DreamFlight Charities recently had the opportunity to share creative ways to implement aviation through subjects students are already learning and engaged within. In helping build an interest in our industry at an early age, we have determined that we must work alongside school systems, their administrations and faculty, not only to provide them with real-world application for concepts being taught, but to solidify and shape the next generation of industry workers.
Below are highlights and links to some of the curriculum and lesson plans developed by DreamFlight and highlighted at the recent Franklin County Schools Summer Learning Institute.
Plotting the Skies: Story Mapping Fun
In this engaging, literacy-based lesson, students will read aviation-themed picture books to explore narrative structure and improve reading comprehension. Students will identify key story elements – characters, setting, and plot (beginning, middle, and end) – using a graphic organizer and classroom discussion. This lesson combines imagination, career awareness, and literacy development, sparking interest in aviation while building foundational reading skills.
What's Your Mission?Exploring Aircraft & Their Mission
In this integrated STEM and literacy lesson, students will read from The Littlest Airplane and explore how different types of aircraft are designed for specific missions. They will discuss how design affects function and compare various aircraft types (e.g., bush planes, jets, helicopters, cargo planes). Students will then complete the “What’s Your Mission?” worksheet, where they match aircraft to missions and design their own purposeful airplane.
Paper Pilots: Engineering for the Skies
In this hands-on science lesson, students will engage in a simple engineering design investigation using paper airplanes. They will fold planes from provided templates, test flight performance, make purposeful design changes (wing shape and weight), and observe their effects. Students will measure and record flight distance, chart their findings, and reflect on how changes influenced outcomes. The activity emphasizes the scientific method, data collection, and principles of aerodynamics in an age-appropriate, engaging way.
Creative Writing Prompts
Language arts serves as a great opportunity to encourage students to learn more about aviation and its impact in everyday life. Consider implementing some of the following prompts in your classroom:
- Have students write a week-long worth of journal entries from the perspective of a historical aviator leading up to one of their major accomplishments.
- Encourage students to research the development of major aviation technological advances, detailing how findings have impacted not only aviation, but other aspects of daily life.
- Strengthen your student’s problem-solving and creative writing skills by having them develop a fictional story complete with character development and plot progression.
Skybound Strategy: Chart Your Course
In this hands-on aviation geography lesson, students will explore aviation sectional charts to learn how pilots plan cross-country flights. They will use the sectional legend to identify symbols, measure distances between airports, and select visual checkpoints (like rivers, roads, or towers). Students will then “fly” their planned route virtually using Google Earth’s flight simulator.
Be on the lookout for additional classroom activities and resources to implement in your school or homeschool classroom. You can always discover more by visiting our free lesson plans and curriculum section of our website!