Free How Hot Air Ballon Works Lesson Plan for 3rd Grade Students

Topic: How Hot Air Ballon works

Objectives & Outcomes

• Students will understand how hot air balloons work and be able to describe the different parts of a hot air balloon and their functions.

Materials

• Diagram of a hot air balloon
• Hot air balloon toy or model
• Picture of different parts of a hot air balloon (balloon, gondola, burners, baskets)

Warm-up

• Ask students if they have ever seen a hot air balloon before. Ask them what they know about how hot air balloons work. Write their responses on the board.
• Show the students a diagram of a hot air balloon and explain that it is a lightweight balloon that is filled with hot air and can be used to fly in the air.

Direct Instruction

• Tell students that a hot air balloon is made up of a basket (or container) that holds passengers, a body made of lightweight fabric that is covered with a coating of hot air, and a burner that heats the air inside the balloon.
• Explain that the hot air inside the balloon makes it lighter than the air surrounding it, which allows it to rise into the air.
• Show students a picture of a hot air balloon in flight and point out the parts of the balloon that they learned about.

Guided Practice

• Provide each student with a piece of paper and a marker.
• Ask students to draw a hot-air balloon, showing the parts that they learned about.
• As students work, circulate the room and provide assistance as needed.

Independent Practice

• Ask students to imagine that they are the pilot of a hot-air balloon.
• Have them write a paragraph describing what they would do before taking off, during take-off, and while in flight.
• Encourage them to use their knowledge of the hot-air balloon's components and their understanding of their role as the pilot to support their writing.

Closure

• Review the main points of the lesson, emphasizing the importance of the hot-air balloon's components and the role of the pilot in safe and successful flight.
• Ask students to share their paragraphs with the class.

Assessment

• Observe students during the independent practice activity and provide feedback on their understanding of the concepts discussed in the lesson.
• Collect and review the paragraphs written during the independent practice activity, assessing students' ability to explain how the hot-air balloon's components work together to enable flight.