Air Bears Go to the Airport
is the second phase of our programme. You, the teacher, have been
provided with a presentation package containing, among other items,
a vocabulary list, information on handouts, programmes, and
follow-through airport trip programmes.
The Air Bear Tour is conducted at
your local flying club. With their permission, the children receive
a conducted tour of their facilities, ground school, meeting/lounge
areas, administration, and, of course, hangar and planes. With
pre-arrangement, an aircraft may be made available for closer
inspection. For most, this will be the highlight of the tour. Also
they may watch aircraft taking off and landing.
Reinforce vocabulary previously
discussed in the classroom with actual models and examples. A short
course in aviation vernacular might include such terms as wing,
propeller, cockpit, pilot, mechanic, etc., appropriate to the
examples to be presented. Pointing out the difference between a
low-wing and a high-wing aircraft is very easy, just point to the
example, explain it and have the group say it back.
If time and the facilities
permit, show short films on flying (see Ontario Science Centre
list). To conclude the Air Bears Phase II, distribute Air Bear
Certificates and any mementoes arranged, i.e. decals or stickers. A
snapshot always captures the event and many discussions will surely
follow in the weeks ahead.
- Some comments following the
completion of the Air Bear Programme:
- "This was the first time
many of the children had visited an airport and seen an airplane
up close."
-
- "The tour helped the
children overcome fears of noise and the mystery about airplanes."
-
- "It sparked interest in a
subject that most children thought was only for adults..."
-
- "Teachers enjoyed the
experience as much as the children."
"It was an opportunity for
children to see up close what they would normally only see on
television or in the movies."
