Teach Engineering
Can You Take the Pressure?
Do not let the pressure get to you. The first lesson in a unit of 22 introduces the concept of air pressure. Using background knowledge, the resource gives teachers the information they need to discuss how people measure air pressure and...
Curated OER
Assembling an Aircraft
Students practice reading directions from a task card to assemble a paper aircraft during their Moon, Mars and Beyond mission. They relate the activity to their mission work and recognize the importance of reading directions.
Curated OER
Fly Away With Averages
Young scholars study mean, median, and mode. They construct paper airplanes and test them to see how far they fly. They measure the distance and then find the averages of their throws. They use spreadsheet software to record the data...
Curated OER
Play Battleship on Graph Paper
Who says learning can't be enjoyable? Your class will love identifying the x axis and y axis of a coordinate plane and plotting various points when it's dressed up in the guise of a Battleship game. Rather than sets of the actual game,...
Curated OER
Paper Gliders
Sixth graders study friction and drag. In this science lesson plan, 6th graders use different models of gliders and test to see which of the gliders fly the farthest. Students analyze their data and construct a graph.
Curated OER
Kite Experiments and Building Information
Students build their own kite following certain procedures. In this physics lesson, students explain the aerodynamics concepts involved in flying kites. They trace the development of aviation.
Curated OER
Criteria and Constraints in Aircraft Design
Students investigate criteria and constraints for designing any aircraft. They define these terms and categorize a series of examples of both. Using the constraints and criteria set before them, they design and construct airplanes in...
Curated OER
Fighter Pilots of World War II
Young scholars explore the types of airplanes that were used in World War II. In this World History lesson, students write a research paper that compares and contrasts three types of American airplanes and three types of foreign...
Curated OER
How Airplanes Fly?
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 furthest flight.
Teach Engineering
What a Drag!
Stop and drop what is in your hand! Pupils investigate how form effects drag in the 12th part of a 22-part unit on aviation. Groups create equally weighted objects and determine which one falls the fastest by collecting data.
Kenan Fellows
Weight and Balance of an Airplane
A career in aeronautics might be calling your class members. Building from the previous two lessons in the series, learners continue analyzing the mathematics of aeronautics. Groups create a paper airplane using paperclips for balance....
NASA
Resolving 2-Plane Traffic Conflicts by Changing Speed—Problem Set E
What do you do to change arrival times of airplanes when a different route is not available? The fifth interactive in a series of six presents problems where pupils must find solutions to conflicts of safety rules. They must decide how...
Curated OER
The Shapes of Flight
Students explore interaction between mathematics, science, and technology as they look at process of researching, developing, testing, and evaluating airplane design. They calculate glide ratio for model paper airplane by using data...
Curated OER
Flying the Friendly Skies
Students investigate aerodynamics by comparing and contrasting the flight of two gliders. They make prediction and observation charts and test a variety of hypotheses using paper gliders.
Curated OER
Come Fly With Me...Aviation
Students conduct internet research on aviation and pioneer aviators. They create an alphabet book r with flight related terms, write a short biography of a pioneer aviator and take part in a paper plane flying contest.
Cornell University
Physics of Flight
Up, up, and away! Take your classes on a physics adventure. Learners explore the concepts important for flight. They experiment with the Bernoulli Principle while learning the forces that act on airplanes in flight.
Curated OER
Flying High in Math
Seventh graders study how real airplanes fly and then they construct models of paper airplanes using design resources for the Internet and their own design. They use meaurement and caluculations in order to help them construct their...
Curated OER
An Uplifting Experience
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.
Curated OER
Variables and Controls in an Investigation
Seventh graders identify variables and controls in a paper airplane investigation. In this scientific method lesson, 7th graders conduct an experiment to determine the variables that affect the flight of paper airplanes. They design an...
Curated OER
The Selection and Variation in the Egyptian Origami Bird
Students participate in a contrived natural selection simulation in which they build and modify simple paper airplanes. They study divergent and convergent evolution and how it is isolated in sub-populations.
Curated OER
How Things Fly
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...
Curated OER
What Makes Thing Fly?
Second graders study lift, drag and thrust from a real flight instructor. In this physical science lesson students build and fly paper airplanes and experiment with variations and design.
Curated OER
Flying With The Wright Stuff
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...
Curated OER
Help Maggie Rebuild Her Airplane!
In this airplane worksheet, students build airplanes out of paper and test their accuracy while flying them. Students build 6 planes and fill out test logs to go with them.