Flight: A Virtual Adventure for Grades 3-6
By Karen Krupnick: Teacher

Flight is a topic that is as appealing to adults as it is to children. The long history of the development of flying structures tells the story of perseverance and technical knowledge that was demonstrated so well by their inventors.

The study of flight crosses the disciplines and tickles the imagination of young and old alike. The following areas can be included in a flight unit:

• Scientific principles that enable objects to fly
• Different kinds of flying machines
• The history of flight and the evolution of flying machines
• The future of flight and flying machines yet to be designed
• The relationships between man-made machines and those of nature

The Web sites in this adventure will point out the scientific principles that make flight possible, as well as the fascinating history of its evolution. The people who made each step come to life are highlighted as well. Several of the sites are interactive and therefore invite students to be active participants in the learning experience.

The World Wide Web is rich with excellent resources about flight and the history of aviation. An abundance of resources will be listed in the Resource Tour. Some of these are included in the student tour, but you may certainly choose to use others in your presentation of this lesson.

If you are new to using the Internet, hopefully this unit of study will give you some ideas about how to best utilize the multitude of information you will find there. It is rare, although it sometimes happens, that you will not be able to find information on your subject. The reverse, however, is often true. You may find too much information and sorting out the quality sites may be a difficult task. Learning to use search engines effectively will be essential if you are going to be able to zero in on the quality sites and eliminate the poor ones. More specific searches help to cut down on the irrelevant sites that will appear as a result of the search.

As time goes on, more and more teachers and educational organizations are posting lesson plans on the Web for your use. Often these are accompanied by excellent worksheets and illustrations. If your school has Web space available, consider posting one of your finished units with lesson plans in order to help the next teacher who is looking for that material. You can also try developing the kind of tours contained at this site. Through such work, the Internet will provide a network for educators around the world.

Keep in mind that students will be focused more if they are given a task before going on the tour. You may choose from many activities in The Teacher Resource Tour section. Be advised that some of the sites listed will require a Java-enabled browser. Others will be greatly enhanced by plug-ins. If you need one, the instructions in the section will tell how to get that plug-in.

Objectives:

• To learn about the history and evolution of flight
• To study the principles of flight
• To learn about different types of flying objects, both natural and man-made
• To learn something about how to pilot a plane
• To relate flight principles to space travel
• To project the evolution of flight into the future