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Subjects

• Arts & Humanities
  --Language Arts
  --Visual Arts
• Educational Technology
• Mathematics
  --Measurement
• Science
  --History
  --Physical Science: Physics
• Social Studies
  --History: U.S. History
  

Grade

• 3-5
• 6-8
• 9-12

Brief Description

Create a photo timeline of the lives of the Wright brothers.

Objectives

Students will

• make notes about important events in the Wright brothers' lives as they do their research.
• develop measurement skills as they create an accurate timeline.
• research photos for their timelines.
• learn why the Wright brothers are so important in history.

Keywords

Wright brothers, aviation, transportation, timeline, research, measurement

Materials Needed

• art supplies for creating a timeline
• access to library and/or online resources about the lives of the Wright brothers

Lesson Plan

In this lesson, students will create a timeline of important events in the lives of the Wright brothers. Students might use library or online resources as they do their research. The timeline will include plenty of photographs from online resources.

Have students set up, or provide them a simple work sheet, that includes two columns on it:

THE WRIGHT BROTHERS
Important Date in Wright Brothers' Lives	Event That Happened On That Date

With their work sheets in hand, students begin their research. They record dates and events that were important in the brothers' lives.

Click here for a page of online resources -- including biographies and photo images -- that you might provide for students.

When students have completed their work sheets

• ...you might hold a class discussion in which students share their findings. Write on a board or chart the events that students found. If they have found too many events, you might have students eliminate those that seem to be least important.
• ...you might have students gather in pairs, then later in groups of four, to merge their information (and, perhaps, to purge the less important dates/information). Then each group of four can take a turn contributing important dates to the class timeline.

Finally, assign each student, pair of students, or group of four students the task of locating, in books or online, photographs that coordinate with important dates and events on the timeline. Click here for a list of a number of excellent online sources of photo images.

Students' drawings can be used in place of photo images.

Post students' completed timeline in a prominent place in the hallway, so students in the entire school can learn about the Wright Brothers' lives and join in the celebration of their first air flight -- exactly 100 years later.

Assessment

Lesson Plan Source

Education World

Submitted By

Gary Hopkins

National Standards

LANGUAGE ARTS: English
GRADES K - 12
NL-ENG.K-12.1 Reading for Perspective
NL-ENG.K-12.2 Reading for Understanding
NL-ENG.K-12.3 Evaluation Strategies
NL-ENG.K-12.4 Communication Skills
NL-ENG.K-12.5 Communication Strategies
NL-ENG.K-12.8 Developing Research Skills
NL-ENG.K-12.12 Applying Language Skills

MATHEMATICS: Measurement
Creating an accurate timeline requires use of all measurement standards.
GRADES Pre-K - 2
All
GRADES 3 - 5
All
GRADES 6 - 8
All
GRADES 9 - 12
All

MATHEMATICS: Connections
GRADES Pre-K - 12
NM-CONN.PK-12.3 Recognize and Apply Mathematics in Contexts Outside of Mathematics

MATHEMATICS: Representation
GRADES Pre-K - 12
NM-REP.PK-12.3 Use Representations to Model and Interpret Physical, Social, and Mathematical Phenomena

SCIENCE
GRADES K - 4
NS.K-4.2 Physical Science
NS.K-4.4 Earth and Space Science
NS.K-4.6 Science in Personal and Social Perspectives
NS.K-4.7 History and Nature of Science
GRADES 5 - 8
NS.5-8.2 Physical Science
NS.5-8.4 Earth and Space Science
NS.5-8.6 Science in Personal and Social Perspectives
NS.5-8.7 History and Nature of Science
GRADES 9 - 12
NS.9-12.2 Physical Science
NS.9-12.4 Earth and Space Science
NS.9-12.6 Science in Personal and Social Perspectives
NS.9-12.7 History and Nature of Science

SOCIAL SCIENCES: U.S. History
GRADES 5 - 12
NSS-USH.5-12.6 Era 6: The Development of the Industrial United States (1870-1900)
NSS-USH.5-12.7 Era 7: The Emergence of Modern America (1890-1930)

TECHNOLOGY
GRADES K - 12
NT.K-12.1 Basic Operations and Concepts
NT.K-12.5 Technology Research Tools

Click here to return to this week's Wright brothers lesson plan page.

Article by Gary Hopkins
Education World®
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