How can planes carry so much cargo and still fly? What are the principles of flight? How do flying squirrels really fly? With the Science of Flight Family Unit Study, you will learn all of this and more through hands-on fun!
In this post, I’m going to share the 10 topics from our Science of Flight Family Unit Study and the hands-on activities you’ll enjoy for each topic.
Ready to get your copy of The Science of Flight Family Unit Study? Head on over to the shop to grab it individually or as part of the Creative Scientists Bundle.
Before we get into it, you can grab some Free Printable Paper Airplane Instructions below! After you enter your email address, you’ll be sent a link to download the four paper airplane printables. You’ll also be redirected to the How Wee Learn shop, where you can take a peek at a sample from my Science of Flight Family Unit Study.
What is a Family Unit Study?
This unit study, like all of our ever-growing library of unit studies, takes one big theme—Flight—and breaks it down into 10 manageable, bite-sized learning topics. This format gives you the freedom to dive into learning at a pace that works for your family.
Perhaps you do one topic per day, perhaps one per week. Whatever suits your fancy! You can learn about the science of flight and explore a topic from start to finish in about 1-2 hours each.
Each of the 10 topics in a unit study contains everything you need for that topic, including:
- a curated YouTube video,
- a suggested book to complement the topic,
- a “what’s happening” section,
- an interesting fact,
- a discussion question,
- literacy and math extension questions,
- and an ultimate-can’t-be-beat hands-on activity!
Plus, all subjects are covered across the 10 topics! Geography, History, Science, Art, Music, Social Studies, Health, Math, and Literacy.
When everything connects across subjects, learning just makes more sense. Kids remember more, understand better, and actually enjoy the process. It’s the kind of learning that really sticks.
All ages. All subjects. One Coursebook. 🙌
Learn About The Science of Flight with the Whole Family!
Here are some of the hands-on learning activities you and your little ones will enjoy as you learn about flight with the Science of Flight Family Unit Study:
Topic #1: What is Flight?
Ever wondered how birds soar, or airplanes stay in the sky? In this topic, you’ll explore the big ideas behind flight using Bernoulli’s Principle, then see it in action with a hands-on activity that has you levitating a ball using a hair dryer (yes, it’s as cool as it sounds!).
Topic #2: Around the World by Airplane
In this topic, you’ll explore how airplanes help people travel all around the world and connect faraway places. You’ll think about distance, speed, and geography, then put your learning into action by designing and flying your own paper airplanes.
Topic #3: How Do Airplanes Fly?
Discover the four main forces that work together to keep airplanes in the air. These forces—thrust, lift, weight, and drag—must stay balanced for smooth and steady flight. For this hands-on activity, you will be making a cargo-carrying paper airplane. How could you modify your paper airplane to hold more cargo? How does the balance of the cargo affect the plane’s ability to fly? So much learning to be had with this activity!
Topic #4: Flying Upside Down
Explore the exciting world of stunt planes and fighter jets—aircraft built to twist, turn, and even fly upside down! You’ll learn how these planes bank, maneuver, and use lift in clever ways. Then learn how to make a loop-de-loop airplane for hours of fun!
Topic #5: The Wright Brothers
The Wright brothers made history by successfully building and flying the world’s first piloted engine-powered airplane. Learn about the challenges the Wright Brothers faced and how they persevered before ultimately succeeding in flying a plane. You will then journal about a time you faced a big challenge and persevered.
Topic #6: Flying Animals
Explore animals that can fly and the special adaptations that help them soar, glide, or buzz through the air. Next, listen to the Flight of the Bumblebee and reflect on how the music sounds and feels, connecting sound and movement to the idea of flight.
Topic #7: Bird Wings
In this topic, you’ll discover how birds use their wings to fly and why wing shape really matters. You’ll learn that different birds have different wing shapes depending on how they move through the sky, then dive into a hands-on activity matching wing shapes to the types of flight they’re best suited for.
Topic #8: Flying Squirrels
Did you know that there are over 50 different species of flying squirrels? Or that certain types of flying squirrels can glide over 450 meters?! In this topic, you will learn everything there is to know about these fascinating animals!
Topic #9: Kites
Dive into the world of kites and take a closer look at what helps them soar through the sky. You will revisit the four forces of flight—lift, weight, thrust, and drag—then put it all together by making and flying a kite of your own.
Topic #10: Parasailing
What would it feel like to float through the air like a bird? This topic introduces parasailing and shows how air and motion work together to lift someone high into the sky. You will then use a simple Venn diagram to compare parasailing and kites, noticing what’s the same and what’s different along the way.
And there you have it! The 10 bite-sized learning topics that make up our great big Science of Flight Unit Study! I hope you will pop over to check it out and consider purchasing it for you and yours.
Grab The Science of Flight Unit Study for Kids:
https://shop.howweelearn.com/products/family-unit-study-the-science-of-flight
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Thank you so much for reading, friend!
xo Sarah
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