STEM LEARNING:

Advanced Air Mobility: 

What is AAM?

Educator Guide

www.nasa.gov

National Aeronautics and Space Administration
2 | ADVANCED AIR MOBILITY: WHAT IS AAM? (EDUCATOR GUIDE)

Standards

Optional Teaching Strategies

OVERVIEW

This activity provides students with information on what Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) is. Made for a middle school 

audience (grades 6 through 8), the student guide includes informational text and comprehension questions. 

Common Core State Standards, English Language Arts

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RST.6-8.4

• Determine the meaning of symbols, key terms, and other domain-specific words and phrases as they are used in a 

specific scientific or technical context (relevant to grades 6–8 texts and topics).

• Use literacy tactics to help students make sense of the text, such as numbering paragraphs, circling unknown 

words, and underlining main ideas. 

• Have students read the comprehension questions first, before reading the text, so that they have a purpose for 

reading. 

• Have students work with a partner or in a small group when completing the activities.

• If students have the option to read this article digitally, use a screen reader or text-to-speech application to assist 

English language learners and/or special education students. 

TEACHER DIRECTIONS

1. This activity is designed for individual completion; however, it can also be completed in small groups. The entire 

activity should take 30–45 minutes, but this can vary depending on the students.

2. Before class, make copies of the student guide for each student/group. 

3. Prior to working on this activity, introduce students to AAM. This can be done with a video or by leading a whole 

class discussion about what it is and how it would affect your students.

4. Before having students begin, point out that there is a glossary at the end of the document that provides 

definitions for the bolded words throughout the guide.

5. All or some of the reading comprehension questions can be assigned. 
ADVANCED AIR MOBILITY: WHAT IS AAM? (EDUCATOR GUIDE) | 3 

ANSWERS FOR READING COMPREHENSION 

QUESTIONS

1. (from paragraph 4) The aircraft within the AAM system are relatively small, fly at low altitudes, and often operate near 

buildings and other objects that would interfere with radar and satellite technology.

2. (from paragraphs 5–8) AAM offers a broad range of benefits for both urban and rural areas including package 

delivery, passenger transport, and emergency response. UAVs are also used for aerial photography, agriculture, 

mapping, and inspection of buildings, power lines, and more.

3. (There are many possible answers to this question.) The article discusses the use of geofences around airports. 

Some other areas they could help protect include military bases, areas like sports stadiums with large crowds, and 

critical infrastructure locations such as government buildings.

4. (from paragraph 4) Many of the aircraft within the AAM system are unmanned. As a result, DAA is very important. 

Frequently, there will be situations where no human pilot is available to intervene to avoid a collision.

5. Some types of weather that would make it difficult for a small UAV to fly are rain, snow, extreme temperatures, and 

any hazardous weather situation (tornado, hurricane, etc.).

6. (from paragraph 16) Within a city, landing and taking off from a street would interfere with other modes of 

transportation. As a result, specified locations, called vertiports, allow AAM aircraft to land at different points 

throughout a city.

7. (from paragraph 16) Vertiports are flight terminals for UAVs, similar to airports for larger planes. They are located at 

different points in and near a city. They are currently not commonly found because AAM is still a developing system. 

As more UAVs are operating in and around cities, more vertiports will be added.
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