Students are introduced to the folksinger, Woody Guthrie, and his legendary song This Land Is Your Land. After listening to the song, students engage in a discussion which emphasizes that Woody Guthrie wrote songs for everyone;...

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.

Use pumpkins of various sizes to experiment with weight and perimeter. First the class lifts the pumpkins one by one, estimating each pumpkin's weight. They arrange the pumpkins from lightest to heaviest, and then string weigh each one...

Students will examine the physics of flight through using experimental inquiry. For this lesson, you'll introduce your students to the four forces of flight--drag, lift, thrust, and weight--through a variety of fun-filled flight...

Students investigate how levers help to lift heavy loads. They view and discuss examples of levers, explore various websites, experiment with the levers brought to the class, and watch the video for the book "Mike Mulligan and His Steam...

Fourth graders conduct an investigation in order to determine a way to change the strength of an electromagnet's magnetic force. After conducting "control" lifts with their electromagnet, groups make initial changes, record data, and...

Students explore different types of weather and examine the elements in the sky that create weather. They create a class lift of weather words and examine and discuss a weather poster. Students then complete the "What's the Weather?"...

Students investigate the properties of inclined planes and how implementing them can reduce the force necessary to lift objects off the ground. In this inclined planes instructional activity, students are introduced to the concept of...

Fifth graders participate in a game of blanket volleyball. For this sports lesson, 5th graders are divided into two teams and each have a blanket. Students catch the ball in the blanket and throw the ball by lifting the blanket.

Primaries explore the concepts of observation and inference. Given a set of six sealed boxes, children lift, tip, or gently shake in order to make observations about what is inside. The lesson plan gives preparation instructions in...

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....

Fifth graders explore drag, thrust, lift and weight.  In this airplane lesson, 5th graders define the forces that effect airplanes and design a model airplane.  Students  compare their models for the...

Can DNA fingerprinting prevent the extinction of elephants? Young scientists learn about DNA fingerprinting before applying their knowledge to case studies of elephant poaching. The first case requires them to match the DNA from a tusk...

Pupils create paper airplanes. They compare and contrast the airplanes created in class and test them out. They adjust their airplanes until they all fly. They discuss the forces that allow flight to occur.

In this spelling instructional activity, 3rd graders practice reading and writing each of the words listed. Then they find and circle the words in the word search puzzle at the bottom of the sheet.

In this math worksheet, students find how a 1 kg bucket filled with 10 kg of water is lifted 10 m into the air. They set up an integral which gives the total amount of work done on the bucket and the water used for lifting it.

Students brainstorm ways of using an inclined plane or lever and demonstrate using materials such as a board, fulcrum, etc. They divide into two groups and figure out to lift a crate using materials for a simple machine. Once they...

Students examine the aerodynamics of a wing and how it generates lift.  In this flight lesson students complete several experiments including how to build a paper plane and how airfoils affect performance.

Pupils, after reading an explanation from a NASA Web-based textbook, you demonstrate an understanding of the text by applying it to questions involving the theories of how a wing produces lift.

Learners investigate pulleys and see how they have a mechanical advantage in lifting heavy loads.  For this pulley lesson students make a hypothesis, complete and experiment then complete a worksheet. 

Fourth graders are introduced to a spring scale to show that the forces on both sides of the pulley are the same. They break into groups to lift objects with fixed pulleys and with multiple looped pulleys and then measure the force...

First graders participate in a study of air pressure in which the investigate if air has the strength to lift heavy objects. They work in teams to develop a hypothesis about whether air in bags would be able to lift a stack of books....

Students explain basic principles of aeronautics such as gravity and lift. In this How Things Fly lesson, students visit the interactive, hands-on How Things Fly gallery at the Smithsonian. Students perform three experiments that...

Students launch flying tubes. In this aeronautics lesson, students gather the materials and follow the procedures to create a paper tube that generates lift as it travels.