Activity Description

Scholastic.com's 100 Years of Flight allows your students to explore the history, science and adventure of humankind's journey through the air. The online activities include the first flight of the Wright brothers in 1903, the life and times of pilot Amelia Earhart, and the exploration of space. As students explore the activities, they can build their own virtual plane, write a newspaper article, build a timeline, and participate in a paper airplane contest.

The components for 100 Years of Flight are broken down into:

The Wright Brothers: 3–8
Scholastic's "The Wright Brothers" helps students learn about these unique inventors and also their important contributions to aeronautics and the scientific method. "Meet the Wright Brothers" recounts the story of Orville and Wilbur's life. "Inventing the Airplane" explains how the Wright Brothers designed the Flyer I airplane (as well as why other inventors had failed). The "Build a Plane" game allows students to make choices building their own virtual plane and then see whether it flies.

Reporter Activity: 3–8
Students will write their own newspaper article about the first flight of the Wright brothers. Using the introductory articles from "The Wright Brothers" as well as other on-line resources, students will draft and edit their article, add a caption and photo, and finally publish it on-line.

Amelia Earhart: 3–8
Set against the backdrop of fascinating but volatile world events, "The Flight of Amelia Earhart" provides a unique opportunity for students to study the enduring legacy of an American hero. An interactive timeline combines important events from her life with major world events of the time to provide a historical context for young readers. The story of Sylvia Barter, a female trailblazer and contemporary of Amelia's, informs students further on the challenges women faced in the early part of the twentieth century. Finally, a news writing activity allows students to demonstrate their grasp of the historical content.

Challenging the Space Frontier: 3–8
Scholastic's "Challenging the Space Frontier" Online Activity gives students an opportunity to learn about the historical impact of space exploration. A time line of space firsts helps students learn about initial efforts to explore worlds beyond our own. They can also find out about three space flights that changed the public's perception of our world and the world beyond: John Glenn's orbiting of Earth onboard Friendship 7 in 1963; the first landing on the moon in Apollo 11; and Sally Ride's flight aboard the space shuttle Challenger in 1983. In addition, students can read interviews with two of the most important figures in the history of space exploration: astronauts Buzz Aldrin, the second man on the moon, and Sally Ride, the first American woman in space. Finally, students can build on what they have learned by creating their own Space Exploration timeline using Tom Snyder ® Productions' Timeliner 5.0 Demo.

Lesson Goals:

Scholastic's Online Activities are designed to support the teaching of standards-based skills. While participating in 100 Years of Flight, students become proficient with several of these skills.

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