MATH: Return to Top Grade Level:Beginning AIR WEIGHT: Take three containers with lids and weigh on a scale. Take the weight of the containers and then fill each with air and secure the lids on tightly and reweigh the containers. Is there a difference in the weights? (Air is in the container whether the lid is on it or not). AIRPLANE TAILS: Give each student a picture of an airplane. Play a math game using these pictures. Ask 7 students to stand up with their picture. Then ask 3 students to sit down. Ask the class to count how many students are still standing. Vary the number of students standing and those that sit down to do more subtraction problems. For addition problems, ask 2 students to stand and then have 4 more students stand. Ask the class to add the number of students who stood all together. Vary the number of students who stand to vary the addition problems. Grade Level: Intermediate KITE DIMENSIONS: A box kite is constructed using bridge building technology for a structure that is light weight, yet strong. The dimensions of the box kite you are building is 8 inches by 6 inches for each of the two sections, how much doweled wood will be needed to build 8 box kites? The wood dowels are 36 inches each. GLIDING THROUGH FLIGHT: Have the student make a paper airplane by folding a notebook sized piece of paper. The heavy paper of a magazine works well. Measure the length of the classroom in feet and have the students take turns throwing their plane the length of the classroom. Take the measurements of each "flight" and add the number of feet the entire class "flies" with the paper airplanes. Grade Level: Advanced MACH NUMBER: Another term for the speed of sound in Mach 1.0. An aircraft developed by NASA called the X-15 was designed to conduct research on flight near the edge of space. Perhaps you would like to determine the X-15's speed as a Mach number and the altitude in miles based on 4,534 miles per hour and 354,000 feet. Divide 4,534 by 760 for the Mach number. Divide 354,000 by 5,280 for the altitude in miles. HOT AIR BALLOON: A typical hot air balloon weighs approximately 500 pounds. In the air, the complete system, including the hot air, might weigh as much as 2.5 tons. Yearly, outside of Albuquerque, New Mexico there is a hot air balloon celebration. If there are 250 hot air balloons at the celebration, how much would the total systems weigh? SAILPLANE: A good glider, also known as a sailplane, will fly a long distance without losing much altitude. The ratio of altitude to distance is called the glide ratio. Example: a glide ratio of 20:1 means that a glider at an altitude of one mile (5,280) will glide forward 20 miles before it lands. If a glider would be able to glide at a higher altitude, the distance it will glide will be farther. If a glider goes 200 miles, how high would the glider have to be to glide that far? LANGUAGE ARTS: Return to Top Grade Level: Beginner THE WRIGHT BROTHERS: The Wright Brothers, Orville and Wilber are given credit for being the first to fly because they were able to control their powered aircraft and keep it going under its own power. Orville remembered the event in "How We Made the First Flight". It started 'Monday, December 14th in the year, 1903, was a beautiful day...' As a class, pretend that you are 'Orville' and you are going to finish the account of the day with the flight of Kitty Hawk (the name of the airplane). Encourage the children to use their imaginations. THE AIRPLANE AND ITS PARTS: An airplane has many parts just like your body has lots of parts. As a class, write a creative story about airplane parts in comparison to your body parts. (Your arms stretched out like the airplane wings, your feet like the wheels of the plane, your moving from side to side like the rudder of the plane, etc.) Grade Level: Intermediate COMMUNITY AIRPORTS: Community airports will often have facilities for training student pilots. Have the students write a short story about being a student pilot at a community airport. Encourage them to use their imagination in learning how to fly an airplane. OTTO LILIENTHAL'S GLIDER: Otto Lilienthal was one of the greatest glider pioneers. He made numerous glider flights in the years before the Wright brothers flew. Have the students write a creative story about riding on one of Otto's gliders. PERSONAL INVITATION: Your students have been given a personal invitation to visit an airport. Have the students utilize their imaginations to create an airport that has features that are not apart of airports today. Ask the class to write up an advertisement of this airport so that the public will want to use this airport for their air travel. Grade Level: Intermediate/Advanced ALIEN TRAVEL: Pretend that you have landed your plane on a deserted landing field and discover that the airport is run by aliens. Write a story about your experiences at the airport and your get-away by flying away late at night. THE FRISBEE THROW: Have the class pretend that they have been shrunk and can ride on a Frisbee. Have the students write a short story about their adventures on a Frisbee ride. Grade Level: Advanced THE ROCKET PLANE: Have the students visualize that they will be either the pilot, co-pilot, support crew, or passengers on a rocket plane. Ask the students to choose a position on the plane and then assign them the task of writing up a list of their responsibilities. Explain to the students that they can use factual items along with imaginary things that happen while they are either a crew or passenger member of the rocket plane. (Getting up and into space requires a craft that will travel very fast. Airplanes with propellers go fast, but not fast enough. A jet engine on an airplane makes it go faster, but the engine still needs oxygen to burn fuel. The jet must get oxygen from the air. Space does not have enough oxygen to do this. A craft that carries it's own fuel and oxygen is called a rocket. Because rockets carry fuel and oxygen, they can go higher than a jet airplane. And because space is so much higher than the earth's atmosphere, rockets are used to get into space.) SOCIAL STUDIES: Return to Top Grade Level: Beginner THE FIRST FLIGHT: The Wright Brothers, Orville and Wilbur, are created with the first flight because it was controlled, sustained, and powered flight. As a class write up a history paper on the Wright Brothers and their achievements. As a class visit the library to get information about the Brothers before beginning the paper. AIRPORT SAFETY: Airports have been developed over the years in such a way to make it safe for planes to take-off and land. Visit the library together as a class and get information on how airports have developed and write a short paper together on the facts that you discover about the "History of Airports". ENGLISHMAN GEORGE CAYLEY: Sir George Cayley was an Englishman who was a great aviation pioneer. Have the students get information about him at the library and write up a short history of how he influenced aviation. (He is credited for the first design of an aircraft that looks like today's airplanes and gliders. He also discovered the forces of lift, drag, and thrust; and was the first to use a tail on an aircraft for stability.) Grade Level: Intermediate GLIDERS: One of the greatest pioneers in the field of gliders was Otto Lilienthal. Have the students do a study on him and how he influenced these flying wonders. (He made numerous glider flights in the years before the Wright brothers flew. The hang glider was pioneered by Otto and his technique of shifting weight for control is still used today.) OCTAVE CHANUTE: Octave Chanute was an aviation pioneer who indirectly helped the Wright Brothers with their successful powered flying machine. Have the class do a paper on how Octave's work in the field of railroad construction helped the Wright Brothers. (Octave's knowledge of railroad bridge construction was used in the design of biplane wings. Biplane means that the glider or airplane has two wings, one above and one below the main body.) Grade Level: Intermediate/Advanced DANIEL BERNOULLI: Daniel Bernoulli was a Swiss scientist who discovered that when any fluid, such as air, flows, its pressure decreases as its speed increases. This decrease in air pressure can lift objects from a Frisbee to a jet airplane. Have the students do a history report on how Bernoulli's discoveries has influenced the whole area of aerodynamics. Grade Level: Advanced THE HISTORY OF AIRCRAFT DESIGN: Have the students do a report on the history of aircraft design and how it has developed, changed, and been innovative in the areas of personal flight, public aviation travel, and scientific experimentation. HELICOPTERS: Helicopters are complicated flying machines. Helicopters have the amazing ability to take off vertically, fly backward, sideways, or just hover in the air. Have the class do a study on the history of helicopters and how they have developed and changed over the years. FAMOUS AVIATORS: Have each student choose a famous aviator that has flown in this century and do a report on them. Have the report include how the individual became interested in flying, who inspired or helped them in their dream of flying, and what types of aircraft did they fly and did they set any records. VISUAL/PERFORMING ARTS: Return to Top Grade Level: Beginner DELTA WING: Have the students make a simple delta wing paper model glider and have a contest in the room to see which glider can fly the farthest. Use a piece of typing or computer paper and do the following: First, fold the paper in half. Fold back the upper portion. Make sure that the creases are sharp. Fold the paper out flat again and make the next fold by folding the outside edge to the center. The wings are made by carefully folding the upper edge down the bottom line of the fuselage. It is ready to fly. THE ART THAT FLIES: Have the children draw pictures of airplanes on pieces of small lightweight cardboard and color them brightly with crayons or marking pens. Ask them to cut out the airplanes and suspend them with string throughout the classroom. Grade Level: Intermediate INSTRUMENT PANEL: There are many instruments and special radios to help a pilot fly an airplane safely. Check books out from the library that have illustrated drawings and pictures of the instrument panels of small aircraft. Show these pictures to the class and ask them to draw their own instrument panel on a large piece of construction paper. Encourage the students to use rulers, protractors, etc. in the design of their instrument panel. AN AIRPORT: As a class design and build an airport, including runways, taxiways, terminal buildings, airplane hangers, and air traffic tower. Use shoeboxes, construction paper, cardboard, scissors, marking pens, paint, glue, stapler and your imaginations to build this airport. MOSAIC COLLAGE: Pass out magazines and scissors and ask the students to cut out as many pictures of airplanes that they can find. Take a large piece of butcher paper and ask the students to glue on their pictures of airplanes and create a mosaic collage with them. Grade Level: Intermediate/Advanced THE WRIGHT BROTHERS' GLIDER: A simple glider can be made out of Styrofoam or balsa wood that looks similar to the glider that the Wright Brothers built. You will need a Styrofoam tray or thin sheet of balsa wood plank, wooden toothpicks, scissors, and white glue. The following are the directions for the construction of the glider: Cut out two wings of Styrofoam or balsa wood. The wings of the glider are 7 inches from tip to tip and 1 inch from front to rear. The body piece is 4 x 3/4 inches. The elevator is 2 1/4 x 7/16 inches. One rudder piece is 1 1/4 x 1/2 inches and the other rudder piece is 3/4 x 1/2 inches. Push toothpicks, lengthwise, through the center of each rudder. Glue each rudder upright at one end of the body; one to the right edge and the other to the left. Next glue on the rudder top. Dip 18 toothpicks in glue and lay the second wing carefully on them using the dots as guides. Press together carefully. Cut a toothpick in half. Glue one piece each to two middle toothpicks to look like propellers. Set all of this aside to dry. Assemble the elevator by dipping five of the one-half toothpick ends in the glue. Place the toothpicks upright on the dots. Dab glue on the tops and place the second elevator on them. Press together carefully. Glue the wings to the center of the body. Glue the elevator to the other end of the body. Tape a dime to the bottom, between the wings and the elevator. Wait for the glue to dry. Tape a weight under the nose just below the elevators and it is ready for takeoff. Grade Level: Advanced THE WRIGHT BROTHER'S PLAYHOUSE: As a class do research on the personal lives of the Wright Brothers and then have the students write a three act play about their lives. Using simple props and clothes from home have the students put on the play for their parents. THE OUTER LIMIT: Hand out art paper, pencils, rulers, and marking pens and ask the students to design a new aircraft that can be used for transatlantic flights from Paris to New York and Los Angeles. Encourage the students to design not only the outside of the aircraft, but what it will look like in the interior. LITERATURE LINKS: Return to Top The Great Valentine's Day Balloon Race Author: Adrienne Adams Publisher: Macmillan: 1980 Grade Level: K-3 Synopsis: The principles of hot air balloons are introduced in the story of Orson Abbot, a rabbit who builds a hot air balloon for the big race. It is illustrated. Hot-Air Henry Author: Mary Calhoun Publisher: William Morrow: 1984 Grade Level: K-3 Synopsis: The activity of hot air ballooning is introduced through Henry, who accidentally takes off on a solo flight, finally lands and returns home. There are fun illustrations throughout the book. Air and Flight Author: Neil Ardley Publisher: London: Franklin Watts, 1984 Grade Level: K-4 Synopsis: This is a great book for youngsters to understand the principles of air and flight. There are 12 experiments that students can do that are safe and simple. The book is well illustrated. Balloon Ride Author: Evelyn C. Mott Publisher: New York: Walker & Co., 1991 Grade Level: K-4 Synopsis: This is the story about young Megan and Joy and how they prepare for a hot-air balloon trip by an all women crew. The course of the journey is illustrated with color photographs. Descriptions of shadows, weather, and how a balloon flies are included. Rocket Science Author: Jim Wiese Publisher: New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 1995 Grade Level: K- 6 Synopsis: This is a wonderful book which contains 50 flying, floating, flipping, spinning gadgets that students can create themselves to learn more about aeronautics and related subjects. It is illustrated with black and white pen drawings. The Big Balloon Race Author: Eleanor Coerr Publisher: New York: Harper and Row, 1981 Grade Level: 3-5 Synopsis: This is the story of Carlotta the Great who is in an important balloon race when she discovers that her daughter Ariel is a stowaway. Despite problems, however, the women win the race-with a little ingenious assistance from Ariel. The Glorious Flight Across the Channel with Louis Bleriot Author: Alice and Martin Provensen Publisher: Puffin: 1987 Grade Level: 3-6 Synopsis: This is a humorous story describing Louis Bleriot's persistence in developing seven airplanes before he became the first man to fly across the English Channel. It is well illustrated. Mr. Wizard's 400 Experiments in Science Author: Don Herbert Publisher: New Jersey: Book Lab, 1968 Grade Level: 3-8 Synopsis: This is a practical book which covers a wide range of scientific information. It includes valuable information on aeronautics and in practical ways helps the student through experiments understand scientific data. It is illustrated with black and white pen drawings. The ABC National Air and Space Museum Author: Florence Cassen Mayers Publisher: Harry Abrams: 1979 Grade Level: 3-12 Synopsis: This book is filled with color aviation photographs from early aviation to space-age technology using the letters of the alphabet. The narrations that accompany each photograph are sophisticated. Experimenting With Air and Flight Author: Ormiston H. Walker Publisher: New York: Franklin Watts, 1989 Grade Level: 4-8 Synopsis: In this book the student will learn about the science of air and flight. Using examples found in nature, and presenting experiments that the student can perform, the author guides the student through the basic principles of aerodynamics. It is well illustrated with black and white photos and drawings. In the back of the book are recommendations of books for further reading on the subject. Aviation and Space Science Projects Author: Dr. Ben Millspaugh Publisher: PA: Tab Books, Blue Ridge Summit, 1992 Grade Level: 4-8 Synopsis: This book is filled with projects, history, information, and pictures to increase the learning experience for a young person interested in aviation and spaceflight. The History of Aircraft Author: Chris Maynard Publisher: New York: Franklin Watts, 1982 Grade Level: 4-8 Synopsis: This book of history about aircraft traces the history of manned flight from the first attempts to the present. Aircraft Author: Bill Gunston Publisher: New York: Franklin Watts, 1987 Grade Level: 4-12 Synopsis: This book by Bill Gunston explores the latest developments and future possibilities of aircraft technology. The Great Paper Airplane Book Author: Seymour Simon Publisher: Puffin Books: 1971 Grade Level: 4-12 Synopsis: This text explains the science of flight and shows how to design and make a variety of paper airplanes. There are illustrations to provide visual help in making the paper planes. The Miracle of Flight Author: Richard Cromer Publisher: New York: Doubleday, 1968 Grade Level: 6-12 Synopsis: In this book you will find the explanation of the aerodynamics offlight and how the physical structure and physiological processes of birds enable them to fly. The National Air and Space Museum Author: C.D. Bryan Publisher: Harry Abrams: 1988 Grade Level: 6-12 Synopsis: This is an in-depth presentation of flight and starts with the first attempts at flight and continues to current space flights. The pictures andillustrations are exceptional. Airliner Author: Nigel Cawthorne Publisher: London: Gloucester Press, 1988 Grade Level: 6-12 Synopsis: This text brings forth a problem-solving approach to the different options of aircraft development. On the Wing: The Life of Birds from Feathers to Flight Author: Bruce Brooks Publisher: Scribners: 1989 Grade Level: 6-12 Synopsis: This is a set of essays about the lives of birds. It is beautifully written and accompanied by magnificent photographs. The Smithsonian Book of flight for Young People Author: Walter J. Boyne Publisher: Macmillan: 1988 Grade Level: 6-12 Synopsis: This is a book about the history of American flight which includes the effects of research and wars on the airplane industry. The color photographs in this book are marvelous. The Wright Brothers: How They Invented the Airplane Author: Russell Freedman Publisher: Holiday House: 1991 Grade Level: 6-12 Synopsis: This is a biography that highlights the research, experiments, and testing necessary for these first powered, sustained, and controlled airplane flights by the Wright Brothers. There are original pictures and primary sources to add spice to this volume on Orville and Wilbur. Wilbur and Orville: A Biography of the Wright Brothers Author: Fred Howard Publisher: Ballantine: 1988 Grade Level: 9-12 Synopsis: This is a wonderful book for the devoted individual to aviation. This is a very detailed biography of the Wright brothers. There are pictures in the book to enhance the text. Web Hosting Provided By The National Business Aviation Association. Explore Space ... Not Drugs! Hear what astronauts have to say about staying drug-free. Last modified: Wed Feb 11 13:38:47 PST 1998 Copyright © 1997 by Cislunar Aerospace, Inc. All Rights Reserved.