Students make a parachute. In this air resistance lesson, students create a parachute using materials they think will work the best. Students try out their parachutes, noting which one worked the best. Students discuss how the size,...

Rather than just shouting out commands on what to do with a parachute, turn some music on and make it a dance routine. This seems like a pretty cool way to engage young learners. Make a dome, hop, make waves, walk, twist, and shake that...

Drop a perfect project into your lesson plans. Groups use different building materials to create models of parachutes for food drops. After testing out their prototypes, they make improvements to their designs.

Fourth graders construct a parachute using specified materials in a set amount of time. They observe a toy parachute attached to a toy man and discuss what makes him move slower or faster. Then in small groups they design, construct,...

Students engage in a discussion about what a parachute is and how it works. They create a parachute using different materials that they think will work best. The students test their designs, which will be followed by a class discussion...

Who doesn't like playing with a parachute? Get out the CD player, find "Behind the Clouds" by Brad Paisley, and get those youngsters  moving. The movements in this dance are very basic: slide steps, walking, shaking, swaying, and...

Learners will have fun creating a parachute to collect data with. They will construct the parachute in small groups, measure the materials, and create an observation sheet. Then they drop the parachute and make predictions about how long...

Young scholars discuss parachutes and write a procedure to determine the effect of different size parachutes and different masses on the time it takes the masses to fall. They record all their data from their experiment then write three...

Flutter, dome, mushroom, tent, jell-o, popcorn, volcano, floating cloud, and mashed potatoes. What do these terms have in common? They are all things to do in a parachute activity. Check out this activity, the pictures included with the...

This lesson certainly will not be a drag! Little engineers design parachutes that make use of air resistance and, as a result, slow the descent of the payload as much as possible. It is an opportunity to teach about many motion concepts:...

Learners create a simple paper parachute. In this parachute design lesson, students examine the effects of the wind and make napkin parachutes.  

Students study the basics of parachuting.  In this flight and aerodynamics lesson plan students make a simple parachute and investigate different variables that can cause potential problems.

Sixth graders make 2 different kinds of parachutes and record and graph the time for each one for the different drag forces. In this parachute lesson plan, 6th graders compare the results to the rest of the class of each parachute and...

Students study the invention of the parachute and how Leonardo da Vinci came up with the design.  In this aerodynamics lesson students test the properties that make parachutes more efficient.

Students explore the concept of color awareness and matching. In this color awareness lesson, students participate in a parachute activity to build their knowledge of matching colors. This activity involves using a beanbag and parachute...

Students design a skydiver and parachute constraption to demonstrate how drag caused by air resistance slows the descent of skydivers as they travel back to Earth. They experience how gravity pulls the skydiver toward the earth and how...

Space diving refers to the act of jumping from outer space and falling through Earth's atmosphere before parachuting to land. Scholars learn about this extreme activity and study the layers of the atmosphere they must conquer in the...

Take a look at this cooperative learning activity. The goal of the activity is to transport nuclear waste (a cup of water) from point A to point B without spilling the toxic waste. There are several ideas given here for things to use to...

Students investigate how to make a good parachute. In this physics lesson, students observe the motion of parachutes as it falls and measure the time. They collect data and calculate the average descent time for each canopy shape.

Students participate in an instant activity as they enter the gym. They work with a parachute, moving it using different motions. They use their wrists, to move the parachute while moving in a circle, and play a game of Cat and Mouse...

Students investigate how weight affects a parachute's rate of fall.  In this investigative instructional activity students test parachutes, average results and conclude what makes a faster descent.

Students examine force and conduct activities that model parachutes and helicopters.  In this airplanes instructional activity students identify the forces that make airplanes fly higher and land. 

Learners participate in a simulation of a parachute-jump competition by making paper parachutes and then dropping them towards a target on the floor. They measure the distance from the point where the paper parachute lands compared to...

The classic "Egg Drop Activity" is described in this fine science lesson plan. Young scientists work together to design a container that will protect the eggs inside of it when dropped from a high place. Lots of good scientific...