Creating a Paper Airplane: a 5th grade Science Inquiry

Essential Question: How did the forces of flight impact the creation of your paper airplane?

Goal: to create a paper airplane.
Step 1: Discuss and create a paper airplane.
Step 2: Draw the plane you created.
Step 3: Fly your plane.
Step 4: Record the data. How far did the plane fly?
Step 5: Observe the flight of other's planes. Which were the three that flew the furthest? Why do you think they flew further than yours? What modifications could you make to your plane?
Step 6: Modify your airplane. How did you modify it? explain
Step 7: Draw the second plane. Make sure to illustrate the modifications.
Step 8: Fly the second plane.
Step 9: Record the results. How far did it fly? Did your plane fly further this time?
Step 10: What worked better this time? What would you still adjust?
Step 11: Report the results.

After we were done, we read an article on aerodynamics and discussed what modifications we could still make to our planes to make them fly further. This inquiry activity allowed our class to learn about the scientific process in a fun and exciting way!