Flight Teacher Resources

High school physicists demonstrate Bernoulli's Principle by blowing on different items and finding that they do not move in the expected direction! They apply Bernoulli's equation to the flight of an airplane. This well-organized lesson...

Three activities allow young flight engineers to understand the 4 principles of flight (weight, lift, thrust, and drag), to construct a glider, and to create a propeller. Multicultural history and literature are integrated by reading...

Flight seems like an important adaptive advantage, so why did some birds lose their ability to take to the skies? A video from the PBS Eons series explains the evolutionary paths of different species of birds while emphasizing the...

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.

Learners investigate ways to enhance an object's flying ability.  In this model construction lesson, students construct two paper airplanes, one of which is twice as big as the first.  Learners compare and contrast the two separate...

Sixth graders investigate the forces that move certain objects.  In this physics lesson, 6th graders design and create paper flying objects using origami methods, which they practice flying in different conditions.  Students record and...

This Discovery Education activity provides the information needed to understand the basics of flight. Before taking off, young pilots learn the eight stages of the engineering design process. Small groups then design and build an...

Young scholars demonstrate the Bernoulli Principle, review the influences that affected the Wright Brothers, and make and modify paper airplanes. This amazing lesson plan has an excellent structure, and very clear plans for the students...

Some of these beautiful diagrams should help your students understand the connections between pressure and flight. Pressure and density are also discussed, and a number of links are included to give fantastic interactive examples of...

Students 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...

Students discover how air pressure effects flight.  In this physics instructional activity, students create two types of airplane wings so they can observe the way air pressure creates lift.  Students utilize a printout to create the...

Students discuss how the invention of flight changed the way people live today. In groups, they compare and contrast the differences between weight, lift, thrust and drag. Using these principles, they create a glider and propeller with...

Students discover how flight is possible.  In this physics activity, students investigate the properties of a blimp and gyro-copter, comparing rotating wings and fixed wings of aircraft.  Students create their own model aircraft and...

Students design and construct a gliding aircraft. They use the Internet as a research tool to gain background information about specific flight principles.

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...

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...

Students investigate the physics of flight by experimenting in class.  For 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....

Ever wonder what it's like to feel weightless? Hop aboard the Vomit Comet and find out! A video from a large physics playlist features the parabolic airplane flight used to simulate weightlessness. Young physicists discover how the...

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...

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...

Ninth graders study the basic principles of flight, including the Bernoulli Principle and Newton's Laws. They construct and study model aircraft

Learners explore physics by participating in a science activity in class. In this flight properties instructional activity, students identify Bernoulli's principle of flight and his theory of statics and motion. Learners conduct a...

Students apply the knowledge of Bernoulli's Principle and construct simple aerodynamic designs. For this flight physics lesson, students explore the history of man's interest in flying and the forces influencing an object in flight by...