A Time For Flight

Discover seven of the most historic aircraft and spacecraft in the collections of the National Air and Space Museum. By research into the major milestones of aviation history your students will recognize features that enable flight,...

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....

Students observe how bird flight and machine flight are similar. In this aerodynamics lesson, students observe how birds fly and the shapes of their wings, and investigate how observing birds helped develop the concept of machine flight....

Students identify significant milestones in the history of flight. In this aviation history lesson, students study various resource materials and construct timelines of significant achievements.

Glide into the study of flight. An engaging lesson plan has scholars research information on the Wright brothers. They develop props and produce a recreation of the first flight at Kitty Hawk. They then report on the event as if they...

Young scholars reflect on the dynamics of human flight and how objects fall through the air and how science principles are used in flight. They create a How-It-Works poster diagramming the science behind one method of flying. In...

Middle schoolers read two articles about the same event: "Plane from J.F.K Crashes off Canada" from the New York Times and "No Survivors from Crash of Swissair Jetliner Off Nova Scotia" from the Associated Press. They then compare the...

Analyze the setting behind the Great Depression in California with Pam Munoz Ryan's Esperanza Rising. Middle schoolers assess the protagonist during her coming-of-age moments, while migrant workers manage the hardships of the era. Each...

Eighth graders explore aviation history. In this historical perspectives lesson, 8th graders play a game that requires them to recall facts about the history and physics of flight with primary sources available from the...

Students practice reading comprehension, note taking and writing skills. In this literacy and writing lesson, students read about the invention of airplanes, women pilots and the space race before writing their own news article on "100...