Teacher Pack
Drone Parts
Grades 3-5 · Grades 6-9 · 45 minutes
Learning Objectives
- Students will be able to identify and label at least 6 major drone components.
- Students will be able to describe the function of motors, ESCs, IMU, frame, and battery.
- Students will be able to explain why a quadcopter uses four motors.
Aligned Standards
NGSSMS-ETS1-2· Evaluate competing design solutionsCSTA2-CS-01· Recommend computing devices for tasksCSTA2-CS-02· Design hardware/software for a purposeISTE1.4· Innovative Designer
Lesson Plan Summary
- Warm-up
- Show a 30-second drone video with the sound off. Ask: 'What parts can you spot? What do you think each one does?' Capture answers on the board.
- Direct instruction
- A drone uses motors, electronic speed controllers, sensors, and a flight controller to balance itself and respond to commands. Walk students through Frame, Motor, ESC, Battery, Propellers, IMU, and Flight Controller using the in-app diagram.
- Guided activity
- In pairs, students play the Drone Parts Scanner to find and identify each component. In-app activity: Drone Parts Scanner. Related mission: takeoff.
- Assessment
- Student labels at least 6 parts correctly. Complete the 5-question in-app quiz; reteach any question missed by more than 30% of students.
Educator-only resources
Full lesson plans, worksheets, rubrics, and answer keys are included with DroneReady Educator plans.