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Maine Samplers Part II The Wright Brothers: How They Invented the Airplane
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Holiday House, 1991 Summary: Beginning with the toy helicopter that their father gave them, Wilbur and Orville Wright were absorbed with the idea of flight. In these endeavors, as well as their other interests (photography, bicycles, and printing), Freedman conveys an appreciation for the scientific process. Level: Grades 5 - 7 Themes:
Activities: 1. Small group: What is a glossary? "Publish" a glossary for The Wright Brothers and ask your librarian to circulate it with the book. (Information Skills: location, selection. Thinking Skills: comprehension, application ) 2. Three person group: Read a story about Daedalus and Icarus. Pretend that you will be making a short movie about it and plan it. (Money is no problem!) Person A: casting director (Which actors would you like?), costume designer (What materials?) Person B: script writer C: set designer, camera angles, prop manager . Keep a group journal of all decisions made, e.g. research on costumes, salary costs, sketches for sets. (Information Skills: location, organization, interpretation. Thinking Skills: comprehension, application, synthesis. (Optional: Write a short piece comparing Bruegel's painting Landscape with the Fall of Icarus with W.H. Auden's poem, Musee des Beaux Arts ) 3. Individual: Make a travel brochure that will highlight the interesting, and appropriate features of either Dayton, Ohio or Kitty Hawk, N. C. Include, drawings or photocopies and some facts about the Wright Brothers. (Information Skills: location, selection, organization, application. Thinking Skills: comprehension, application, synthesis.) 4. Freedman notes that the brothers got the idea for the glider's turning mechanism by watching birds in flight (p. 29). Celebrate the wonder and mystery of birds' flight by finding three poems about birds. Practice reading them aloud. Contact teachers in the lower grades who would be willing to let you give a dramatic presentation. (It would be best if you could find a class studying spring, nature or birds.) (Information Skills: location, selection, interpretation, reading. Thinking skills: comprehension, evaluation) 5. Fiction VS Non-fiction. Read another biography about the Wright Brothers. Pick one incident or event to compare. Write in your journal whether the authors write about thoughts or gives direct conversation. Do you think these quotes were documented? How did the author KNOW what was actually said or thought?) Make a list of any parts you think might be questionable. (e.g. Sobol writes, "A sly grin appeared on the lips of the newspaperman" p. 19.) What can you conclude about authenticity? (Information Skills: location, interpretation. Thinking Skills: application, evaluation.) 6. Class project: The Wright brothers thought about, researched, experimented with aeronautics. Make paper airplanes. Hold a contest. Expand on the chart on the opposite page. (Information Skills: location, application. Thinking Skills: comprehension, application, evaluation)
7. Write a first person account as if you were an observer. (E.g. Amos Root (p.1 or the boy from Nags Head, p. 74) include weather, location of electric wires, wearing apparel of pilot and yourself. What did you observe? (Optional: Interview your grandparents about their memories involving flight.) Publish a "newspaper" type compilation of the fictionalized first person accounts and grandparents' recollections. (Information Skills: selection, organization, application, writing. Thinking Skills: application, synthesis.) 8. One message that clearly comes across in this book is the importance of problem solving for inventors. (E.g. When none of the companies could, or would, build an engine to the Wright specifications - p. 65 the brothers set about building their own!) Research other inventions. Make a timeline showing: invention, date, problem being solved or inspiration for invention. Post this in your classroom. Add to it during the year as you study other subjects. (Information Skills: selection, location. Thinking Skills: knowledge, comprehension. ) RESOURCES
POEMS and picture books:
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