Civil Air Patrol National Headquarters - Lesson and Activity Videos

Lesson: Plane Art (Elementary School)

vsmith@capnhq.gov (Civil Air Patrol National Headquarters) — Thu, 05 May 2022 14:20:11 +0000

In this lesson, students will identify and define four parts of a plane: cockpit, wings, fuselage and tail. Then, they will practice flying their own balsa glider. The activity is Academic Lesson #3 in the Aerospace Connections in Education (ACE) Guide. As part of CAP's ACE Program, all teachers get class sets of education materials to provide them to each student. The-first grade class set is the balsa glider, and teachers will use those in this lesson. Find the Plane Art lesson plan here.

Additional Resources

"Let's Build a Plane" by Toddler Fun Learning

How to Draw an Airplane by Art for Kids Hub

Lesson: Coming in for a Landing (Elementary School)

vsmith@capnhq.gov (Civil Air Patrol National Headquarters) — Thu, 21 Apr 2022 15:37:19 +0000

In this lesson, students will identify land masses and water on a globe, gather data and form a conclusion based on data. They will toss an inflatable globe and compare the amount of land and water on a globe with data learned. They will also be able to fill in their own Globe Coloring Sheet. "Coming in for a Landing" is Academic Lesson #4 in the Kindergarten Aerospace Connections in Education (ACE) Guide or click here to view the lesson.

Additional Resources

"How much water is on Earth?" is a NASA SpacePlace video: How Much Water Is on Earth? | NASA Space Place – NASA Science for Kids

NASA's solar system exploration page has wonderful images of the planets: Overview | Planets – NASA Solar System Exploration

Lesson: Air-mazing Experiment (Middle School)

vsmith@capnhq.gov (Civil Air Patrol National Headquarters) — Thu, 03 Jun 2021 15:45:09 +0000

Air-mazing Experiment

In this lesson, students will illustrate the movement of air molecules and explain Bernoulli's principle. In the early 1700s, Daniel Bernoulli determined that faster moving air has a lower pressure than slower moving air. Students will learn how the differences in air pressure help an airplane's wings lift into the air. Then they will conduct a windbag experiment. The lesson is found as Academic Lesson #1 in the Grade 6 Aerospace Connections in Education (ACE) Guide. Or click the link here to view the lesson.

Additional Resources

Bernoulli Basics Beach Ball from AEX I

Bernoulli Basics Wing on a Stick from AEX I

Lesson: Forces of Flight (Elementary School)

vsmith@capnhq.gov (Civil Air Patrol National Headquarters) — Thu, 20 May 2021 15:23:27 +0000

In this lesson, students will identify and define the four forces of flight: weight (or gravity), lift, thrust and drag. Then they will demonstrate the forces and experiment with flight. The activity, an Aerospace Connections in Education (ACE) lesson, uses the class set of balsa power planes provided by CAP to fifth-grade ACE teachers. They will see that a twisted rubber band is the "motor" that turns the propellers! The Forces of Flight is Academic Lesson #2 in the Grade 5 ACE Guide. Click here to go directly to the lesson.

Additional Resources:

NASA The Four Forces of Flight

Forces of Flight

Lesson: NASA Spinoffs (Elementary School)

vsmith@capnhq.gov (Civil Air Patrol National Headquarters) — Mon, 03 May 2021 15:40:57 +0000

In this lesson, students will learn the impact of space technology on their lives because of inventions that originated from space programs and research. When aerospace technology is adapted for commercial use, it is called technology transfer (spinoffs). Students will predict which items are NASA spinoffs and learn the correct answers to their predictions. The "NASA Spinoffs" lesson is found in the Grade 4 Aerospace Connections in Education (ACE) Guide. It is Academic Lesson #8. Or click HERE to go directly to the lesson.

Additional Resources

Find NASA Spinoffs from your state

Did You Know That's a NASA Technology?

Lesson: Animals in Space (Elementary School)

vsmith@capnhq.gov (Civil Air Patrol National Headquarters) — Wed, 03 Mar 2021 12:01:28 +0000

In this lesson, students will learn about animals that have traveled to space in research missions. They will discover why these animals, including dogs and monkeys, took these important journeys. "Animals in Space" is Academic Lesson #6 in Civil Air Patrol's Aerospace Connections in Education (ACE) Guide for Grade 3. Or find that lesson here.

Additional Resources

NASA's SPACElife Sciences

A Brief History of Animals in Space (NASA)

Lesson: Paper Rocket (Elementary School)

vsmith@capnhq.gov (Civil Air Patrol National Headquarters) — Tue, 02 Feb 2021 17:53:02 +0000

Students will construct a paper rocket and launch it with a straw. In the process, they will learn about concepts such as aerodynamics, drag, gravity, thrust and lift. The lesson comes from Civil Air Patrol's Aerospace Connections in Education (ACE) Grade 2 Guide. It is found as Academic Lesson #5. Click here to view the lesson.

Additional resources

Mr. Lifter: Up We Go! AEX lesson

Video: STEMonstrations by NASA "Newton's Third Law of Motion"

Lesson: Do You See What I See? (Elementary School)

vsmith@capnhq.gov (Civil Air Patrol National Headquarters) — Wed, 09 Dec 2020 08:26:22 +0000

In this astronomy lesson for young learners, students will make connections with their own experiences looking at a night sky. Then, students will identify star patterns in a cluster of stars and associate constellations with stories. "Do You See What I See?" is found as Grade 1 Academic Lesson #9 in CAP's Aerospace Connections in Education (ACE) Program first-grade guide. Or click the link HERE.

Additional resources:

NASA Science Space Place: Constellations

SciShow Kids: What Are Stars?

Lesson: A is for Astronaut! (Elementary School)

vsmith@capnhq.gov (Civil Air Patrol National Headquarters) — Mon, 28 Sep 2020 15:56:10 +0000

In this lesson, students will analyze and define the word "astronaut" and also identify purposes of a spacesuit as they create a 3-dimensional astronaut craft. "A is for Astronaut" is found as Kindergarten Academic Lesson #8 in CAP's Aerospace Connections in Education (ACE) Program Kindergarten book. Or click the link HERE.

Additional resources:

Spacesuits by NASA Video

Our World: Learning About Astronaut Suits On-Board the International Space Station by NASA eClips

Lesson: AMA FPG-9 Glider (Middle/High School)

vsmith@capnhq.gov (Civil Air Patrol National Headquarters) — Thu, 16 Jul 2020 14:56:46 +0000

In this lesson, cadets and students will learn about the basics of how flight works by creating a simple foam glider. After making their glider from a 9-inch foam plate, students and cadets will test it and record data. "AMA FPG-9 Glider" is Activity Two in CAP's AEX MARC booklet or click this link HERE.

Additional Resources:

Kids Engineering Activity: Build a Mini Glider

Aerospace Connections in Education Grade 5 Academic Lesson 4 FPG-9 Glider