Paper Airplane Inquiry

When a paper airplane soared through a whole class lesson, the educator embraced the disruption and used it as a starting point for a class inquiry project. To do this in your classroom: 

• Provide students with building materials, examples of paper airplanes, and help the children to construct their own airplanes, create a runway, and test their airplane models.
• Help the students to measure how far their airplanes flew, by introducing the concepts of standard and non-standard measurement.
• Use open-ended questioning and discussion to help children review and revise their airplanes.

• Books about airplanes
• Various types and sizes of paper
• Tape, glue, and other adherents
• Non-standard and standard measurement tools

• The interest in paper airplanes came from the children and their play. The educator used this concept to support an inquiry by providing different materials, extending the play by asking guiding questions, and connecting the play to math through measurement.