Teacher Pack
Weather and Wind
Grades 4-6 · Grades 6-9 · 45 minutes
Learning Objectives
- Students will be able to identify three weather conditions that are unsafe to fly in.
- Students will be able to read a wind sock for direction and approximate speed.
- Students will be able to apply a 'two-thirds top speed' rule of thumb to decide whether to fly.
- Students will be able to describe how gusts and turbulence differ from steady wind.
Aligned Standards
NGSSMS-ESS2-5· Air masses & weather patternsFAA-TRUSTTopic· Weather & flight conditionsISTE1.3· Knowledge ConstructorNGSSMS-ESS2-6· Atmospheric circulation
Lesson Plan Summary
- Warm-up
- Pull up the current local forecast. Ask students: would you fly today? Why or why not?
- Direct instruction
- Wind speed, gusts, turbulence, and direction affect stability, battery use, and the corrections you must make in flight. Demo the two-thirds top-speed rule.
- Guided activity
- Run the Wind Tunnel Flight — fly into progressively stronger gusts and observe corrections. In-app activity: Wind Tunnel Flight. Related mission: hover.
- Assessment
- Student identifies three unsafe conditions. 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.