The Great Air Race: Unit Lesson Plan

Grades: 3 and 4 GATE (works for grade 5)   Subjects: Geography, Math, Writing   Length: 8 to 10 class periods of 45 to 60 minutes   Site page: fun-gate.com, The Great Air Race

Universal Concept: Systems (a map is a system of symbols, lines, and scale that only works when you can read every part)

Unit Overview

Crews of three fly small planes in a five-day air race across the imaginary continent of Zephyria. Before the race they complete Flight School: a pre-test, the map key, latitude and longitude, scale and distance, compass directions, and the rules. During the race they hear a weather bulletin, plan a route, complete an eleven-line flight plan that the page checks line by line, draw a Sky Card, and write a logbook entry. Everything happens on screen. There is nothing to copy, cut out, or hand in on paper.

Essential Questions

• How does a map let you find, measure, and describe a place you have never seen?
• Why does a plan have to be accurate before you act on it?
• How do you change a plan when something you could not control goes wrong?

Standards Alignment

Social Studies (Nevada Academic Content Standards)

• Geography, grades 3 and 4: constructing and using maps that show human and physical features and spatial patterns (for example SS.4.23). Match the exact grade 3 geography codes to your district documents.
• SS.3.6 and SS.4.6 Build responses with reasoning, examples, and details.

Mathematics

• 3.NBT.A.2 Fluently add and subtract within 1000.
• 4.MD.A.2 Solve word problems involving distances.
• Mathematical Practice 6 Attend to precision.

English Language Arts

• W.3.3 and W.4.3 Write narratives about real or imagined experiences using descriptive details and a clear sequence of events (logbook entries).
• SL.3.1 and SL.4.1 Engage in collaborative discussions.

Standard descriptions are shortened. Check all codes against your current district curriculum documents before submitting.

Learning Intentions

We are learning to:

• read a map key, a compass rose, and a scale of miles.
• find places using latitude and longitude.
• plan a route accurately, and change it when conditions change.
• write a clear, detailed record of what happened.

Success Criteria

I can:

• tell what each symbol in the map key means.
• give the latitude and longitude of a city to the nearest degree.
• measure the distance between two cities to within 25 miles.
• name the direction of a flight using the eight compass points.
• fill out a flight plan that the control tower approves.
• write a logbook entry that tells where we flew, what happened, and what we saw, heard, and felt.
• choose the right kind of map for a question.
• (Stretch) plan two or three days ahead to find the fastest route.

Learning Objectives

By the end of the unit, students will:

1. Identify and interpret at least twelve map symbols.
2. Compare different kinds of maps (political, elevation, contour, weather, population, road, and photo) and tell what each is for.
3. Locate cities by latitude and longitude, and state the coordinates of a given city.
4. Use a map scale to measure straight-line distances within 25 miles.
5. Describe a route by direction, grid lines crossed, and land and water features crossed.
6. Work in assigned crew roles to make and revise group decisions.
7. Write five narrative logbook entries with descriptive detail.

Key Vocabulary

legend (key), symbol, scale, compass rose, latitude, longitude, parallel, meridian, Equator, Prime Meridian, elevation, pass, boundary, capital, navigator, flight plan, headwind, tailwind

Materials and Resources

• One Chromebook per crew of 3, open to The Great Air Race on fun-gate.com. A mouse or touchscreen makes the mile ruler easier than a trackpad.
• Projector or TV for the two videos in the Movie Theater tab, and for showing the map during discussions
• Headphones if crews will use the Listen button
• Optional: a globe or wall map for the latitude and longitude lesson

No paper copies are needed. Flight plans, logbook entries, and the certificate are all kept in the Logbook tab and can be printed from there.

Prior Knowledge and Warm-up (15 minutes)

Prior knowledge: Students have seen maps and know the four main directions. No earlier work with latitude, longitude, or scale is assumed.

Warm-up, "Guide Me There": Hide a small object in the room. One student leaves, then returns and must find it using only directions from classmates, who may not point. After one round, ask: What made that hard? What would have made it easier? Lead students to the idea that a map with agreed symbols, directions, and distances solves the problem. Then watch the trailer and the Crew Briefing.

Instructional Procedures

Period	On the page	What students do	Teacher moves
1	Home, Movie Theater, Flight School lesson 1	Warm-up. Watch both videos. Form crews, name the team, choose a plane. Take the Pre-flight check (16 questions, no feedback yet).	Form balanced crews of 3. Explain that the pre-test is a starting line and will be taken again at the end.
2	Flight School lesson 2: The map key	Click each of 13 symbols to see it light up on the map. Win a round of Symbol Bingo from spoken-style clues.	Ask crews to find one example of each symbol without the key. Discuss why maps use symbols instead of words.
3	Flight School lesson 3: Latitude and longitude	Learn parallels and meridians. Play Where Is It? (give coordinates for 5 cities, then find 3 cities from coordinates). Six of eight are needed to pass.	Use a globe to show the Equator and Prime Meridian. Stress "latitude first." This is the lesson most likely to need a second period.
4	Flight School lessons 4, 5, and 6	Measure five flights with the on-screen mile ruler. Name six flight directions. Read the rules and pass the rules check. Earn wings.	Model the mile ruler on the projector first: press on one city, drag to the other, read the mark.
Any time	Map Room	Compare nine kinds of maps of the same continent and solve a challenge on each. Good as a station, an early-finisher task, or a full period before the race.	Ask: what question does each map answer? Which would you want for a road trip, a hike, or a flight?
5 to 9	The Race, one race day per period	Hear the weather bulletin. The navigator plans the flight and completes the flight plan. The pilot files it and draws a Sky Card. The plane flies. The co-pilot writes the logbook entry. Jobs rotate daily.	Circulate with questions: How do you know that distance is right? Which lines does your route cross? What will you do if the card turns you back? Allow time for a real logbook entry.
10	Bonus Round, results, debrief, Logbook	Fly the Bonus Round if needed. See final standings. File the crew debrief. Take the final check with feedback. Compare before and after scores. Print the certificate.	Lead the closing discussion. Compare routes between crews on the projector.

The class map: open the Race Board tab on the projector. At the end of each race day, every crew reads out its Race Board code. Type the crew names and codes, and the whole class appears on one map with standings, the way pins on a wall map used to work.

A second race: crews that finish early can fly the Return Race, from Aurora City to Lanternbay with a required stop at Highmoor.

Timing notes: Strong crews can finish Flight School in two periods. A race day takes 25 to 40 minutes, mostly on the flight plan and the logbook entry, so two race days can share a longer block. End each period with clean up.

How the flight plan is checked: the control tower checks eleven lines: destination, distance (within 25 miles), direction, cities within 50 miles of the route, the weather forecast, flying height, land and water crossed, parallels crossed, meridians crossed, and the day's maximum distance. A plan with a wrong line comes back with the line named but not corrected. The first return each day is free. Each later return costs 25 bonus miles.

Culminating Task

Each student writes a one-page "Pilot's Guide to Zephyria" for next year's racers: the route they would fly now, why, which dangers to plan around, and the single most useful map skill. They must use at least three map terms correctly.

Assessment Methods

Formative: Flight School pass marks (shown on the Flight School tab); number of flight plan returns; observation of crew roles; the star rating on each logbook entry.

Summative: the Pre-flight check and final check (the same 16 questions, with the two scores shown side by side in the Logbook), plus the logbook entries or culminating task scored with this rubric.

Criteria	4 Exceeds	3 Meets	2 Approaching	1 Beginning
Map skills	Uses the key, grid, scale, and directions accurately and plans several days ahead.	Uses the key, grid, scale, and directions accurately for each flight.	Uses some map tools accurately. Plans are often returned.	Chooses routes without using the map tools.
Accuracy	Flight plans are approved on the first filing most days.	Flight plans are approved after one return.	Flight plans need several returns.	Lines are filled in by guessing.
Logbook writing	Clear sequence, exact place names, and vivid sensory detail that brings the flight to life.	Tells where the crew flew and what happened, with some descriptive detail.	Tells what happened with little detail, or leaves out places.	A sentence or two, or off topic.
Teamwork	Does the day's job fully, checks teammates' work respectfully, and helps the crew decide.	Does the day's job and listens to teammates.	Takes part, but does another crew member's job or decides alone.	Does not take part, or takes over.

Differentiation Strategies

Support:

• Every screen has a Listen button.
• The Guide lines tool draws lines from the pointer to the edges of the map, which helps students read coordinates.
• Pair a strong reader with the navigator on days with long Sky Cards.
• Logbook sentence frames: "This morning we took off from ___." "We saw ___ and heard ___." "Then ___ happened, so we ___." "Tonight we are in ___."
• Allow a spoken logbook entry that a teammate types.

Extend (depth and complexity):

• Patterns: Which kinds of routes get hit by the most Sky Cards? Is a longer, safer route ever faster?
• Rules: Why do mountains cut the day's distance? Write a new rule for the race and predict how it would change the best route.
• Multiple perspectives: rewrite one logbook entry from the point of view of a rival crew watching you land.
• Unanswered questions: Is there a route that reaches Aurora City in four days? Prove it with distances.
• Across disciplines: convert each day's miles to kilometers (multiply by 1.6).
• Create: design three new Sky Cards that use latitude, longitude, or a map feature.

Discussion Questions

• Did it feel like a race? When did your crew feel the most pressure?
• Did your crew always agree? How did you settle it when you did not?
• Which line of the flight plan did the tower return most often? Why is that one hard?
• Did the Sky Cards help you or hurt you? How could you plan a route that bad luck cannot ruin?
• If you flew the race again, how would you change your route?
• Who uses these skills in real life?

Closure

Show the before and after scores from the Logbook. Each student names the one map skill that improved most and one they still find hard. End with clean up.