Language Arts
Read the book The Story of Flying by Lesley Sims.
Look up the vocabulary words for each chapter.
Talk about the book. You can use the discussion questions listed below.
Ch. 1
Vocabulary - soared, determined, enormous
Discussion Questions - Why couldn't people fly by attaching wings
to a bike? What was the problem with the glider that Felix du Temple
built? Why didn't inventors give up on flying? Do you think not giving
up is a good thing? A word for not giving up is perseverence.
Ch. 2
Vocabulary - propellers, cockpit, launching
Discussion Questions - Who were Wilbur and Orville Wright? What
character quality did they have that helped them succeed? (hint: Did
they give up very easily?) What type of design was the most popular
at the very first airshow? What type of activity did people start using
planes for? What do you think about that?
Ch. 3
Vocabulary - astounded, mysterious
Discussion Questions - Who invented the hot air balloon? What
did people call the balloon with a propeller? How long did it take the
Graf Zeppelin to fly around the world? Why did people stop wanting to
fly in them? Would that keep you from flying in an airship?
Ch. 4
Vocabulary - Skycrane
Discussion Questions - What type of flying machine has rotor
blades like an airship, but an engine like a plane? Who made the world's
first helicopter flight? What are some uses for helicopters?
Ch. 5
Vocabulary - experienced, spectacular, glider
Discussion Questions - What are some reasons that people fly?
What is the main difference between a glider and a plane? What are some
stunts that skillful pilots might do? Do you think you would enjoy an
airshow? Would you want to be a pilot? If you could fly a plane would
you want to do stunts?
Ch. 6
Vocabulary - satellites, astronomers
Discussion Questions - What country was launching rockets thousands
of years before the invention of the airplane? What country launched
the first space machine? What did Neil Armstrong do before any other
human being? What do we call the vehicle that is launched into space
with a rocket, but then flies like an airplane? Do you think you will
ever travel into space?
Play some of these vocabulary
and comprehension games.
Science
Find out how planes fly. These websites give simple, yet thourogh explainations
of the scientific principles of flight.
Fun
Paper Airplanes
How
Things Fly: Airplanes
Make a few paper airplanes. Experiment to see which ones fly farther,
what factors affect performance, etc. The following sites will give
you some ideas.
Fun
Paper Airplanes
Paper
Airplanes
Best Paper
Airplanes
Math
Add measurments to your experiment with paper planes. How far did the
plane go that flew the farthest? What was the difference between the
lenth of the longest flight and the length of the shortest flight? What
was the range of flight?
Social Studies
Play Order
the History of Flight.
Choose one or more pioneers of flight. Find out what was his/her contribution
and a little about his/her life. The list below will give you some ideas.
Sir
George Cayley
Orville
Wright
Wilbur Wright
Louis
Bleriot
Anthony
Fokker
Amelia
Earhart
Igor
Sikorsky
Yuri
Gagarin
Neil
Armstrong
Sally
Ride
Plane Coloring Sheets
Bi-plane
Blimp
Blue Angels
Mustang
Ski Plane
Disclaimer: All links
are for informational purposes only - a link to a web site does not imply
agreement with or endorsement of that site. Because of the changing nature
of the internet, always preview a site before viewing it with your children.
