Theme Airport Teacher Notes
Theme Airport Teacher Notes
Introduction
Theme Airport aims to help young people explore numeracy and literacy in an engaging way by allowing children to explore what it is like to manage
their very own international Airport. At the beginning of the scenario students are given a loan of £500,000 from the bank and must work through a
number of exercises to build and manage their very own Airport on the fictional ‘Aviation Island’.
The assorted activities support the national curriculum whilst helping children to explore mathematics and literacy in a fun way.
The activities are aimed at students aged 7-11. Theme Airport consists of a set of student activities which can be downloaded and delivered through
Power Point and include supporting activity sheets and linked teacher notes. The student pack is designed to be used with Power Point to allow
students to follow the activities as a class.
The Theme Airport activities and materials are designed to be used flexibly allowing teachers to select the activities which best fit with their student’s
interests and abilities. They also include optional extension activities to challenge students.
Overview of Theme Airport Activities
Activity
Activity 1. Plan your Airport
Overview
Before you build your Airport carry out research to help choose the facilities you will have in your passenger terminal building.
Activity 2. Create your Airport Passenger Terminal
Create your Airport and choose the facilities you will have whilst sticking to your budget.
Activity 3. Design an Airline to fly from your Airport
Work in groups to name and design an Airline to fly from your Airport
Activity 4. Running your Airport business
Work out the cost of running your Airport and work out the profit you will make in the first year of operation.
Activity 5. Choose the cargo your Airport will carry
As well as carrying people aircraft can also carry items and goods which are called cargo. In this activity you can choose what types of cargo your
aircraft will carry.
Activity 6. Business check up
Check how your company is progressing and work out the profit you have made by running your Airport business.
These areas are explored through the downloadable student activity pack and terminal activity sheet. These can all be downloaded from
www.londonlutoninthecommunity.com
These accompanying teacher notes outline how the activities can be used and include, objectives, suggested lesson length, and suggested extension
activities. How the acitivites can support the Key Stage 2 Curriculum for Mathematics and Science has also been laid out below.
Main curriculum links Key Stage 2
MATHEMATICS
Programme of study
Knowledge skills and
understanding
Students should be taught
Theme Airport Activities
Using and applying
numbers
Problem solving
a. make connections in mathematics and appreciate the need to use numerical skills and knowledge when
solving problems in other parts of the mathematics curriculum
1,2,4,5,6
b. break down a more complex problem or calculation into simpler steps before attempting a solution;
identify the information needed to carry out the tasks
1,2,4,5,6
c. select and use appropriate mathematical equipment, including ICT
1,2,4,5,6
d. find different ways of approaching a problem in order to overcome any difficulties
1,2,4,5,6
g. recognise approximate proportions of a whole and use simple fractions and percentages to describe
them, explaining their methods and reasoning
5
h. solve simple problems involving ratio and direct proportion
5
a. develop further their understanding of the four number operations and the relationships between them
including inverses; use the related vocabulary; choose suitable number operations to solve a given
problem, and recognise similar problems to which they apply
4,6
c. understand the use of brackets to determine the order of operations; understand why the commutative,
associative and distributive laws apply to addition and multiplication and how they can be used to do
mental and written calculations more efficiently
4,6
h. multiply and divide, at first in the range 1 to 100 [for example, 27 x 3, 65 ÷ 5], then for particular cases of
larger numbers by using factors, distribution or other methods
4,5,6
Numbers and the
number system
Calculations
Fractions, percentages
and ratio
Number operations
and the relationships
between them
Mental methods
i. use written methods to add and subtract positive integers less than 1000, then up to 10000, then add
and subtract numbers involving decimals; use approximations and other strategies to check that their
answers are reasonable
4,5,6
j. use written methods for short multiplication and division by a single-digit integer of two-digit then threedigit then four-digit integers, then of numbers with decimals; then use long multiplication, at first for twodigit by two-digit integer calculations, then for three-digit by two-digit calculations; extend division to
informal methods of dividing by a two-digit divisor [for example, 64 ÷ 16]; use approximations and other
strategies to check that their answers are reasonable
4,5,6
k. use a calculator for calculations involving several digits, including decimals; use a calculator to solve
number problems [for example, 4 ? x 7 = 343]; know how to enter and interpret money calculations and
fractions; know how to select the correct key sequence for calculations with more than one operation [for
example, 56 x (87 - 48)].
4,5,6
a. choose, use and combine any of the four number operations to solve word problems involving numbers
in 'real life', money or measures of length, mass, capacity or time, then perimeter and area
2,4,5,6
b. choose and use an appropriate way to calculate and explain their methods and reasoning
2,4,5,6
b. select and use appropriate calculation skills to solve geometrical problems
2
c. approach spatial problems flexibly, including trying alternative approaches to overcome difficulties
2
d. use checking procedures to confirm that their results of geometrical problems are reasonable
2
e. organise work and record or represent it in a variety of ways when presenting solutions to geometrical
problems
2
g. present and interpret solutions to problems
2
e. find perimeters of simple shapes; find areas of rectangles using the formula, understanding its
connection to counting squares and how it extends this approach; calculate the perimeter and area of
shapes composed of rectangles.
2
Problem solving
c. identify the data necessary to solve a given problem
d. select and use appropriate calculation skills to solve problems involving data
e. check results and ensure that solutions are reasonable in the context of the problem
1,2,4,5,6
Communicating
f. decide how best to organise and present findings
1
Written methods
Calculator methods
Solving numerical
problems
Using and applying
shape, space and
measures
Problem solving
Communicating
Understanding
measures
Using and applying
handling data
Processing,
representing and
interpreting data
1,2,4,5,6
a. solve problems involving data
1,2,4,5,6
b. interpret tables, lists and charts used in everyday life; construct and interpret frequency tables, including
tables for grouped discrete data
1
c. represent and interpret discrete data using graphs and diagrams, including pictograms, bar charts and
line graphs, then interpret a wider range of graphs and diagrams, using ICT where appropriate
1
f. draw conclusions from statistics and graphs and recognise when information is presented in a
misleading way; explore doubt and certainty and develop an understanding of probability through
classroom situations; discuss events using a vocabulary that includes the words 'equally likely', 'fair',
'unfair', 'certain'.
ENGLISH
Programme of study
Speaking and
listening
Knowledge skills and
understanding
Speaking
Listening
Students should be taught
Theme Airport Activities
b. gain and maintain the interest and response of different audiences [for
example, by exaggeration, humour, varying pace and using persuasive
language to achieve particular effects]
3
c. choose material that is relevant to the topic and to the listeners
3
d. show clear shape and organisation with an introduction and an ending
3
e. speak audibly and clearly, using spoken standard English in formal
contexts
3
a. identify the gist of an account or key points in a discussion and evaluate
what they hear
3
b. ask relevant questions to clarify, extend and follow up ideas
3
c. recall and re-present important features of an argument, talk, reading,
radio or television programme, film
3
e. respond to others appropriately, taking into account what they say.
3
3. To talk effectively as members of a group, students should be taught to:
a. make contributions relevant to the topic and take turns in discussion
Group discussion and
interaction
b. vary contributions to suit the activity and purpose, including exploratory
and tentative comments where ideas are being collected together, and
reasoned, evaluative comments as discussion moves to conclusions or
actions
3
3
d. deal politely with opposing points of view and enable discussion to move
on
e. take up and sustain different roles, adapting them to suit the situation,
including chair, scribe and spokesperson
3
3
f. use different ways to help the group move forward, including summarising
the main points, reviewing what has been said, clarifying, drawing others in,
reaching agreement, considering alternatives and anticipating
consequences.
3
Theme Airport Teacher Notes: Activity Overview
Activity
Student
pack slide
reference
Teacher Notes
Introduction
1-2
Notes:



Introduce ‘Theme Airport’ to the class and encourage students to discuss their experiences of Airports. Have they visited an Airport before? What was it like? Why are
Airports important?
Introduce the scenario to the students (Slide 1) - they are going to manage and design their very own International Airport called ‘Theme Airport’
Provide an overview of the activities including which activities the class are going to cover as part of the Theme Airport programme (Slide 2)
Note- it is suggested that students populate the quick reference sheet (Slide 27) after each activity so they can refer to throughout the programme
Activity 1.
Plan your
Airport
3-5
Aim: Before you build your Airport carry out research to help choose the facilities you will have in your passenger terminal building. (Slide 3)
Learning intention and purpose of activity: For students to carry out basic market research, collect, organise and present simple survey results
Suggested lesson length: 1.5 hours (extra optional work could be completed as homework e.g. surveying friends and family)
Variation: These activities could be completed as a class, individuals or as homework. Students can be asked to present their results and graphs back to the class and discuss
the best methods
Resources needed:
Theme Airport student pack, scrap paper, graph paper, colouring pencils
Notes:

(Slide 4) Discuss with students that they will be managing their own Airport and that Airports are busy places with lots of passengers. Discuss that Airports will need to
have lots of facilities for passengers to use e.g. toilets, cafes, shops, etc. This task will focus specifically on the Airport Passenger Terminal Building. Ask if the students
have ever been to an Airport and what facilities for passengers they found in the buildings e.g. check in desks, security areas, shops, toilets, seating

(Slide 5) The first task as manager of the new Airport will be to think about the types of facilities the students would like to have in their Passenger Terminal Building.
Explain that it is important for them to pick facilities that appeal to a broad range of people and therefore it would be useful for them to ask other people by conducting a
survey

(Slide 5) Discuss how to conduct a basic survey. What is a good way of recording and organising results from a survey e.g. tick boxes, tally chart, organising data in a
table, making a list? (an example of a basic survey question is provided on Slide 5)

Ask students to design and undertake a brief survey to help them decide which facilities to place in their Airport Passenger Terminal Building. The survey can be
undertaken by a pair, whole class/school or as a homework activity. An example survey is provided on Slide 5. You can ask the students to select their own list of
facilities or decide on a list as a class. It is recommended to include a maximum of five types of facility. If you require a list of facilities these can be taken from Slide 9

Once students have conducted their survey ask them to decide on the best way of presenting their results. This could be a bar chart, graph, table or other

Time allowing ask students to present their findings back to the class
Activity 2.
Create your
Airport
Passenger
Terminal
6-11
Aim: Create your Airport and choose the facilities you will have whilst sticking to your budget. (Slide 6)
Learning intention and purpose of activity: For students to use a worksheet to map out their Airport using simple problem solving including working with shape, area and
simple budgeting
Suggested lesson length: 2 hours (homework optional)
Variation: These activities could be completed as a class, individuals or as homework. In addition to creating the worksheet students may like to create a 3D model of their
Airport.
Resources needed:
Theme Airport student pack
A3 ‘Airport Passenger Terminal Map Worksheet’ (This can be printed from Slide 10)
Facilities Key-Included in the student pack (Slide 9)
Colouring pencils (Blue, Green, Red and Orange)
Calculator (optional)
Scrap paper
Notes:

Note- to keep this activity simple the Airport layout provided focuses on the facilities for departing passengers only. For the purposes of this activity it is assumed that
arriving passengers are processed in a different building

Introduce the activity (Slide 7). Students must imagine they have been given a loan of £500,000 from the bank to spend on building facilities in their Airport Passenger
Terminal Building. There are some facilities they must include but they are also able to decide if they want to include additional facilities which have been highlighted
from their research in Activity 1. They are allowed to include up to two additional facilities which will be classed as a category 1 facility

Slide 8 outlines the important things for students to remember when designing their Airport Passenger Terminal Building. It may also help to label the facilities on the
plan.

Slide 9 provides the key for students to follow when drawing their Airport Passenger Terminal. Each type of facility comes under a different category which differs in
price and area squared taken up.

Slide 10 can be downloaded separately to form the A3 ‘Airport Passenger Terminal Map Worksheet’. Using the key given on Slide 9 ask the students to complete the
A3 ‘Airport Passenger Terminal Map Worksheet’. Remember the students will need to keep to budget and record the money they have spent (and how much remains)
on a separate piece of paper)

Slide 11 provides an example of a completed ‘Airport Passenger Terminal Map Worksheet’

Students will need to decide what types of facilities to have in their Airport and colour in their map accordingly.

Students should be looking to produce a plan which is:



Within budget
Well planned and laid out (e.g. space for passengers to move between facilities)
Includes a good mix of facilities for passengers

Time allowing ask students to present their findings back to the class
Activity 3.
Design an
Airline to fly
from your
Airport
12-13
Aim: Work in groups to name and design an Airline to operate from your Airport
Learning intention and purpose of activity: For students to be creative and work collaboratively in groups to produce a well structured product which can be presented back
to the class. Different presentation methods can be adopted for example a jingle, news report, poster or spoken presentation
Suggested lesson length: 1-2 hours
Variation: These activities could be completed as a class, individuals or as homework. The presentations could be basic or more complex ranging from a simple poster to
working as a group to paint model aircraft, jingles, news reports and role play. E.g. for a presentation you could encourage role play using costumes and allocating individual job
roles to members of the group
Resources needed:
Theme Airport student pack
Scrap paper
Colouring pencils etc
Materials to support class presentations
Notes:

Discuss with the students what an Airline is. Have they heard of any Airlines and have they flown on different planes?

Split the class into small groups. Each group will be given the task to design their own Airline which will operate from Theme Airport.

Things for students to consider include:







What will you call your Airline?
What colour will your Aircraft be?
Where will you fly to (pick one destination)?
Why do you think passengers would want to fly there?
How much will you charge for tickets?
How many people will fit on your Aircraft?
What facilities will your Aircraft have e.g. televisions in the back of seats? Extra leg room, food on board?

Once they have designed their Airline the students will need to present their new Airline back to the class. Encourage as much creativity as possible, presentations
could range from a full scale model of an Aircraft, jingle or news reports. For the presentation you could encourage role play including costumes and allocating
individual job roles
Activity 4.
Running
your Airport
business
14-19
Aim: Work out the cost of running your Airport and work out the profit you will make in the first year of operation
Learning intention and purpose of activity: For students to perform basic calculations to work out the profit and loss of their Airport business. Tasks involve performing basic
arithmetic including addition and multiplication and cross referencing data from tables.
Suggested lesson length: 2 hours
Variation: These tables can be completed individually, in groups or as a class. Calculators can also be used if preferred.
Resources needed: Theme Airport Student Pack- Including information from Activity 2, calculators, scrap paper for working out
Notes:

This activity will help students to see the business behind their Airport including working out how much their Airport costs to run and how much money it generates

(Slide 14) First the students will need to work out the cost of running their Airport for one day. The costs for the different facilities are laid out in the table (Slide 15).
Using their Airport plans created in Activity 2 students will need to work out how many facilities from each category their Airport has. They will need to put this into the
column marked ‘Number located in your Airport’

The staff costs and maintenance costs are provided in the table. These have been added in the column marked (Staff costs + maintenance costs). To work out the
total cost of running their Airport for one day students will need to complete the last column on the table by taking the total of staff costs and maintenance costs and
multiplying by the number of particular types of facilities in their Airport. The total will give the total cost of running the Airport facilities for one day.

(Slide 16) An optional extension activity is provided on Slide 16. The cost of running the Airport facilities for one day can be multiplied by seven days to find the total for
one week and this figure by 52 to find the total for a year. Note. To complete Activity 6 students will require an annual running cost figure

(Slide 17) Next students can work out how much money the Airport makes in an average week. Each passenger will pay £50 per Airline ticket. To work out the weekly
ticket income students can multiply the number of passengers by the price of a ticket to complete the ‘Ticket Income’ column in the table on Slide 17.

Answers to Slide 17 provided below
Day
Number of Passengers
(Price of a ticket x number of passengers) =
Ticket Income
Mon
Tues
Wed
Thur
Fri
Sat
Sun
Total
50
75
66
49
61
102
110
-
£50 x 50 passengers =
£50 x 75 passengers =
£50 x 66 passengers =
£50 x 49 passengers =
£50 x 61 passengers =
£50 x 102 passengers =
£50 x 110 passengers =
-
£2,500
£3,750
£3,300
£2,450
£3,050
£5,100
£5,500
£25,650

(Slide 18) using the figures calculated from the previous two activities students can work out the profit the Airport makes on a weekly basis. Profit = (A) Total income
from passenger tickets in one week – (B) Total cost of running Airport for one week

The final total will give the total weekly profit for an average week

(Slide 19) This provides an optional extension activity where the total weekly profit can be multiplied by 52 to find the average annual profit. (Note for the purposes of
the activity it is assumed weekly passenger figures remain constant throughout the year)
Activity 5.
Choose the
cargo your
Aircraft will
carry
20-23
Aim: As well as carrying people aircraft can also carry items and goods which are called cargo. In this activity you can choose what types of cargo your aircraft will carry
Learning intention and purpose of activity: Understand that different products including foods are grown in different parts of the world and can be carried by Aircraft as Cargo.
Using maths to solve problems including working with units of weight and managing money
Suggested lesson length: 2 hours
Variation: Further research could be completed as homework. Students could link this into learning about Fair trade or a geography project focusing on a specific country
Resources needed:
Theme Airport Student pack
Research materials e.g. Access to the internet, encyclopaedia
Calculator (optional)
Scrap paper for workings out
Notes:

Explain that Aircraft can carry goods and items as cargo as well as passengers. Discuss with the class where they think some of their favourite foods are grown?
Where do they think cocoa (chocolate) or pineapples might be grown?

(Slide 21) Provides a list of different foods which are grown in different areas of the world. If you assume that the climate on Aviation Island is similar to the United
Kingdom these items cannot be grown on the island and must be imported by the Airport. Ask the students either individually or in groups

(Slide 21) Ask students either on their own or in groups to pick a food from the list and find out a country where the item is grown. Ask the students to find out three key
facts about that country.
E.g. Pineapples can be grown in Brazil.
1.
2.
3.
The official language of Brazil is Portuguese
Brazil is located in South America
One of the most popular sports in Brazil is football

(Slide 22) Here students will need to work out the types of cargo they would like their aircraft to carry to make up 1000kg of cargo using the units in the table. Students
are not able to add part units
For example the cargo could be made up as per the table below:
Cargo
5 units of Cocoa
1 unit of pineapples
1 unit of sugar
2 units of coffee
Total

Weight (total must be 1000kg)
(50kg x5) = 250kg
(250kg x1) = 250kg
(100kg x 1) = 100kg
(200kg x 2) = 400kg
100kg of Cargo
(Slide 23) This optional extension activity asks students to work out how much income they will get from their Cargo centre. Using the costs listed on Slide 24 students
can work out the income they will make from each load of cargo.
E.g.
Cargo
5 units of Cocoa
1 unit of pineapples
1 unit of sugar
2 units of coffee
Total per flight

Weight (total must be 1000kg)
(50kg x5) = 250kg
(250kg x1) = 250kg
(100kg x 1) = 100kg
(200kg x 2) = 400kg
100kg of Cargo
Income for Airport
5 units x £100 = £500
1 unit x £200 = £200
1 unit x £250 = £250
2 units x £300 = £600
= £1550 per flight
This figure can be multiplied by two flights per day and then seven (days in a week) to work out the weekly income for the Cargo centre and then by 52 (weeks in a
year) to work out the income from the cargo centre over a year.
E.g.
£1550 per flight x 2 flights per day = £3100 (Income per day)
£3100 x 7 (days a week) = £21,700 (Income per week)
£21,700 x 52 (weeks in year) = £1,128,400 (Income per year)
Activity 6.
Business
check up
24-27
Aim: Check how your business is progressing and work out the profit you have made by running your Airport business
Learning intention and purpose of activity: Draw all of the elements of the programme together. Consolidate calculations made across the activity to ascertain whether their
Airport has been a success and made a profit
Suggested lesson length: 1 hour
Variation: This is an optional activity and can be done individually or as a class. Includes optional extension activities
Resources needed:
Theme Airport student pack
Calculator (optional)
Scrap paper
Quick reference sheet at back of student pack
Notes:
Using the figures from previous activities students will work out profit from two years.

(Slide 25) Students will need to take the annual profit from ticket sales figure (Activity 4) and the annual cargo profit (Activity 5) and calculate the total profit made in
the first year by adding these figures together.

Next remind them of a. how much money they had left over after building their Airport Passenger Terminal and thus the total left in the bank (this includes the loan)

(Slide 26) Remind the students that at the beginning of the exercise they built their Airport with a loan from the bank. They will need to pay 10% interest on this loan.
Using the figures from previous activities the students can work out if they made a profit in their first year of operation of Theme Airport.