K3L16 Parachutes in Action

Lesson Duration: 45 minutes

Grade: K3

Preparation Time: 15 minutes

Learning Objectives:

1. Children will be able to construct a simple parachute using basic materials
2. Children will be able to observe and describe how parachutes move through the air
3. Children will be able to identify that air resistance makes objects fall more slowly

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Materials Needed:
- Plastic bags or large squares of plastic
- Paper/plastic cups 
- String/yarn
- Scissors (for teacher use)
- Hole punch
- Tape
- Small toys (e.g., LEGO figures) for testing
- Open space for testing parachutes

Lesson Procedure

3 mins - Welcome Time
- Sing hello song
- Show a toy parachute or picture and ask "What is this?"
- Demonstrate dropping items with and without a parachute

5 mins - Discovery Chat  
- Ask: "What happens when we drop things?"
- Introduce concept of gravity pulling things down
- Demonstrate dropping a piece of paper flat vs crumpled
- Ask: "Why does the flat paper fall more slowly?"

12 mins - Hands-On Challenge 1: Build the Parachute
- Show materials and completed model
- Guide children step-by-step:
  1. Place holes in cup
  2. Cut strings to equal lengths
  3. Attach strings to plastic
  4. Connect strings to cup
- Help with challenging steps

10 mins - Hands-On Challenge 2: Test the Parachutes
- Take children to open space/stairwell
- Drop parachutes from different heights
- Observe how they float down
- Ask: "What makes the parachute fall slowly?"

10 mins - Hands-On Challenge 3: Parachute Experiments  
- Try different variations:
  - Heavy vs light items in cup
  - Big vs small plastic sheet
  - Long vs short strings
- Discuss what makes parachutes work better/worse

5 mins - Wrap-Up
- Review what we learned about air resistance
- Each child gets final test drop
- Clean up materials
- Goodbye song