Activity
It's About Time

Defy Gravity

For Teachers 7th - 12th
Test the limits of gravity while encouraging full class participation with this thrilling lesson. Pupils investigate the meaning of work and how it is equivalent to energy. They explore the joule and apply it as a unit of work. They...
Worksheet
Curated OER

Harmonic Motion

For Students 9th - 12th
In this harmonic motion worksheet, students read about the difference between harmonic motion and linear motion. They are given the parts of harmonic motion, graphs of harmonic motion and equations to find the period and frequency of...
Worksheet
Curated OER

Paper Helicopters

For Students 3rd - 6th
In this paper helicopter worksheet, students design and experiment making a paper helicopter to explore how some things fall and how varying the size of the rotor blades affect the way a helicopter spins.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

WHAT HOLDS US TO EARTH?

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students they imagine they are Galileo and try to duplicate Galileo's experiments and results.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

How Do Airplanes Stay off the Ground?

For Teachers 5th - 9th
Young scholars use balloons and string to duplicate Bernoulli's Principle of wing shape and its affect on liftoff.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Swinging on a String

For Teachers 5th - 7th
Students explore how pendulums work and why they are useful in everyday applications. In a hands-on activity, they experiment with string length, pendulum weight and angle of release.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Building And Launching a Model Rocket

For Teachers 3rd - 8th
Students are introduced to the basic parts of rockets and the physical forces at work in the flight of rockets. They build and launch a model rocket and discuss the challenges of launching a real rocket.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Aerodynamics

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students discover the basic principles of aerodynamics, including the roles and identity of natural forces involved. They examine how the force of gravity is overcome by the curved shape of an airplane wing and air pressure.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Pitch, Yaw & Roll

For Teachers K - 12th
Young scholars practice the concepts of pitch, yaw and roll. They practice pitch, yaw, roll in a make-believe airplane simulator. Students explore about air, forces, and movement of flight. They read for themselves about air; lift,...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Up, Up, and Away

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Middle schoolers investigate the laws of physics that govern the flight of helicopters and airplanes. They build and launch a model rotor, simulating rotors used on helicopters to provide lift.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Catapults!

For Teachers 5th - 7th
Students work together to discover the relationship between the angle of catapults and the flight of different objects. They discover the heavier the object the more force is needed. They examine how engineers use this information to...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Converting Units and the SR-71

For Teachers 4th - 6th
Students practice solving problems logically. Using the internet, students observe pictures and facts about the SR-71 Blackbird. They convert statistics about the aircraft. Students explore terms of flight and convert them to everyday...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Measuring Work

For Teachers 7th - 9th
Students explore what work is, measure work done in moving an object, and tell how energy is related to work in both machines and the human body. In this measuring work lesson plan, students walk up a flight of stairs, measure the height...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Airplane Wings

For Teachers 7th - 12th
Students examine the aerodynamics of a wing and how it generates lift.  In this flight instructional activity students complete several experiments including how to build a paper plane and how airfoils affect performance.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Come Fly With Me

For Teachers 8th - 10th
Students apply the Bernoulli Principle. In this flight lesson, students design and test a glider.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Teaching the Bell Tetrahedral Kite

For Teachers 4th - 8th
Students complete readings on kite making and kite flying. They analyze how the parts of a system interconnect and influence each other. Students identifies and uses color and form in a 3D artwork.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Kites: Patang - The Indian Fighter Kite

For Teachers 5th - 8th
Students investigate the history of fighter kites and build their own.  In this aeronautics lesson, students discover how other countries utilize fighter kites and where they originated.  Students create their own fighter kites...
Worksheet
Curated OER

Distance Problems

For Students 11th - 12th
In this distance instructional activity, students determine the distance and displacement of a person who walked 40 m east and 100 m south. Then they determine the resultant velocity of a motorboat that heads due west at 10 m/s with a...