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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

How Things Fly

For Teachers 5th - 8th
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...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Wright Stuff

For Teachers 6th - 12th
In this lesson, students design an exhibition on the history of aviation for a science museum. For homework, they write short stories envisioning the future of flight in the year 2014.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Bag Balloons

For Teachers 7th - 8th
Students demonstrate that heat can change air. They determine that hot air rises. Students construct a working model of a hot air balloon. They understand that there are two ways that a balloon can rise: it can (1) be filled with a...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Floating and Falling Flows

For Teachers 6th - 9th
Students discover fluid dynamics related to buoyancy through experimentation and optional photography. Using one set of fluids, they make light fluids rise through denser fluids. Using another set, they make dense fluids sink through a...
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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...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Understanding: Flight

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students review the principles of flight before performing a series of simple experiments. Working in small groups, they complete hands-on activities that demonstrate the principles that make it possible for an airplane to lift into air...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Rain On

For Teachers 4th
Fourth graders study the water cycle and clouds. In this water cycle and cloud lesson, 4th graders determine the definition of condensation and watch a demonstration in which the teacher makes a cloud in a bottle. They discuss the water...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Windbreakers; Earth Science, Topography, Weather

For Teachers 3rd - 7th
Students consider how topography affects weather and human activity. Students simulate a mountain range and observe surrounding wind patterns.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

What's the Connection Between Convection and Inversion?

For Teachers 9th
Ninth graders observe a simulation demonstrating the difference between convection and inversion. They explain where and when convection and inversion layers occur and how each impacts air quality, and by connection, human health.