Celebrating 100 Years of Flight

On December 17, 1903, Wilbur and Orville Wright flew a man-powered aircraft for the first time. Decades later, man landed on the moon. The “100 Years of Flight” online learning activity takes students on an exciting exploration of history, science, and adventure. Students will build their own virtual plane, write a newspaper article, build a time line, and more.

• Students will Meet the Wright Brothers (grades 3–8) and study the lives of Orville and Wilbur Wright.
• Inventing the Plane (grades 3–8) shares the Wright Brothers’ story leading up to their thrilling experiment at Kitty Hawk, and what followed.
• Students will help Build a Plane online (grades 3–8), by making informed decisions on how it should be best constructed. Then, they’ll learn if it will fly.
• Students can write a Breaking News story (grades 3–8) for a newspaper on the Wright Brothers’ first flight after conducting online research. They’ll draft and edit their article, add a caption and photo, and publish it.
• Students will learn about American hero Amelia Earhart’s short but incredible life by following a timeline and writing a news story.
• Challenging the Space Frontier (grades 3–8) shares with students the history of space travel, from John Glenn’s orbiting of the Earth to Sally Ride’s historic flight as the first female American astronaut. Includes a time line, quizzes, and various reading and writing activities.

Learning Objectives

Scholastic's Online Activities are designed to support the teaching of standards-based skills. While participating in 100 Years of Flight, students become proficient with several of these skills.

• Use Web technology to access information
• Draw a conclusion based on the results of an experiment in decision-making
• Participate in active writing activities and peer review
• Distinguish between an observation and a fact
• Investigate change over time to gain perspective on how the ability to fly has affected our nation's politics and culture
• Interpret information from timelines
• Compare and contrast the accomplishments of several pilots and scientists
• Create a timeline using information and media from their own research.
• Reflect on what has been learned after reading by formulating ideas, opinions, and personal responses