Curated OER
Take a Leap!
Eighth graders discuss the flight of the Wright Brothers at Kitty Hawk. They study artwork of various sculptors showing the concept of flight. They write a paragraph and design a papier-mache' sculpture that shows movement.
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
Newton's Laws of Motion
Ninth graders utilize Newton's Laws of Motion to explain how things move, create poster illustrating each law of motion, and present and explain their poster to classmates.
Curated OER
Lift and Drag: Principles of Flight and the Soaring Imagination
Students construct models of early gas balloons and gliders. In this balloon and glider lesson, students create models of early gas balloons and gliders, discover how the forces of lift and drag effect aircraft in flight, and put on...
Teach Engineering
May the Force Be with You: Weight
Too much material will weigh you down. The sixth segment in a series of 22 highlights how weight affects a plane. Pupils learn that engineers take the properties of materials, including weight, when designing something.
Curated OER
Proportions in Flight
Sixth graders explore physics by utilizing their math skills. In this flight properties lesson, 6th graders examine the flying capabilities of planes and birds. Students utilize math to find how many wing-beats are needed to keep a bird...
Curated OER
Flying in Unusual Places
Eighth graders create a surrealistic composition that depicts flight.
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
Blast Off!
With the use of a model rocket kit, aspiring aerospace engineers work cooperatively to construct and launch a rocket. A preparatory reading assignment is included, covering Newton's laws of motion and information about the first...
Teach Engineering
Equal and Opposite Thrust in Aircraft: You're a Pushover!
It's the law—every action requires a reaction, no matter how small. Pupils experience two demonstrations of Newton's third law of motion as it relates to thrust in the 10th segment of a 22-part unit on flight. Using their mathematical...
CK-12 Foundation
Airplane
How does an airplane control its take off and descent? Scholars explore the forces acting on an airplane and control the angle of attack, wing profile, thrust, and airplane size. They learn about lift, drag, thrust, gravity, and the...
Exploratorium
Whack-a-Stack
Go wild as you hit a stack of wooden blocks to demonstrate Newton's first and second laws of motion. The blocks at the top of the stack stay put as you knock one at a time out of the bottom. Note, however, that you will need to...
Curated OER
Flying Fish Stabile
Learners research the similarities and differences between stabiles and mobiles, and the physics principles embodied in each construction. They investigate different types of fish and their habitats, paying special attention to their...
Curated OER
Aviation, Aeronautics and Aerodynamics
Students investigate the physics of flight through various experiments. In this physics lesson, students construct different flying objects. They explain the dynamics that make these object fly.
Curated OER
Determining Center of Gravity
Students complete calculations involving the structure and properties of matter. They engage in a variety of problem solving activities to help them determine the center of gravity.
Curated OER
Science: Birds in Flight
Students identify and examine adaptations in birds that enable them to fly. They conduct Internet research to relate these adaptations to the physics of flight. Students observe birds in flight and describe their behavior and flight...
Curated OER
Principles of Flight: Gyrocopter and the Scientific Method
Students explore the concept of the scientific method. In this investigative lesson, students investigate which direction the blades will spin on a gyrocopter. Student will practice using the scientific method to complete the investigation.
Curated OER
Forces, Controls And Aircraft Systems
Learners are introduced to the physics of flight through video and PowerPoint presentations. They construct and fly model gliders and compete for height, distance, time, etc.
Curated OER
Light Sport Aircraft Design Challenge
Learners investigate aircraft design to learn many concepts of physics. In this aircraft design lesson plan, students use balsa wood and styrofoam to build an aircraft based on their study of wing designs, aviation, and through the use...
Curated OER
Strawkets and Weight
Students investigate the effect that weight has on rocket flight. They construct a variety of straw-launched rockets that have different weights, observe what happens when the weight of a rocket is altered by reducing its physical size...
Curated OER
Flight Dreams - Folding into Flight
Combine measurement, following directions, physics, and art with one fun activity. Learners read a set of instruction to create three different kinds of paper airplanes. They measure, fold, and fly the planes, and record data and answer...
Curated OER
3-2-1 Pop!
Students investigate how rocket liftoff demonstrates Newton's Laws of Motion. They participate in a class discussion, and construct a rocket powered by the pressure generated from an antacid tablet reacting with water.
Curated OER
Aerospace Engineering
Twelfth graders examine the physics of rocket flight. They build and launch model rockets to measure their performances.
Radford University
Rocket Quads
How high will it fly? Pairs build straw rockets and launch them at different angles and determine the height and horizontal distance of the flight path. Teams make conjectures about how the angle affects the measured distances and use...
Curated OER
Excited About Flight!
Students create flying objects by using materials given in 3 different flight centers. In this flight lesson plan, students go to each center and have a discussion about each one.