The Wright Brothers
Grade Levels: 6, 7, 8
Subject Areas: Social Studies, Language Arts
View Original Documents for The Wright Brothers
General Overview
On December 17, 1903, Orville and Wilbur Wright made the first machine-powered flight at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. With Orville aboard, the flight lasted about 12 seconds. The first flight covered 100 feet. The brothers made 3 other flights that day with the final one lasting 59 seconds and covering 852 feet. The machine the Wright brothers used was powered by a 12-horse power motor and 2 propellers that they designed. Over the next few years the Wrights built stronger machines that flew farther and were more reliable.
Click here to view the student page for The Wright Brothers.
activity 1: mini webquest
Time Required |
1 class period (teacher’s discretion) |
Materials |
Internet Access |
Related Documents |
|
State Standards |
Grade 6 Language Arts: Goals 1, 2.01, 4 |
Preparation
Students should study the materials provided, including the Wright Brothers’ short bio and photograph of their glider in Kitty Hawk. Students should read the original newspaper article from the Wilmington newspaper provided. Encourage students to search through other documents on the Wright Brothers with in the website. Also read the letter from Orville Wright to Reginald Fessenden, who was another important inventor of the period.
Instructions
Students should read the questions pertaining to Wrights’ and follow the links within the website to find the answers to these questions. They should then record the answers to the questions on the worksheet provided.
read the wright brothers’ short biography and study the photograph of the wrights’ first flight at kitty hawk.
- What dangers did they face?
- What things did they have to consider when they built the airplane?
- Why was the terrain at Kitty Hawk good for their experiment?
- If an experiment such as that depicted in the photograph were conducted today, how do you think the photograph might differ?
read the original newspaper article about the first flight.
- For an event that we think of as so important, the newspaper article is not a large one. Why do you think that is?
- Why do you think the Wrights chose Kitty Hawk as a place to experiment with manned flight?
- If such an experiment were to take place today, how do you think it might be treated differently in the newspaper?
read the letter from orville wright to reginald fessenden, who was another important inventor of the period. it is obvious from the letter that both fessenden and the wrights were working on similar or complementary projects.
- In the letter Wright expresses concern about the weight of the motor. Why would weight be an important issue to him?
- Do you think inventors frequently write to each other? Why or why not?
- Why is it important that such a letter be saved and preserved?
The following questions should provoke discussion:
(see above)
activity 2
Time Required |
1 week outside class time (teacher’s discretion) |
Materials |
Internet Access |
Related Documents |
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State Standards |
Grade 6 Language Arts: Goals 2.01 |
Preparation
Do some additional research on the Wrights’ plane.
Vist NASA’s site that pertains to the Wright Brothers at http://permanent.access.gpo.gov/websites/spacelink.nasa.gov/archive/
The.Wright.Brothers.Adventure.pdf (scroll to page 48)
Instructions
Make an accurate representational model of the Wright brothers’ plane used at Kitty Hawk. Visit the Wright Brothers’ section of the website along the way to see original documents pertaining to their lives.
The following questions should provoke discussion:
none
activity 3
Time Required |
1 week outside class time (teacher’s discretion) |
Materials |
Supplementary Images and Texts (online) |
Related Documents |
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State Standards |
Grade 6 Language Arts: Goals 1, 2 |
Preparation
Do some additional research on the Wrights’ experiments. Visit the Wright Brothers’ section of the website.
Instructions
Write a logbook of the experiments done by the Wrights.
The following questions should provoke discussion:
none
activity 4
Time Required |
1-2 weeks outside class time (teacher’s discretion) |
Materials |
Video camera |
Related Documents |
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State Standards |
Grade 6 Language Arts: Goals 1, 2 |
Preparation
Do some additional research on the Wrights’ experiments and events of their first flight in 1903. Visit the Wright Brothers’ section of the website.
Instructions
Create a video documentary of the first flight.
The following questions should provoke discussion:
none
extension
- Research other newspaper accounts of the flight. Compare their similarities and differences.
Last Updated July 31 2009
