Smithsonian Institution
African American Pioneers in Aviation
Bessie Coleman. William Powell. Willa Brown. Benjamin O. Davis, Jr. While these names may not be familiar to many Americans, they are African American pioneers in aviation history. Class members have an opportunity to research the...
Osage County Interlocal Cooperative
Flight: 100 Years of Aviation
A 12-lesson unit traces the development of aviation from the Wright brothers flight at Kitty Hawk to Amelia Earhart's around the world journey, to Mercury 13.
Curated OER
Legends of Airpower: Aviation-Then, Now and Here
Students examine the advancements made in aviation during and since WWII. They read an interview with Charles McGee, research a plane, build a model of a plane, and develop a Powerpoint presentation about aircraft.
Curated OER
African Americans in Aviation: The 1940s- A Decade of Change
Students investigate African Americans in aviation. In this primary resources lesson, students examine primary resources to research the history of African American in aviation. Students answer two research questions and write an essay...
Curated OER
Orville and Wilbur Wong and the Fantastic Flying Machines
Upper elementary and middle schoolers examine the role of Chinese immigrants in America. They investigate literature, history and cultures of Chinese-Americans. This ambitious plan takes two weeks to complete, and it brings in elements...
Curated OER
Milestones of Flight
Students identify significant milestones in the history of flight. In this aviation history instructional activity, students study various resource materials and construct timelines of significant achievements.
Curated OER
Stories of the Wrights' Flights
Young scholars examine primary sources to understand the work of Wright Brothers. In this aviation history lesson, students study how primary documents and images are analyzed and write essays about the signifcance of primary soures in...
Curated OER
History of Flight Timeline Activity
Scholars are introduced to the significant events that led to the development of today's modern forms of air travel. They create a timeline to identify the vital events that are related to man's flight. In addition, they research various...
Curated OER
Beginning with Inquiry
Students examine several photographs of famous early aviators. They discuss the details of the photographs and generate questions that they would like to research as they begin a unit on early aviation.
Curated OER
Women In Aviation
In this aviation activity, high schoolers take an electronic field trip to the Aviation Museum of Kentucjy. In the process the activity looks at women in aviation history. The focus is upon how they could be considered heroes or role...
Curated OER
Aviation History/Writing and Forensic Science
In this aviation lesson, students research Charles Augustus Lindbergh and other early aviators and their flying machines. They then write a letter to one of the aviators asking questions about the mechanics of flight and their flying...
Curated OER
Early Attempts at Flight
Students investigate the early history of flight. In this aviation history lesson, students are split into six groups to research the development of the ornithopter, hot air balloon and the glider. Each group records information on the...
Curated OER
Aerospace Engineering
Students are introduced to aviation history and aerospace engineering achievements. They assemble a class aviation history timeline from individual student research on people and events.
Curated OER
Fighter Pilots of World War II
Young scholars explore the types of airplanes that were used in World War II. In this World History lesson, students write a research paper that compares and contrasts three types of American airplanes and three types of foreign...
Curated OER
From Airmail to Airlines
Students explore changes in air transportation from 1920 to the present. In this air flight lesson plan, students are introduced to the history of air transportation. This lesson plan contains three different activities that will...
Curated OER
Happy 100th Birthday Airplane
Students research the Wright Brothers and their plane. In this airplane history lesson, students use a hotlist of sites to research and create an airplane. A question is provided for each site.
Curated OER
Come Fly With Me...Aviation
Students conduct internet research on aviation and pioneer aviators. They create an alphabet book r with flight related terms, write a short biography of a pioneer aviator and take part in a paper plane flying contest.
National Endowment for the Humanities
Fly Girls: Women Aviators in World War II
Explore contributions of Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASPs) during World War II with an engaging history lesson. Middle schoolers examine portrayals of women in World War II posters and newsreels, compare and contrast them with...
Curated OER
Lesson 6: Crowded Skies
This is a treasure-trove of multimedia resources to help your scholars analyze transportation methods. They discuss different forms of movement, utilizing several infographics to spur conversation deeper and get visual learners engaged....
Curated OER
The Aerial Age
Students infer America's attitude towards aviation in the early 1900s. In this The Aerial Age instructional activity, students analyze early 1900s literature, music, advertisements, and popular culture in reference to aviation. Students...
Curated OER
Celebrating 100 Years of Flight
Students practice reading comprehension, note taking and writing skills. In this literacy and writing lesson, students read about the invention of airplanes, women pilots and the space race before writing their own news article on "100...
Curated OER
Celebrating 100 Years of Flight for Grades 3-5
Students study the history of flight of the past one hundred years, focusing on the invention of the airplane, the introduction of women pilots and the space race. They conduct research and then write and publish a "100 Years of Flight"...
Curated OER
Kansans on the Move
Second graders explore U.S. history by researching the state of Kansas. In this transportation lesson, 2nd graders research the transit habits of Kansas residents in the past and how challenging it could be for them to get around....
Curated OER
Things That Fly
Students locate images of two things that fly on the Internet and print them. They develop graphic organizers to compare and contrast the two images and exhibit the images along with the organizers in a classroom gallery.