Grade 6 - Imagination in Flight

Overview: Why do some birds soar effortlessly and others flap relentlessly? The adaptations of flight in the bird world can help us understand the properties of air and its interactions with objects in flight. Taking after the feathered friends, students will learn about wing anatomy, physical adaptations for efficient birds in flight and how air supports materials in flight. To apply their learning, students will design an imaginary net-zero aircraft based on what they know about airfoils and the Bernoulli principle. Their design will be demonstrated on a poster and used to inform building a model aircraft. 

This lesson plan is based on the longstanding Alberta Science Curriculum.

The Future Leaders program is pleased to provide the relevant course materials and instruction. 

We encourage  teachers to recreate these sessions.

Subject: Science

Organising Idea: Air & Aerodynamics 

Learning Outcome:

• Students will describe properties of air and the interactions of air with objects in flight. 

• Students will learn the flight adaptations of local birds

Key terms: 

• Air pressure

• Airfoil

• Bernoulli principle

• Net-zero travel

• Lift

LESSON PLAN

Session 1 - Imagination in Flight 

Game [15mins] - Eagle vs Raven 

Stretch your arms out to the side. Imagine your arms are covered in feathers. These are your wings. Now, spread your fingers apart and imagine that these are the feathers at the tips of your wings. Watch how the air moves across your feathers; the air above your wings moves very quickly, the air below your feathers moves slowly until suddenly - you take flight! You are a Bald Eagle soaring over the Canadian Rockies. Below you, the cool blue water of the Bow River is rushing. From this high above, you see a ripple in the water - a tasty fish is jumping out of the water! You descend quickly, plunging your talons beneath the surface of the water and latch onto the fish. Flying with more effort, you try to bring your fish to shore to eat but then - a big black bird swoops in and tries to grab the fish! 

This is a game of Eagle vs Raven. Divide students into two groups. One group is the Eagles, and the other are the Ravens. Spread the ‘fish’ cloth throughout the playing field/forest. Set up a ‘nest’ or safe zone for the Ravens by drawing a circle in the dirt/snow or placing a bag on the ground. The Eagle is trying to defend the fish and the Ravens are trying to steal the fish. Demonstrate that the Eagles are only allowed to soar and the Ravens are only allowed to flap their wings. If a student is tagged with a ‘fish’ in their talons, they must drop their fish where it landed and continue running. Prompt a follow-up discussion to ask: what was your survival strategy? How did you adapt? Who has tired wings?! Is flapping or soaring more efficient? Why would the birds have both soaring and flapping adaptations? 

Activity [10mins]: Sharing Circle - Gratitude for Feathered Friends

To date, the Bow Valley of the Canadian Rockies is home to as many as 315 bird species. There are ones who dive, swoop, fly underwater, migrate thousands of kilometres and endure minus 40 temperatures - all with special adaptations. The American Dipper, for example, lives in cold streams year round; it flies in short, rapid bursts close to the surface of water and propels itself underwater by flapping its wings or ‘flying’ underwater! The Peregrine Falcon, rarely seen here but sightings have been recorded, is a bird-snatching high-speed hunter who can dive from over 1km in the air to reach speeds of over 300km/hr! The Rufous Hummingbird is a tiny bird, no larger than my four fingers stacked together, that migrates up to 4,800km! It breeds here in the Rockies and might take a vacation as far away as Florida or Mexico for the winter. Wow! 

Standing in a circle, ask students, “what is your favourite bird?” Take turns sharing our special connection to birds and let out a cheer for the incredible feathered friends.

Activity [10mins]: Bernoulli Principle (Greater air speed lowers air pressure) 

This activity is an experiential demonstration of the Bernoulli principle adapted from “Hawks Quest”. Show students a photo or draw the shape of an airfoil. Set a trail in the shape of an airfoil that is about 10 metres in length using a length of cordage, dragging a stick on the ground or otherwise marking the trail. Have the students line up in pairs. They are now air molecules bouncing around in the air travelling towards the start line. The trail is the cross section of a bird’s wing or a plane wing. Their job is to move as air molecule pairs from the start to the finish on the airfoil trail and arrive at the finish at the same time. Before starting, ask the students, “who will need to move faster?”. After the activity, follow-up with a discussion about air molecules moving faster over the top of a wing.

The activity demonstrates that air needs to travel faster over the wing or airfoil than the bottom. The faster moving air has lower air pressure. The molecules below the wing move slower and create high pressure that pushes up on the wing. The pressure pushing up is called ‘lift’ and helps birds rise into the air and fly. 

[Move inside]

Activity [10mins]: Bernoulli Principle 

Hold the narrow part of a strip of paper (about 5cm x 30cm) gently below your lower lip and blow fast air over the top of the paper. Hand out strips of paper to students to try the same. 

This activity demonstrates that the air molecules moving fast above the top of the paper create low pressure. The slow moving air below the paper creates high pressure and pushes up on the piece of paper, causing it to lift. 

Activity [15mins]: Imagine a World 

Human-caused climate change is threatening bird habitat faster than they can adapt. Humans’ reliance on fossil fuel combustion to power our cars, transport our food and heat our homes produces greenhouse gases that trap the sun’s heat like a big blanket over the earth. The extra heat in our air is causing the global average temperature to rise and affecting the habitat birds use to nest, feed, rest and migrate through. The human workforce is responding by creating sustainable fuel sources, advocating for the government to change policy that supports the development of the fossil field industry, engineering technologies to capture greenhouse gases and even designing planes that get us around the world without any fossil fuels! 

Just like the Eagles we were earlier today, planes might soon soar through the sky without any extra fuel. Do you think this is possible? What kind of world do you want to live in? It’s your turn to draw a design for a world where food, goods and people can travel without filling up at the gas station. Your Imaginary World poster design must answer 3 questions: Where will humans live? Where will we get our food? And, how will we travel? 

Imagination is a powerful force. Imaginary worlds become reality when we talk to others about it.  Ask the students to turn to their neighbour and share their imaginary world. We will continue these imaginary worlds next session. 

Closing circle [5mins]: Bring a Story Home 

Who will you tell at home about the imaginary world you created? 

Session 2 - Imagination in Flight 

Game [20mins]: Chickadee and Hummingbird

Bird behaviour and bodies are well-adapted to survive in the harshest conditions. Some species, such as the Mountain Chickadee, stay put all year long coming together to feed in small flocks and lowering their metabolic rate to survive even during the cold winters in the Bow Valley. Others, such as the tiny Rufous Hummingbird, can’t endure the cold and have adapted by migrating long distances (up to 3,000km!) to survive in warmer climates like Mexico during the Canadian winter. Despite their ability to travel long distances and adapt to the cold, sometimes these small birds are forced to land due to masses of cold air, otherwise known as a ‘polar vortex’. 

In this variation of red-rover, create a rectangular playing field. Have students line up along one narrow side of the field. They are a flock of birds and their job is to try and reach the other side of the field without being tagged by the person who is it, ‘polar vortex’. The ‘polar vortex’ calls out either ‘Chickadee’ (stays put) or ‘Hummingbird’ (migrates). The students must decide if that bird stays put all year (if so, they don’t leave the start line) or migrates (if so, they ‘migrate’ as fast as possible to the opposite end zone). If a Hummingbird is tagged by the ‘polar vortex’ on their migration, they must freeze in place. In their frozen position, they can tag other birds who pass by; these birds are then also frozen in place. The game continues until there’s only one Hummingbird left!

Activity [10mins]: Sharing Circle - Gratitude for the Bird World

The agility and speed of birds are incredible! They can swoop, swerve, dive and soar in short bursts or long flights. Show us your best bird moves and let’s celebrate the Bird World!

[Move Inside] 

Project Work [60mins +] Add colour and written descriptions to their “Imaginary World” posters. These posters will be displayed and presented at the end of the school year at the Future Leaders’ Environmental Expo. 

Option to Expand! 

• Based on what they know of birds and the principles of moving air molecules, have students design then build their own model aircraft

additional resources