Flying Through Time

The invention of the airplane has made a big change in our society and how we travel. Students will walk through the very beginnings of flight history up to the present and observe the developments that continue to improve flight.

Weblink address (URL): 
Flying Through Time
Home Page- source

Standards & Objectives

Learning objectives: 

Upon completion of this lesson, students will be introduced to the beginnings of flight and be able to understand key changes in flight. They will be able to recognize the changes of flying machines and identify machines from past to present by using primary source images and identifying the changes. They will be able to identify basic parts of an aircraft. They will also use their new knowledge to imagine and design what flying machines will be like in the future. Students will also learn to analyze different types of primary sources. 

Essential and guiding questions: 

How has flight changed over time?

Lesson Variations

Blooms taxonomy level: 
Applying
Extension suggestions: 

Make books available for students to take home and read about the history of flying machines as well as books on how planes are used today. Students will chose a time period they liked and write a paragraph about the advancements in flight in that time period or about an inventor and their achievements.

Helpful Hints

Library of Congress Primary Sources:

  • American Airlines "Flagship" passenger plane
  • First Flight
  • Expérience du globe aerostatique du MM. Charles et Robert
  • Airplane
  • The U.S. Space & Rocket Center, Huntsville, Alabama

Other Resources:

  • Timeline of Flight from The Dream of
  • Flight exhibition
  • Analyzing Sources from Multiple Perspectives

Web sites:

  • Sites4Teachers Timeline Template

Books:

  • Hodgkins, Fran. How People Learned to Fly. New York: Harper Collins Publishers, 2007.
  • Hunter, Ryan A. Into the Air: An Illustrated Timeline of Flight. Des Moines: National Geographic Children's Books