Teaching students about flight brings a huge variety of options! From engineering to biology, below are 50 lesson ideas on flight & aviation which will help form a vibrant teaching sequence that kids will love!

1. How do bird wings actually work?
   Flight videos deconstructed
2. Create a timeline of the milestones of mechanical flight.
3. Which 4 forces are involved in flight? Draw different things that fly and show where the forces are acting.
4. Learn how Bernoulli’s principle explains flight using the balloon blow apart activity 
5. Learn how Bernoulli’s principle explains flight using the ping pong ball activity
6. Learn how Bernoulli’s principle explains flight using vortex fog rings
7. Learn how Bernoulli’s principle explains flight using the impossible puff activity
8. Teach about high vs. low air pressure & it’s impact on flight
9. Learn about the types of feathers on birds wings & why they are different.
10. Find out how jet engines work.
11. Research and write a biography of early flight pioneers.
12. Make an O-wing aircraft
13. Use the Flightradar24 app to learn more about the planes that overhead & track their movements.
14. Make a wind tunnel for testing your plane designs
15. Make a remote-controlled plane
16. Make a rubber-band powered plane
17. Create and fly a kite.
18. Create a film canister rocket.
19. Make a tea bag rocket.
20. Launch a water rocket
21. Visit a museum with different planes on display.
22. How are shark fins similar to plane wings?
23. How do F1 cars use Bernoulli’s principle to stay on the ground?
24. How do insects fly?
25. Make a model of Wright brothers plane.
26. Which birds have the fastest beating wings? Which birds are the fastest flyers?
27. How do hot air balloons work?
28. Create a parachute for an egg or water balloon to survive a fall.
29. Use a flight simulator app on your computer or tablet.
30. Have a paper plane building competition (this paper plane kit has 20 designs to get you started).
31. Make a flipbook animation of something flying. Flip Anim is a handy tool for this.
32. Map the distances and lengths of time for commercial flights from where you live.
33. Learn about bird migration paths. Find out how birds use magnetism to navigate.
34. Learn how bees communicate about flight paths between the hive and a food source.
35. Create a computer game using Scratch that involves the character flying between places.
36. Watch the movie Paper planes (2014)
37. How can radar detect flying planes?
38. Learn about the variety of aviation careers on offer.
39. Use these airport and aircraft role-playing resources by Rolls Royce
40. List the places that students have travelled to. Students could create a passport for their travels.
41. Use these teaching ideas for drones 
42. Create a list of mammals that can fly or glide.
43. Learn about stall angles & turbulence and this is overcome.
44. Create a poster of world flight records
45. Organise a live chat with a pilot with Nepris 
46. Learn about aircraft communications
47. Learn about the Royal Flying Doctor Service of Australia
48. Debate the future of flight; the possibilities and the dangers.
49. Discuss flight in mythology.
50. Watch TED talks on flight & discuss the content

Happy teaching,

Ben Newsome