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
History of Flight Timeline Activity
Scholars are introduced to the significant events that led to the development of today's modern forms of air travel. They create a timeline to identify the vital events that are related to man's flight. In addition, they research various...
Curated OER
Celebrating 100 Years of Flight
Participate in the 100th anniversary of the first flight. In groups, learners use the internet to research the roles the Wright Brothers and Amelia Earhart played in promoting the use of flight. They use the information to write and...
Curated OER
The Physics of Flight
Three activities allow young flight engineers to understand the 4 principles of flight (weight, lift, thrust, and drag), to construct a glider, and to create a propeller. Multicultural history and literature are integrated by reading...
Curated OER
The History and Future of Flight
Students create a PowerPoint presentation and oral report on the history and future of flight. In this flight lesson, students work in small groups to research the history and future of flight. Students then write a report with...
NASA
A Pictorial History of Rockets
3, 2, 1: Blast off! Take a look at the history of rockets through a camera lens. A set of 41 cards displays more than 2,000 years of rockets, from their use as toys to space flight.
Teach Engineering
Design a Flying Machine
Wrap up the unit in one final design. Pairs use their knowledge of aviation to design new flying machines and record how their designs take into consideration the forces that act upon airplanes. The pupils determine whether their designs...
Curated OER
Milestones of Flight
Students identify significant milestones in the history of flight. In this aviation history activity, students study various resource materials and construct timelines of significant achievements.
Curated OER
Milestones of Flight
Discover seven of the most historic aircraft and spacecraft in the collections of the National Air and Space Museum. By research into the major milestones of aviation history your students will recognize features that enable flight,...
Curated OER
History of Flight Timeline
Students research flight timelines and record their findings. In this flight lesson plan, students brainstorm with a KWL chart on what they want to learn about the history of flight. They then make a timeline of their findings, and...
Curated OER
Early Myths of Flight
Learners explore mythology by researching the Internet. In this history of flight lesson, students view websites discussing the first recorded flight and the mythological creatures that people suspected could fly. Learners read a...
Curated OER
The Physics of Flight
Students discuss how the invention of flight changed the way people live today. In groups, they compare and contrast the differences between weight, lift, thrust and drag. Using these principles, they create a glider and propeller with...
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
Understanding the Four Forces of Flight
In this four forces of flight instructional activity, students read a 1 page article on flights, answer 5 questions with multiple choice answers, draw a line to connect the four forces to their definitions and answer 1 short answer...
Curated OER
Celebrating 100 Years of Flight for Grades 3-5
Students study the history of flight of the past one hundred years, focusing on the invention of the airplane, the introduction of women pilots and the space race. They conduct research and then write and publish a "100 Years of Flight"...
DocsTeach
Analyzing a Photograph of Sally Ride
Sometimes, a picture really does say it all. The activity uses a picture of astronaut Sally Ride to help elementary academics make observations and form conclusions. Young historians study the picture, complete short written prompts, and...
Teach Engineering
Will It Fly?
Go fly a kite, then fly a plane! The 19th part of a 22-part unit on aviation looks at the way kites and gliders help aid in the understanding of flight. Pupils discuss how engineers used kites to influence airplane designs.
PBS
Reading Adventure Pack: Flight
A Reading Adventure pack focuses on the invention of flight. After reading a fiction and nonfiction book, scholars take their newfound knowledge to design a one-passenger flying device, experiment with different types of paper airplanes...
National Woman's History Museum
The Women of NASA
Human computers? Although it may sound like science fiction, the term was used to describe the women who made the NASA calculations before the advent of electronic computers. A 21-slide presentation introduces viewers to the women who...
Briscoe Center for American History
Mary Maverick and Texas History - Part 1
What's the difference between a diary and a memoir? Young historians explore the ramifications of this question as they learn how to use primary source materials to gain an understanding of life on the Texas frontier.
Curated OER
Flight Dreams - Flight Factors
Students investigate the physics of flight by experimenting in class. In this history of flight lesson, students define terms such as gravity, lift, and drag in order to better understand how a plane is able to stay in the air....
Curated OER
Early Attempts at Flight
Students investigate the early history of flight. In this aviation history lesson, students are split into six groups to research the development of the ornithopter, hot air balloon and the glider. Each group records information on...
Curated OER
Flying with Pythagoras
A lengthy narrative about Pythagoras and his students precedes an activity in which your young mathematicians practice using the Pythagorean theorem to solve three problems about flight and distance. Answers are provided.
Curated OER
Flying High in Ohio
Her is a lesson plan 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...