An elementary aviation program is developed for use in the classroom with field trips to local air fields. Students explore career possibilities in aviation. The game Battleship is a perfect alternative activity to Spellicopter. Use the game to train children in learning how to find map coordinates on the game boards and in planning strategies and predicting the positions of enemy ships. The enemy ships can represent words which cannot be sunk until the opposing team has spelled out every letter.
Students use map coordinates to plan battleship strategies.
Students will research and create a video production or classroom drama about the scientific investigations and inventions of famous first aviators, starting with Leonardo da Vinci's helicopter, early kites, Wright Brothers, Lindberg, and Amelia Earhart. Have the research teams turn their notes over the play production teams who write the scripts using the facts found by the research teams. Also have the play production teams include the word lists into their scripts. Students create a video production. Students summarize information discovered about famous first aviators.