Lesson Title: AERONAUTICS!
Pathway(s) Addressed: Industrial Engineering & Technology
Submitted by: Michelle Boyden Date: 6/2/01
Age(s): 8-10
Prerequisite lessons/knowledge: ability to navigate the world wide web
Recommended: Online / Student Directed
Time frame: Alaska State Content Standards:
Language Arts A. A student should be able to speak and write well for a variety of purposes and audiences. A student who meets the content standard should: 1. apply elements of effective writing and speaking; these elements include ideas, organization, vocabulary, sentence structure, and personal style; 4.write and speak well to inform, to describe, to entertain, to persuade, and to clarify thinking in a variety of formats, including technical communication; B. A student should be a competent and thoughtful reader, listener, and viewer of literature, technical materials, and a variety of other information. A student who meets the content standard should: 1.comprehend meaning from written text and oral and visual information by applying a variety of reading, listening, and viewing strategies; these strategies include phonic, context, and vocabulary cues in reading, critical viewing, and active listening; Technology A. A student should be able to operate technology-based tools. A student who meets the content standard should: 1.use a computer to enter and retrieve information; 2.use technological tools for learning, communications, and productivity; Employability / (Scans) B. A student should be able to identify career interests and plan for career options. A student who meets this standard should: 1.Identify and appreciate personal interests, aptitudes, abilities, and priorities; 2.Identify possible career options, considering both employment and self employment and understand how changes in the workplace affect career choice; 3.Use labor market information to identify occupational and economic trends and opportunities, and evaluate possible career options; 4.Identify education and/or training needed for career options and advancement, and develop a career plan; 5.Identify resources available to support education and training related to career possibilities.
Language Arts
A. A student should be able to speak and write well for a variety of purposes and audiences.
A student who meets the content standard should: 1. apply elements of effective writing and speaking; these elements include ideas, organization, vocabulary, sentence structure, and personal style;
4.write and speak well to inform, to describe, to entertain, to persuade, and to clarify thinking in a variety of formats, including technical communication;
B. A student should be a competent and thoughtful reader, listener, and viewer of literature, technical materials, and a variety of other information.
A student who meets the content standard should:
1.comprehend meaning from written text and oral and visual information by applying a variety of reading, listening, and viewing strategies; these strategies include phonic, context, and vocabulary cues in reading, critical viewing, and active listening; Technology
A. A student should be able to operate technology-based tools.
1.use a computer to enter and retrieve information; 2.use technological tools for learning, communications, and productivity;
Employability / (Scans) B. A student should be able to identify career interests and plan for career options.
A student who meets this standard should:
1.Identify and appreciate personal interests, aptitudes, abilities, and priorities; 2.Identify possible career options, considering both employment and self employment and understand how changes in the workplace affect career choice; 3.Use labor market information to identify occupational and economic trends and opportunities, and evaluate possible career options; 4.Identify education and/or training needed for career options and advancement, and develop a career plan; 5.Identify resources available to support education and training related to career possibilities.
Alaska State Performance Standards
Reading, Writing and Math (pdf files) (see above)
Overview: This site teaches students about the variety of engineering careers available in the branch of Aeronautics with NASA. Students are also linked to career profiles of NASA scientists.
Objectives: Students will learn about eight different engineering paths, then they will read about specific NASA engineers and their career paths. Students will record what they've learned about the different types of engineers as well as identify scientists as those different engineers.
Resources/Materials: access to the world wide web, computer spreadsheet/word processing
Vocabulary: engineer, aeronautics, aerospace
Classroom Setting: individual/small group
Activities: 1. Teach students how an airplane flies by going to: http://kids.msfc.nasa.gov/Sites/ExternSite.asp?url=http%3A%2F%2Fquest%2Earc%2Enasa%2Egov%2Faero%2Fbackground%2Fcareers%2F
and clicking on the "how airplanes fly" link.
2. Have your students do some experiments that demonstrate Bernoulli's principle (slow-moving air causes a high pressure and fast-moving air causes a low pressure...air "pushes" to equalize the pressure).
A. Air pushes down: 1. Place two equal-sized text books side-by-side about an inch apart. 2. Put a piece of paper over the textbooks so that it covers the space between the books. 3. Use a straw to blow air between the books (below the paper). Blowing between the books causes lower pressure, thus "pushing" down be the the piece of paper. B. Air pushes right and left: 1. Place two empty pop cans on their side about an inch apart. 2. Use a straw to blow air between the pop cans. Blowing between the cans causes lower pressure (fast-moving air). The pop cans are "pushed" in by the air pressure moving right and left. C. Air pushes up: (courtesy of above mentioned NASA website) 1. Take a strip of paper and blow over the top of it as shown in the picture below, the paper will rise.
A. Air pushes down:
1. Place two equal-sized text books side-by-side about an inch apart.
2. Put a piece of paper over the textbooks so that it covers the space between the books.
3. Use a straw to blow air between the books (below the paper). Blowing between the books causes lower pressure, thus "pushing" down be the the piece of paper.
B. Air pushes right and left:
1. Place two empty pop cans on their side about an inch apart.
2. Use a straw to blow air between the pop cans. Blowing between the cans causes lower pressure (fast-moving air). The pop cans are "pushed" in by the air pressure moving right and left.
C. Air pushes up: (courtesy of above mentioned NASA website)
1. Take a strip of paper and blow over the top of it as shown in the picture below, the paper will rise.
You lowered the pressure that was pushing down on the top of the paper, causing the pressure on the bottom side of the paper to push the paper strip up.
3. Direct students to the CLEAR website AERONAUTICS! to learn more information about careers involving flight.
Students will click on a link that will take them to a NASA aeronautics site. Students will read about the different types of engineers needed for the aeronautics division and then click on another link that will take them to career profiles of NASA scientists. Students are then asked to create a spreadsheet identifying the different engineering careers and identify scientists from the career profiles that belong in each engineering career path. Specific instructions from the site:
Read about each of the eight branches determining what they specifically do .
Link to the Aerospace Team (actual NASA engineers who share about themselves and their careers) by clicking on the words "NASA engineers and scientists" on the NASA site (NOT THIS ONE). Read the scientists' biographies and determine in which engineering field they belong.
Make a copy of the following chart and paste it into a word processing document to be filled in while you research:
Read over the education needed for an aerospace engineer. Map out a possible education path for yourself leading you to one of the careers.
Community Connections: Invite a variety of engineers (from different career paths) into the classroom to talk about their career.
Assessment: Assess students content knowledge of the different types of engineers from the NASA site. Also assess completeness of spreadsheet.