Forces of Flight

We love Project Lead the Way! Our last module was about the forces of flight.  There were five activities that we worked our way through.  Each activity was a project based, hands on scenario that had the students using science, technology, engineering, and mathematics to learn about flight.

We started by learning about balanced and unbalanced forces.  Next, we learned about propellors.  Ask your child if they know the four forces of flight: lift, weight, thrust, and drag. Through the study of flight, the students were introduced to Newton's laws of motion. We used an app to design different gliders, then we created gliders from our blueprints.  Last, we tested our gliders from our own binder launch pad.

In our final project of the flight module, students had to create another glider that would carry weight or cargo.  The scenario was that there was a community in Nebraska that needed some relief supplies.  The gliders could get there faster than trucks on the roads.  Students had to design a glider that would carry as much cargo as possible to Nebraska.  Nebraska was 120 cm from the launch site.  Students had three flight trials.  They were to record at least one trial and reflect in the caption.  Please check your child's SeeSaw to see their flight trail video.  Here are just a couple examples of their video work.