Teacher guide · Curious Lab · Harder · about 40 min

🧪 Fair Test Flight Lab

Pupils practise curiosity through "Fair Test Flight Lab": Plan a fair investigation with paper planes.

Lesson guide

1. Hook · 5 min
Show the 🧪 mission title and read the opening: "To test wing size, what should you change?". Take three quick guesses.
2. Model · 5 min
Think aloud through the first step together. Use Sniff the Beagle's line as your prompt: "Great question! Ready to dig one layer deeper? Pick your next mission below."
3. Do · 15 min
Pairs work through the 5 steps on screen or on the printed sheet. Circulate and ask "why?"
4. Discuss · 10 min
Use two or three of the discussion questions. Ask pairs to share different answers, not just correct ones.
5. Reflect · 5 min
Exit ticket: one sentence on how they used curiosity today.

What was the hardest choice in "Fair Test Flight Lab", and why?
To test wing size, what should you change — explain your reasoning to a partner.
Why repeat each flight several times — explain your reasoning to a partner.
Which is the measured outcome in a distance test — explain your reasoning to a partner.
Where could you use curiosity outside school this week?
If you did this again, what would you change?

Support: Read prompts aloud, pair with a confident partner, and accept spoken or drawn answers for writing steps.

Stretch: Ask pupils to create their own extra step for a partner and explain the correct answer.

National Curriculum: Science: working scientifically plus the year-group topic
National Curriculum: Science: working scientifically — asking questions and observing
National Curriculum: Geography/History: enquiry and using sources
PSHE: Living in the wider world: media literacy and checking information

Pupil sheet

Name: ____________________ Date: __________

1. To test wing size, what should you change?
☐ Everything at once
☐ Only wing size
☐ Wing size and paper type
2. Why repeat each flight several times?
☐ To avoid measuring
☐ To choose only the longest flight
☐ To make results more reliable
3. Which is the measured outcome in a distance test?
☐ Distance flown
☐ The colour you prefer
☐ The day of the week
4. Connect the clues to their meanings.
Wing size you change → ________________
Distance you measure → ________________
Paper type kept the same → ________________
5. Plan a paper-plane test. Name what you change, measure and keep the same, and how often you repeat it.