
You might think of the engineering design process as primarily about designing, iterating, and testing multiple prototypes of some device or machine.

While they might seem like a waste of paper or a distraction in your classroom, paper airplanes are an excellent way to teach your students about the engineering design process. You probably remember making paper airplanes as a kid, and some of your students might be obsessed with making them now. This lesson focuses on these aspects of NGSS Three Dimensional Learning: Define a simple design problem reflecting a need or a want that includes specified criteria for success and constraints on materials, time, or cost. This lesson helps students prepare for these Next Generation Science Standards Performance Expectations:


In this fun lesson, you will be the "customer" ordering a paper airplane, and your student teams will be engineering companies that will manufacture planes. Are paper airplanes a nuisance in your classroom? They don't have to be! Those distractions can be a constructive learning opportunity: use them to teach your students about the engineering design process.
