Paper Airplanes / Lesson Plan

Objective

By the end of this lesson, you will be able to apply arithmetic skills to create and analyze paper airplanes.

Materials and Prep

• Blank sheets of paper
• Pencils or pens

Before starting the lesson, make sure you have a basic understanding of addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division.

Activities

1. Create a paper airplane using one sheet of paper. Make sure to fold it properly to ensure stability and aerodynamics.
2. Measure the distance your paper airplane can fly. Use a measuring tape or ruler to determine the distance in feet or meters.
3. Record the distance and convert it to inches. Use your knowledge of conversion factors to calculate the length in inches.
4. Experiment with different folding techniques and designs to see if they affect the distance your paper airplane can fly. Keep track of your findings.
5. Using addition and subtraction, calculate the difference in distance between your best-performing paper airplane and your initial design.
6. Using multiplication and division, determine the average distance your paper airplanes can fly based on your experiments.

Fifth Grade Talking Points

• "Did you know that paper airplanes can be a fun way to practice math skills? Today, we will be exploring the world of paper airplanes while applying arithmetic concepts."
• "We will start by creating our own paper airplanes. Remember to fold them carefully to ensure they fly well."
• "Once we have our paper airplanes ready, we will measure how far they can fly. We will use measuring tape or a ruler to determine the distance."
• "After measuring the distance, we will convert it to inches. This will help us compare our results more accurately."
• "Next, we will experiment with different folding techniques and designs to see if they affect the distance our paper airplanes can fly. We will keep track of our findings."
• "Using addition and subtraction, we will calculate the difference in distance between our best-performing paper airplane and our initial design. This will help us understand the impact of our modifications."
• "Finally, using multiplication and division, we will determine the average distance our paper airplanes can fly based on our experiments. This will give us an overall idea of their performance."