Teacher Pack
How Drones Fly
Grades 3-5 · Grades 6-9 · 45 minutes
Learning Objectives
- Students will be able to explain how spinning propellers create lift.
- Students will be able to predict the effect of changing motor speed on altitude.
- Students will be able to maintain a steady hover for at least 20 seconds in the simulator.
- Students will be able to describe how differential thrust produces yaw, pitch, and roll.
Aligned Standards
NGSSMS-PS2-2· Forces & motion of an objectCCSS-Math6.RP.A· Ratios & proportional relationshipsISTE1.5· Computational ThinkerNGSSMS-ETS1-3· Analyze data from tests
Lesson Plan Summary
- Warm-up
- Hold a piece of paper flat and blow under it. Ask students why it lifts. Connect to propellers pushing air down.
- Direct instruction
- Drones control flight by adjusting motor speed across multiple propellers. Changing thrust across motors creates lift, yaw, pitch, and roll. Use the Hover Lab to show how throttle changes altitude.
- Guided activity
- Each student attempts to hold a steady hover for 20 seconds in the Hover Lab. In-app activity: Hover Lab. Related mission: hover.
- Assessment
- Student maintains hover band for 20 seconds. 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.