The Wright Brothers' Flying Evolution

In this lesson, students explore the process and development of the Wright brothers’ earlier flying apparatuses leading up to and including their first sustained, controlled flight of 1903. They will analyze images from the Library of Congress Web site related to the Wright brothers’ aviation and investigate the flight process of the Wright brothers and the important steps they made during their design process.

Weblink address (URL):

Home Page- source

Standards & Objectives

Learning objectives:

The learner will explore the early flight process of the Wrights, explore images from the Library of Congress Web site related to the subject matter that they are studying, and complete picture analysis worksheets. Each group will investigate one of the steps in the flight process and combine that step with other steps to produce a timeline of the important steps the Wright brothers made during their design process.

Essential and guiding questions:

How did the Wright brothers’ methodical, systematic process in building the airplane demonstrating the steps in the engineering design process?

Lesson Variations

Blooms taxonomy level:

Applying

Extension suggestions:

Investigate the Library of Congress for more images related to the history of flight.
Watch and discuss the video “Who Really Invented the Airplane? http://www.history.com/topics/inventions/wright-brothers
Using the Wilbur and Orville Wright Papers search page, http://www.loc.gov/collections/wilbur-and-orville-wright-papers/about-th..., have students find additional images of the Wright brothers’ gliders and flyers. Example “1900 glider” “1901 glider,” “1902 glider,” and “1903 machine”.
Have students create their own Wright gliders using cardboard and toothpicks. http://wright.nasa.gov/ROGER/models.htm
Additional Wright Flight Video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A-CvkEUSAO4
Additional Library of Congress Flight Resources on earlier flight for study:
- Deaths from Flying https://www.loc.gov/resource/mwright.0500511
- Women in flight https://www.loc.gov/resource/mwright.0500566
- Clouds obstructing view https://www.loc.gov/resource/mwright.05003418
- Wrights May Stop All Plane Flyers https://www.loc.gov/resource/mwright.05002594
- Roosevelt first former president to fly https://www.loc.gov/resource/mwright.05003393

Helpful Hints

MATERIALS:

PowerPoint presentation
Engineering Design Process Worksheet (H1)
Picture Analysis Worksheet (H2)
Picture Bibliography Page Worksheet (H3)
Poster Board (cut in half, long ways)