Get ready to watch your students’ curiosity take flight…literally! 

This engaging and interactive lesson on Flight and Aviation is designed to make complex scientific concepts like lift, thrust, drag, and gravity come to life in a way that’s both memorable and fun. It’s the perfect way to celebrate World Aviation Day in your classroom or bring real-world STEM learning into focus any time of year. 

Through hands-on activities, creative partner work, and an action-packed Goosechase scavenger hunt, students will learn about flight in a memorable and accessible way. Whether they’re building paper airplanes, exploring the parts of an aircraft, or solving real-world challenges, this lesson will have your class soaring through the curriculum with energy and excitement.

Grade: 6 - 8

Subject: Science, Technology, Engineering

Learning Objectives:

• By the end of this lesson, students will:
  • Understand the basic principles of flight
  • Identify the four forces of flight (lift, thrust, drag, gravity), 
  • Explore the role of aviation in the modern world.

Materials:

• Paper (for airplane making)
• Markers/pencils
• Mobile devices (tablets, phones, or laptops) with the Goosechase app installed
• Projector or board for visuals

Preparation:

• Create an Experience on the Goosechase app with a series of Missions focussed on flight and aviation
• Develop Missions that require students to demonstrate their understanding of what they have learned. Example Missions:
  • Forces in Action (Photo) – Take a photo of your paper airplane in flight and explain which force is helping it go up.
  • Name That Part (Text) – Name and define 3 parts of an airplane and their function.
  • Gravity Pulls Us Down (Video) – Record a short video of your plane falling and describe how gravity affects its motion.
  • Airplane Designers (Text) – Who were the Wright Brothers? Share one cool fact.
  • Aerodynamics Artist (Photo) – Draw or digitally create an aircraft of the future. Upload your masterpiece.
  • Flight Fail? (Text) – Describe a time your paper airplane didn’t fly well. What went wrong? Which force was working against you?
  • Lift-Off Launch! (Video) – Film your best airplane launch and shout “LIFT-OFF!” when it leaves your hand.

Find Example Missions in the Goosechase Template below

• Adapt the difficulty of the Missions based on the proficiency levels of your students to keep the activity inclusive and engaging for everyone.
• Prepare hints or resources that might help students solve the Missions if needed.
• Divide students into teams and assign each team a mobile device with the app, or have students complete the scavenger hunt individually.
• Run your Experience during one class period or longer.
• App Set-Up 
  • Dedicate time to ensuring all students have the Goosechase app downloaded and joined to the Experience to avoid any tech issues.

Lesson Outline:

• Discussion
  • Ask students: “How do airplanes stay in the air?
  • Show a clip of a plane taking off or show a photo of a plane mid take-off. 

• Have students jot down what they notice and wonder. Then introduce the topic of the day: The Science of Flight!
• Teacher-Led Instruction
  • Use a slideshow or whiteboard to cover:
    • The Four Forces of Flight: Lift, Thrust, Drag, Gravity
    • Parts of an Airplane: Wings, Fuselage, Tail, Engine
    • Types of Aircraft: Planes, Helicopters, Gliders, Drones
    • Brief history of aviation and famous figures like the Wright Brothers, Bessie Coleman, and Amelia Earhart
  • Use visuals and real-life examples. Include a quick demo using a paper airplane to show how lift and drag work.
• Partner Work Activity: Flight Forces Flipbook or Diagram
  • Students pair up and choose one of the following:
    • Create a diagram of an airplane and label how each of the four forces acts on it
    • Build a paper airplane, test it, and record how modifications affect flight (thrust, lift, drag)
    • Have students prepare to explain one force in their own words to their peers.
• Goosechase Scavenger Hunt
  • Read through Missions with students, emphasizing the importance of evidence and analysis in their responses.
  • Monitor progress and provide assistance as necessary.
  • If working in teams, encourage them to strategize and collaborate to solve the Missions.
  • Sit back and enjoy watching your students collaborate and demonstrate their learning.
• Debrief and Reflection
  • Review the activity, discussing which missions were the most challenging or fun.
  • Discuss how teams collaborated and solved problems together.
  • What surprised you most about how planes fly?
  • How would understanding flight be important in real-world careers?
  • Optionally, award prizes to the team(s) with the highest score.

Optional Post-Experience Activities:

• Aviation Careers Research 
  • Students pick a job in the aviation industry—pilot, aerospace engineer, air traffic controller, flight attendant, etc.—and write a short report or create a one-slide profile describing the job, skills needed, and why it’s important.
• STEM Challenge: Longest Flight Contest
  • Teams compete to create a paper (or recycled material) aircraft that stays in the air the longest or flies the farthest. Include:
    1. Hypothesis
    2. Test results
    3. Flight force analysis
    4. Final presentation of what worked and why

Assessment

• Participation in discussion and reflection
• Creativity and thoughtfulness in Goosechase responses
• Assessment of Research project or STEM Challenge.

Ready Made Experience

Flight School in Session

Take off into the science of flight! Complete missions to test your knowledge of aviation, flight forces, and aircraft design.

Get your own copy!

Want a copy of this lesson plan to use with your class?

Keep Lifting Their Learning

Want to explore more STEM-powered Goosechase lessons? Check out our other ready-to-use lesson plans and Goosechase Experiences for hands-on, interactive teaching ideas.

• Stem Exploration in Session
• STEM in the Classroom
• Solar System Lesson Plan
• Science Centre Lesson Plan

More Where That Came From:

This is just one of many ready-to-run Goosechase lesson plans we’ve created. Explore them all and keep your students learning, laughing, and engaged year-round.

What is Goosechase EDU?

Goosechase is an online platform that helps educators create and run interactive learning experiences in their classrooms and beyond. Sign up and try creating an Experience, or contact us to learn more about our school and district-wide solutions!