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Standlee Starfinders Projects |
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Pioneers of Flight
Lesson Plans:
created by Erin Keller, Natalie Johnson, Jeff Schultz and Dana Standlee
Emerald Park Elementary in Kent, WA (2000)
awarded for Best Use of Technology in national Conect contest
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1
Title Duration |
Activity Ask students if they know what causes an airplane to fly. After brainstorming a list, explain to students that scientists have identified four forces that allow a plane to fly. Some of the brainstormed ideas may belong to one of the forces. (I wanted the students to discover the four forces on their own, discovery learning, through experiments rather than me telling the forces to the students. Although, one may choose to tell their students ahead of time before the experiments of the four forces). Conduct an experiment on lift: cut out strips of paper, 1 1/2 X 10 inches (one for each student). Place one end of the strip between the pages of a book so that the other end hangs over the top of the book. Have the students blow on the top of the strip. The paper rises. Why? Explain that the faster moving air is on top of the "wing" (strip of paper). This decreases the pressure, so that the pressure on the bottom of the "wing" is greater and the "wing" rises. This force is called "lift". This is known as the Bernoullis principle. Explain that both paths of air must reach the back edge of the wing at the same time. The top path must travel faster to reach the back edge. Faster moving air has lower pressure than slower moving air. The higher pressure below the wing pushes up on the wing and wing lifts into the air. Identify lift on the Forces of Flight diagram. Ask students "What might create lift on the body of an airplane?" (wings). Have students explain the Bernoulli principle to a partner. Drawing pictures and writing in a science journal are helpful options. Web
Resources U.S.
Air Force Museum University
of Idaho S.P.A.R.K. - Engineering is Elementary: Aeronautics Resources Evidence
- Student Reflections Standards
Addressed
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| Lesson
2
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Activity Review the previous lesson and force. Explain that today we will be learning another force of flight and how it affects an airplane in flight. Light a candle and place it in a wad of clay or a holder. Hold an index card in front of it. Have students predict what will happen to the candle as you blow on the card. (Nothing). The air cannot get to the candle. The card creates too much resistance. Fold the card into a tear drop shape and tape the ends. Set the candle and the rounded edge near you. Have students predict what will happen when you blow towards the candle. (It will flicker and/or go out). This shape offers less resistance to the air. The air is able to flow around the shape. It's shape created less resistance to the air. This is called drag. Drag is the resistance created on any surface. Now the students will conduct their own experiment on drag. Have the students drop a flat sheet of paper with the flat side parallel to the ground. The students should count how long it takes it to reach the ground. Answers vary depending upon height. They may want to try this three times and average the fall time. The students then crumple the same sheet of paper and drop it again. Have them count how long it takes it reach the ground. Again they may want to try this three times and average the fall time. The rate this time should be a bit faster than the rate for the flat piece of paper. Ask 'Which paper dropped the fastest?' 'Why did it fall faster than the flat sheet?' Explain drag and how it affects the flight of an airplane. Identify drag on the Forces of Flight diagram. What might create drag on the body of an airplane? (gears, dirt). Students orally explain drag to a partner. Web
Resources U.S.
Air Force Museum University
of Idaho S.P.A.R.K., Engineering is Elementary Aeronautics Resources Evidence
- Student Reflections Standards
Addressed
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| Lesson
3
Title Duration |
Activity Review the last lesson. Today's lesson is about another force of flight. (You may explain the force of thrust at this time or wait until after the teacher has conducted their experiment). Thread string through a straw and attach the ends of the string to two chairs. Stretch the string as tightly as possible. Blow up a balloon to the desired size. Without tying up the balloon and holding the opening closed, tape the balloon to the straw. It is best to tape the straw and balloon near the opening of the balloon with tape pieces fairly close together. Release the balloon. When the opening of the balloon is released, air from inside the balloon escapes through the opening, thus pushing the balloon forward. Solicit ideas from the students what force this may be. Explain that the experiment is an example of Newton's third law of motion: for every action there is an equal but opposite reaction. Explain that this experiment is an example of the force called thrust. Thrust is created to provide the forward motion necessary for flight to occur. Propellers on an airplane create thrust. Explain that jet engines have no propellers but have a reaction engine in which fuel is burned to expand air and build up greater pressure (like in the balloon experiment). It also has a tail pipe through which the expanded gases can escape. The plane is moved forward by the pressure of the gases inside the engine. Its rate of speed, if it were in a vacuum, would be the same as that of the escaping gases. The students can duplicate the balloon experiment in teams and create a graph charting varying amounts of air in the balloon and the length of balloon used. To close, ask 'Which force moves an airplane forward?' (thrust) 'What part of the plane provides thrust?' (propeller or jet engine). Identify thrust on Forces of Flight diagram. Ask students to explain to a partner what they know about thrust and how it affects the flight of an airplane. Web
Resources U.S.
Air Force Museum University
of Idaho S.P.A.R.K., Engineering is Elementary Aeronautics Resources Evidence
- Discussion Standards
Addressed
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| Lesson
4
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Activity The last force of flight is gravity and weight. Explain that earth's gravity pulls down objects thus giving objects weight. Weight is how heavy or light an object is. Pass out a four by four inch square piece of paper to each student. The students blow air under the paper to get the paper to rise. Discuss what happened (one had to continue blowing enought air in order to lift the paper). Explain that the force created by lift (air blowing) needs to be greater than the weight of the plane in order for the paper to lift off. The same is true for an airplane. Pass out an eight by eight inch square piece of paper. Predict what will happen to the paper when you use the same amount of air blowing as the four by four inch piece of paper (the paper will not rise as much or stay up as long). Students then blow air under the paper to cause it to rise. Discuss what happened. Explain that there needs to be more lift in order to lift the paper up. Lighter airplanes need less lift than heavier airplanes. Explain again the concept of gravity, weight, and lift and how it affects the flight of an airplane. Students label gravity (weight) on their Forces of Flight diagram paper. What parts of an airplane provides weight? (everything). Students orally explain the concept of gravity and weight and how it affects the flight of an airplane. Web
Resources U.S.
Air Force Museum University
of Idaho S.P.A.R.K., Engineering is Elementary Aeronautics Resources Evidence
- Discussion Standards
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5
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Activity After learning the four forces of flight, the students create one or more paper airplanes. Students should create paper airplanes so that they can identify the parts that contribute to each force of flight. For example, the wings of the plane contribute to lift. The point of the airplane contributes to thrust because it allows the plane to point in a direction and allows for forward direction. Students can get patterns from books, websites, or create a paper airplane on their own. Explain to the students that they will fly their planes in one or more paper airplane contest (teacher decides). Contests can include but not limited to distance, height, and longest in the air. Students can decorate paper airplanes and put them on display as well. Web
Resources JLine
Paper Airplanes
Kool
Paper Airplanes Resources Evidence
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| Lesson
6
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Activity Review with students the four forces of flight. Discuss experiments and note the Forces of Flight diagram. Pass out Forces Involved in Flying a Plane worksheet. Students work on the worksheet independently then as a class discuss each answer. With all material put away have students complete an art project showing a flying machine and how it is effected by the four forces of flight.Pass out the Forces of Flight test. Students work on the test by matching the definition to the correct force of flight. Next, students fill in the diagram with the four forces of flight. Web
Resources Resources Evidence
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7
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Activity Students build an Edmonds Aerospace boost glider. They follow assembly directions to shape the balsa gliders wing surfaces for maximum lift and minium drag. As they build they write journals to document how the four forces of flight influence the process of building a rocket-propelled glider. After flights are completed, the students add closing comments to their journls. Gliders assessed by using the glider assembly and flight rubric. Web
Resources Resources Evidence
- Informal Observation Evidence
- Student Reflections Evidence
- Other Standards
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8
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Activity Explain to students that they have learned the four forces of flight. Next we will discuss the concept of flight and how humans have acheived this ability, including historical figures who have made contributions in this area. Our driving question is "How did the pioneers of flight influence the progession of aviation to the present day?" First brainstorm on a chart what students already know about flight. Next, read a short one page biography of Leonardo Da Vinci and the Wright Brothers. Discuss how these people contributed to the history of flight, focusing on the differences and similarities. Web
Resources The
Wright Brothers Resources Evidence
- Discussion Standards
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9
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Activity Discuss the concept of failure with the class. Ask students to write about a time they failed and what happened as a result of this failure. Guide students to focus on what they learned from the experience and how that helped them in the future. Read "The Glorius Flight" by Alice and Martin Provensen (either aloud to students or using multiple copies of the text). After finishing the story, ask students if Louis Bleriot was a failure and how has Louis Bleriot influenced the progession of aviation. Discuss as a class. Pass out a short, one page biography on Charles Lindbergh. Have students read the biography to themselves and highlight or underline important information. Use a Venn diagram to compare and contrast Bleriot and Lindbergh. Ask 'How did Lindbergh influence the progression of aviaion?' Discuss as a class. Finally, have students, using the five W's, write a brief newspaper article about Bleriot or Lindberg's famous flight. Web
Resources Resources Evidence
- Performance Task Standards
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10
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Activity Read to students a biography of Amelia Earhart, about her childhood. Discuss the limitations placed on Amelia and all girls at that time. Continue reading to class about Amelia's life and her first major acomplishments. Begin a character web, in which Amelia's name is placed in the middle and her traits are webbed around her. Discuss the evidence for each trait. Pass out to class a short, one to two page biography about another famous woman of aviation such as Bessie Coleman, Louise Thaden or Olive Ann Beech. Discuss limitations placed on these women and how they, like Amelia, overcame these obstacles and what they acheived. Lastly ask 'How did Amelia Earhart influence the progression of aviation?' Discuss as a class. Web
Resources Resources Evidence
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11
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Activity Discuss with students the concept of biography. Refer students to the information the class read about famous pioneers of flight. Ask students to generate a list of topics covered in a biography (such as information about the person's family and childhood, what caused the person to become interested in flight, the person's greatest accomplishment in flight, etc.) and list on the board or a class data pad. Introduce the idea that the class, working in partners or small groups, will be writing their own biographies about a pioneer of flight. Discuss ways in which they might choose a person to focus on, such as going to their school or local library, looking in the encyclopedia, or searching the internet. Restate the driving question (How did the pioneers of flight influence the progession of aviation to the present day?). Clarify with the students that their paper should address the answer to the driving question in relation to the pioneer that they are researching on. Go over some example answers that were stated in previous lessons.
Web
Resources Resources Evidence
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12
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Activity State the focus for today is to select a pioneer to research by locating and reading sources on the internet about different aviator pioneers. Partners can be teacher assigned or student selected. Review the driving question. Have students locate resources. In the computer lab demonstate how to use search engines to locate information on the internet. Discuss ways to determine if a site will probably have the information students are looking for (the name of the site, reading the brief description provided by some search engines, etc.) You may want to find a variety of flight resources on the web and compile them into a "launcher" page or use the Co-nect Student Center, depending on the age of the students. Allow students time with their partners to explore several different possibilities and then list their top three choices. Then at the end of the time, the students write down their top three choices. Based on the students' choices, the teacher assigns a different aviator to each group. Assign students a pioneer of flight based on their choices (and to avoid having several pairs do the same pioneer--especially as resources may be limited for certain pioneers). Web
Resources Searchopolis Yahooligans! Resources Evidence Standards
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13
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Activity Explain that they will be putting their research in a slideshow. (We used Powerpoint for creating our slideshow, but other programs such as Hyperstudio will work as well). Show an example of a slideshow, all the while pointing out different aspects of a slideshow, such as title, picture, labels, etc. If the students are familiar with slideshows, briefly review and then have the students point out different aspects of slideshows they feel are important. List these on the board or class data pad. Discuss the purpose of the slideshow by reviewing the driving question. The audience is the class and teacher. Review rubrics (show examples of rubrics previously used in class) and the purpose of rubrics. Draw a blank rubric on the board or on an overhead and ask the class to help you create the rubric that will be used to score their final products. The rubric we used is included and a teacher may choose to edit ours to fit the needs of the classroom. If this is the case, then going over the rubric would be appropriate at this time. Web
Resources Resources Evidence
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| Lesson
14
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Activity The students should have the flight biography rubric on hand when writing up their draft. Show and discuss a completed project (teacher made) so the students have an idea of what one may look like when they are done. Relate the completed project with the rubric. Students conduct research and gather information from the internet and/or library on their flight pioneer. For the prewrite, students use their resources to create a timeline of the pioneer's life and flight influences. The timeline should include relevant data about their pioneer and how the pioneer influenced aviation. Students select appropriate information gathered to write a rough draft. Students should use the flight biography rubric and the driving question while writing their rough draft. Students should revise and edit their rough draft using the rubric and driving question. Other revising and editing checklist would be helpful also. Our students used the Washington State Checklist for expository writing to help guide the students to revise and edit their draft. Web
Resources Resources Evidence
- Performance Task Standards
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15
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Activity Working in the computer lab, review with students how to use Microsoft's PowerPoint software. Cover the basics, such as how to edit the master slide so all slides will have the same color scheme and font, how to add a new slide and how to save. Depending on the age level of the students, you may also want to go over some more advanced features of the program, such as how to import graphics from the internet and other files, how to use clip art, and how to add animations. Web
Resources Resources Evidence
- Informal Observation Standards
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16
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Activity Once they have completed the written portion of the project, they should use a storyboard to plan out how they will divide their information up on different slides, titles for their slides, and what picture or graphic will go on each slide. Once students have planned out their slideshow, they use a program such as Microsoft PowerPoint to create the slideshow. Students should check their slide show with the flight biography rubric which contain data about graphics, labeling, orgainzation of slides. Finished slideshows where converted to HTML files and linked to our school web page on current projects listing. A student tech team could work with a teacher-facilitator to create the Flight web page time line. The page can be accessed at: www.kent.k12.wa.us:80/ksd/EP/currprojects/currprojects.htm#Anchor34 As a presentation piece, the students share their slideshows during class time. Other options presenting to another class such as Little Buddies/Cross-age partner class, bulletin board printout or each show to be displayed in the school hall, or submit to an online flight museum. Web
Resources Resources Evidence
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17
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Activity Being part of the Puget Sound area, the Boeing's Museum of Flight is 20 minutes away from our school. We made prior arrangements to transport students to the museum. Students tour the museum, look about at a number of flight aviator information, and experience a few of the simulators available at the museum. Upon returning to school, orally review the trip. Ask students to share orally in partners or write down their most favorite part of the museum and one thing that they learned. Web
Resources Resources Evidence
- Student Reflections Standards
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