INTEGRATING AEROSPACE EDUCATION INTO THE CORE CURRICULUM OF THE DENVER PUBLIC MIDDLE SCHOOLS (AVIATION, AERONAUTICS)

As a result of the Space Revolution of the 20th century, the life of each individual has been influenced and affected. The implications of the Aerospace Age on social, economic, and political aspects of society are now being recognized, and research in the field indicates our educational system has been deficient in using aviation and space to teach youth effective living in an aerospace world.;The curriculum designed uses the Denver Public Schools mini-course, interdisciplinary approach to the core curriculum at the middle school level. Teacher guides, student handouts, and student activities which address the needs of the middle school student were developed integrating aerospace education into the content areas of science, mathematics, social studies, and language arts. A module incorporating the topics of communication and transportation into the curriculum was designed for each of the four subject areas. The teacher guides for each of the modules are divided into four parts: overview, objectives, instructional strategies, and student handouts and activities. The final section of the guide contains an airport field trip guide which may be used to develop a culminating activity. The guide also contains a complete listing of resources and materials.;The purpose of this study was to develop an interdisciplinary unit using the airport as the focal point to provide middle school students with the general education aspects of aerospace education. The content areas of science, mathematics, language arts, and social studies were utilized to give middle school students an awareness of the aerospace world in which they live. The students experience firsthand application of aerospace principles to different parts of their lives.