# 7
FLIGHT

A unit study written by Karen Caroe


RESOURCES

Curriculum: KONOS Character Curriculum Volume One by Carole Thaxton and Jessica Hulcy.

Books: Amelia Earhart: Aviation Pioneer by Roxane Chadwick. Lerner Publications Company, 1987.
They Gave Us Wings: The Wright Brothers by Charles Ludwig. Mott Media (The Sowers Series) 1985.
Science Fun with Toy Boats and Planes by Rose Wyler. Juliann Messner, pub. 1986. (This is a great book with patterns for paper airplanes.)
101 Great Science Experiments Dorling-Kindersley Family Learning (DKFL).
Disaster! Catastrophies that Shook the World DKFL
The Visual Dictionary of Flight (DKFL) This is a great book and good for use with Middle School and up.
Mighty Machines: Airplane (DKFL)

There are other DK books that are suitable for this unit and are available for different age groups.

Videos: Eyewitness: Flight. This is a video by DK but is available through a distributor or a retail bookstore.
The Spirit of St. Louis. This video is available in rental stores or the library.
Around the World in 80 Days. This is about hot air balloon flight. We didn't study that as much but the movie is a classic and we enjoyed it.

THE UNIT

Background: Begin the unit by having your children answer the following questions:
1) What kinds of things fly?
2) What do those things have in common?
3) Why does an airplane stay in the sky?
4) Why does a bird stay in the sky?
5) What does something need to be able to fly?
These questions will give you a jumping off point to find out what your children think about flight.

The following are a list of activities by subject area. When creating a unit, you should select the activities that will best meet your needs and goals. Put together a weeks activities from several areas of study.

Science: This unit works best if you can spend about a week studying air. The KONOS book lists several experiments to try. There are numerous Science books that will give you experiments to do with air. They are really fascinating, simple, and delight the children. Some things you should know about air:
1) What is it made up of?
2) Does it take up space? Does it have weight?
3) Is air affected by heat? By cold?
4) What kind of work does air do?

You should understand vacuum and air pressure.
You MUST understand the Bernoulli Principle.

**Now before you give up, these really are simple questions to answer and there are many simple science experiments to prove the answers. If you get stuck, e-mail me. Don't give up! This is really fun.

Language Arts:
*Give your children a list of Vocabulary words each week. Either Airplane terms (if that is what you concentrate on) or Flying terms. It is best to take the list from your reading or from words that will be used in discussions.
*Use your vocabulary words to practice dictionary skills, writing (use the words in a story or composition), and spelling.
*Read about Amelia Earhart. Have your child write (or dictate to you) a paper on what they think really happened to her.
*Read a biography of the Wright Brothers.
*Learn more about other famous pilots and what made them famous. ( Chuck Yeager, Charles Lindbergh)
*What kind of character qualities do pilots have in common? Give an oral report.
*Study some mythology about flying--especially the myth of Daedalus. For older learners: why is this just a myth? Why can't it be true? Write a report.
*Have children make a notebook of what they learn. Include notes/reports/photos of field trips, designs of airplanes, samples of paper airplanes, data/analysis sheets of experiments, all their writings and vocabulary, anything else you do.

Math: Have your child calculate how far it is from one airport to another. (For example, From Los Angeles to Dallas).
Give your child hypothetical information like how many miles per gallon and airplane gets and/or how many miles per hour a plane flies. Have them figure how much gas and/or how long it will take to get from point A to point B.
Do the same giving information for a car. Have the child compare the two.

Geography: Give your child a map of the U.S. Have them pinpoint major US airports. Does every state have one? What might be some difficulties (environmental, geographical, etc) for flying into that airport? For older students, have them go from US to Europe or elsewhere.

More Science: Now that you know about air and the Bernoulli Principle, explain exactly how an airplane really does fly.

History: Make a timeline of "flying machines", inventions, inventors up to the modern day plane. Note how each invention--even the failures--built upon what was learned. (This is really evident in the Wright Brothers book referenced above.)
Have older students research flying failures.
For those who can handle it without fear, study some flying disasters. What was the problem? Why did it happen?
Learn about helicopters. How are they different from airplanes?

Arts and Crafts: Make several different models of paper airplanes. Use different weights of paper, different sizes, etc. Test fly and compare.
Draw an airplane and label the parts. Turn it into a game. Leave the parts seperate on cards and see if you can place them correctly. We did this as a Make-Your-Own GeoSafari game. It was very effective.
Have younger children make a mobil of things that fly. Cut pictures from magazines or let them make their own.

Field Trips: There are numerous field trips available ranging from free to expensive.
* Visit an airport. Notice the gates, security, air traffic control, etc.
* Take a hot air balloon ride. ($$$)
* If you know someone who flies or you live near a flight school, see if you can tour the inside of a plane and the cockpit. Notice the controls, parts of the plane, etc. (Hint: It helps to be familiar with all of this before you go.)
* Take a helicopter ride. ($$$)
* Visit a science museum that has a section on flight.

Related topics: To expand this unit, check some of the following possibilities. Birds, Space program, Butterflies, Kite flying, rocket ships. A related unit suggested by KONOS is Floating (Boats, etc.)

For questions, comments, and suggestions, Please e-mail Heather at belovedbks@aol.com.