Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Paperplane Flying Circus

For Teachers 4th - 6th
Young scholars 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.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Flight Home

For Teachers 4th - 7th
Students experiment to investigate the role in fixed-wing flight. They watch as air and water flow around surfaces to examine the dynamics of airflow around an aircraft wing.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Science of Airplane Flight

For Teachers 7th - 12th
Young scholars  define terms, explain Bernoulli's principle and identify the control surfaces of an airplane.  In this investigative lesson students complete a lab activity.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

An Uplifting Experience

For Teachers 4th - 6th
Students examine the forces that affect the flight of airplanes through the use of paper airplanes. They conduct Internet research, conduct experiments demonstrating Bernoulli's Principle, and design and construct a paper airplane.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Rockets!!

For Teachers 6th - 9th
Students launch a rocket.  In this laws of motion lesson plan, students discuss the forces of flight, how a plane flies and how a rocket gets off the ground.  Students watch a video about rocket launches, discuss Newton's Third...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

How Airplanes Fly?

For Teachers 5th
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...
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

Wright Flight

For Teachers 3rd - 4th
Students explain and explain the interactive relationships between forces of lift and gravity, thrust and drag, as they apply to airplanes in motion. They know that Orville and Wilbur Wright flew the first airplane based on these...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Flying With The Wright Stuff

For Teachers 7th - 8th
Students explore the history of flight, specifically the Wright brothers. Pupils create paper airplanes. They discuss considerations in building an aircraft such as drag, thrust, and weight. Classmates compare the Wright Brother's...
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

Understanding Bernoulli's Principle

For Teachers 5th
Fifth graders explain why we fly. In this space science lesson, 5th graders discuss Bernoulli's prinicple and its relation to flight.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Catch a Dream

For Teachers 7th - 11th
Students apply the concepts of air pressure, the Bernoulli Effect, and angle of attack to build their own model planes out of paper, plastic, wooden rods, and drinking straws.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Pounds

For Teachers 1st
In this mathematics worksheet, 1st graders identify which items pictured weighs more or less than a pound. Then they circle the objects that weigh more and place an X on the object that weigh less than a pound.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Flight Physics

For Teachers 5th - 12th
Students apply the knowledge of Bernoulli's Principle and construct simple aerodynamic designs. In this flight physics lesson, students explore the history of man's interest in flying and the forces influencing an object in flight by...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

How Things Fly

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students conduct a series of hands-on experiments that help them explain the role of lift in fixed-wing flight. They observe the flow of air and water around several surfaces and then consider the dynamics of airflow around an aircraft...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Newton's Third Law of Motion

For Teachers 7th
Seventh graders are introduced to Newton's Third Law of Motion.  In this physics lesson plan students examine the concept of thrust as one of the forces acting on aircraft. 
Unit Plan
TeachEngineering

Teach Engineering: Up, Up and Away! Airplanes

For Teachers 4th - 6th
The airplanes unit begins with a lesson on how airplanes create lift, which involves a discussion of air pressure and how wings use Bernoulli's Principle to change air pressure. Following the lessons on lift, students explore the other...
Activity
Science Buddies

Science Buddies: Why Winglets?

For Students 6th - 9th
Make a paper airplane and experiment with adding winglets to it to test its performance. The Science Buddies project ideas are set up consistently beginning with an abstract, objective, and introduction, followed by a section on terms,...
Lesson Plan
Science and Mathematics Initiative for Learning Enhancement (SMILE)

Smile: Lab Activity: Aviation

For Teachers 3rd - 8th
This site from the Illinois Institute of Technology provides a student lab activity in which the flight of a paper airplane is investigated and studied. Designed for primary grades, but easily adaptable for junior high students.