Ms. Sullivan's Class

The students in room 13, Ms. Sullivan's grade three class at Martin Luther King School in Providence, Rhode Island focused their study of the Wright Brothers on four books that are now part of their classroom library. The books were First to Fly, How Wilbur & Orville Invented the Airplane by Peter Busby; The Wright Brothers by Ginger Wadsworth; Let's Fly, Wilber and Orville by Peter and Connie Roop; and First Flight, The Story of the Wright Brothers by Caryn Jenner. These books were used for read aloud as well for student's independent reading.

The students created a word list of words related to the Wright Brothers and their first flight, they solved math problems related to flight, and students picked a topic to write about.

Word List

The students came up with a list of words to describe the Wright Brothers. The student’s list is as follows:

Words That Describe The Wright Brothers
Happy	Excited
Glad	Famous
Surprised	Surprising
Careful	Did not stop trying
Brave	Never gave up
Curious	Friendly
Excited	Healthy
Amazed	Amazing
Afraid	Scared
Fussy	Worried
Inventor	Smart
Proud	Delightful
Disappointed	Mad
Angry	Resourceful
Responsible	Honest
Sharing	Artistic
Not Lazy	Thinker
Tall	Fair
Responsible	Joyful
Flying	Nice
Hard Workers	Hard Working
Observer	Paying Attention
Soaring	Guiding

Stories About Airplane Trips

Going To Visit My Cousin

The first time I ever flew on an airplane. I was six years old. I was going to Maryland to visit my cousin. My sister and I walked onto the airplane and chose our seats. She gave me the seat so I could see the view. As soon as we sat down we were given a safety talk and asked to buckle our seatbelts for takeoff. I was a little nervous at first because there were a lot of different people and it was my very first time on an airplane. Once we were up in the air my sister gave me a piece of gum to chew so my ears would not pop. There was also a nice girl who gave me a coloring book, crayons, and peanuts. When I looked out the window I noticed that we were all the way up in the sky. I could see the clouds very well. Down below, I saw a lot of water and some houses that looked like little blocks. After about thirty minutes I feel asleep. When I woke up the plane was landing and it was time to get off the airplane.

Going on My Airplane Flight

When I was just a little girl I went on an airplane Cape Verde. I went with some of my family. It took us six hours to get there. I was very excited! It was 100 dollars for the little kids and 300 for the big kids and their parents. We got there in the early morning. I saw chickens, goats and big birds. I went inside my grandmother's house. It was big and something smelled good. First I kissed her and hugged her. Then she told me some of the food was for me. She made chicken, rice, peas and corn mixed together, and vegetables. I ate some. Then I put my bathing suit on and went in the water. It was cool and fresh. It felt cold rain and kind of like sun shining on me. It was three or four feet deep. I was aware of not going in the deep end because there were sharks so I couldn't swim in the big deep end. We stayed for a whole month and had a wonderful time. At the end of the month we left and the plane brought us home.

My Aunt

My Aunt went on an airplane and flew from New York to Disney World. When the plane took off she was scared because she never has been on an airplane before but during the flight she calmed down a lot. She watched a movie on the airplane. Before the airplane landed on the ground, she had to put on her seat belt. When the plane landed she got off and took bags. She got on a bus and then went to Disney World.

My First Time Riding on an Airplane

The first time I went on a airplane is when I went to California to visit my cousin. At first I thought the airplane was going to fall. It felt scary but when I went to sleep and woke up we weren't falling down. So I said to my self, if we didn't fall in one day then it's not going to fall in two days. Then we got off the airplane to see our cousins. I can't wait until the next time I get on an airplane,

Flying Planes

My mom and I know a person named Arthur. I interviewed him because he flies planes. I asked him if he had to go to school, he told me yes, first you go to ground school for about 8 weeks, then you have to pass a test. You also have to do flight training. I asked him if he had to have a license. He told me yes, a private pilot certificate. After that I asked him if he could ride all kinds of planes. He said no, only single engine land planes. After that I asked him how long he has been flying planes. Arthur said 23 years. After that I asked him what his longest flight was. He said, Puerto Rico. Arthur also flew my mom and I to Cape Cod for a day at the beach.

This is a picture of the type of plane Arthur flies.

Reports

One student played the role of a news reporter and this is her news report about the Wright Brothers.

Surprise in Ohio

The date is December 18, 1903. There are two brave men out there. There names are Orville and Wilber Wright. You can call them the Wight Brothers. As you know all know, there is no such thing as flying objects with engines. To us it seems impossible to make but not for these brothers! Orville and Wilbur followed their dreams by making an airplane. We have never heard of such a thing. When Wilbur and Orville were children, their dad brought home a surprise. "Here it is boys!" their dad said. He tossed a small toy in the air. To their amazement, the toy didn't fall. It rose up and slowly went down. The brothers studied and studied the toy. The brothers had a idea. They wanted to fly too! In 1892 as you know, the Wright Brothers invented our now popular, bicycle models. Soon they had a better idea. It was to examine birds. Birds have a special ability to fly. They twist their wings to control their flight. Through their studies they were able to make their first glider in 1900. It was very big. The wings were 17 feet long tip to tip! They needed a windy place to test their glider. They chose Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. This year, they constructed their first propeller. And then yesterday, December 17th at Kitty Hawk, the Wright Brothers made the first powered airplane flight in history. It stayed up for 17 seconds. Then down it went. Even though it crashed, we should thank Wilbur and Orville Wright. They made it possible to fly.

Another student played the role of a news reporter and this is her news interview: The first interview is of a women.

Have you ever been on a plane?	Yes
What kind of plane?	I have been on different kinds.
How big were the planes?	4 HUGE, 2 big, and 2 small
How many engines did the plane have?	5 jet engine, 4 jet engine, and two regular engine
What was your longest flight in a plane?	Seven hours on a plane
Where did you go?	Paris, France
When did you go?	In August 1989
Why did you go?	For my brother’s wedding
Who did you go with?	My husband and daughter.
How did you feel?	I felt sick like I was going to throw up.
What happened on the plane?	There was food, a movie, reading, napping, and landing.
This interview was for a Newspaper.

The second interview is of a man.

Have you ever been on a plane?	Yes
What kind of plane?	Regular and Jet planes
How big were the planes?	All HUGE or big.
How many engines did the plane have?	Both kinds had 4 jet engine.
What was your longest flight in a plane?	Seven hours on a plane
Where did you go?	Paris, France
When did you go?	In August 1989
Why did you go?	For my brother in-law’s wedding
Who did you go with?	My wife and daughter.
How did you feel?	Excited then bored.
What happened on the plane?	There was food, a movie, reading, napping, and landing.
This interview was also for a Newspaper.

Another student wrote a report about the Wright Brothers

Wilbur and Orville Wright were brothers who raced and repaired bicycles. In 1899 they became interested in flying. They built a glider and tested it for the first time in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. In 1993 thy developed a powered plane that flew successfully 100 years ago.

Next a student listed key facts about the Wright Brothers.

The Wright Brothers opened a Bicycle Shop in 1892. They began to build and repair bicycles. The Wright Brothers decided in 1899 to study flying.

The Wright Brother's father's name was Milton Wright. He was minister.

The Wright Brother's mother's name was Susan Catherine Koerner.

The Wright Brothers grew up. Orville and Wilbur Wright both finished high school. Neither of them went to college.

Orville built his own printing press while he was in High School. Wilbur joined Orville and printed a newspaper.

The brothers began racing and repairing bicycles.

During their tests they had problems controlling their glider. They built a wind tunnel.

They also built their own engine and propellers.

They needed a place where the wind was strong and steady to test their glider. The weather Bureau suggested the sand dunes around Kitty Hawk, North Carolina,

In the winter of 1903 the Wright Brothers returned to North Carolina with their airplane which they named the flyer.

The next two students also wrote about the Wright Brothers

The First People to Fly

Once upon a time there were two brothers named Wilbur and Orville. One Day Wilbur tried to fly a plane but it just laid on the bright green grass. Then Orville tried and it just laid on the bright green grass. Then they thought of something that could fly and it was a bird. So Orville put big wings on the plane and it tried it. It went high in the sky and everybody looked up and said, "Hey look at the plane in the sky!" They flew the plane for 17 seconds. Wilbur and Orville flew the plane on December 17, 1903. They started making their own bicycle shop and repairing bicycles in 1899. The Wright Brothers decided to study flying and made a glider. They also built their own engine and propellers. During their tests they had problems controlling their glider. To solve this they built a wind tunnel. They needed a place where the wind was strong and steady to test their glider. They suggested Kitty Hawk, North Carolina.

Orville and Wilbur

Orville was born in 1871. Do you know that Wilbur and Orville were the first to invent an airplane? The Wright Brothers started a new approach to aviation. Wilbur died in May 1912. Do you know that Orville died in January 1948 and lived for a long time? Wilbur and Orville's twin sister died when they were both little. Their small sister's name was Kimberly. Did you know that they were the first to fly an airplane and Orville stayed up for 17 seconds in the airplane? Their mothers name was Susan Wright. Do you now that Wilbur was born in 1897? Did you know that Wilbur and Orville's dad got a helicopter for them when they were little? Did you know that they built a glider together and that they had other men help them carry the glider to the hill they tried to fly it from? Did you know that the glider worked because they put an engine on to fly the glider and that they flew to New York and everyone watched them?

Flight

One student researched other important people in the history of flight. She chose Amelia Earhart for her topic

Amelia Earhart's Life

Amelia Earhart was a very strong woman who liked to fly airplanes. She was born in 1897, in Atchison, Kansas on July 29th. In 1908, she saw her first airplane. She was 11 years old. It was after the Wright Brothers first flight in 1903. She took her first plane ride in 1921. She loved flying right away. As a young woman she worked as a nurse's aide and an English teacher to earn money for flying lessons. In 1931 she married George P. Putman. He wanted Amelia to fly. In 1932 she was the 1st woman to fly alone across the Atlantic Ocean from Canada to Ireland. In 1935, she was the 1st person to fly alone across the Pacific from Hawaii to California. She loved flying from place to place and wanted to fly around the world. In 1937, she started a fly around the world. Somewhere in the Pacific Ocean her plane got lost and she disappeared or died. If I were Amelia Earhart I would be too scared to fly small planes for such long distances. She sure had A LOT of courage in herself.

This student's work was about airplanes

Airplanes

When you first get on a plane you might afraid because of how high you are from the ground. When you are in the air you might get plane sick and throw up or get dizzy like my mother. After a while you'll get used to it. Did you know that planes carry your luggage where ever you go? Did you also know that the Wright Brothers made bikes? One day their father brought them a toy plane. They wanted to make the first plane. They did but it took hard work! Then they got famous and built more air planes. Today we are lucky to have airplanes because of the Wright Brothers.

This student made a list of flight terms:

Airship – A balloon type structure filled with hydrogen.

Thrust – A forward force produced by an engine (jet or propeller)

Lift – An upward force produced by (airplane) wings

Gravity – A downward force

Drag – When the airplane moves thru and pushes against air,

Speed – Movement that has no direction. A jet aircraft can go 2,192 miles per hour (mph)

Velocity – Speed in a particular direction

Acceleration - A measure of how fast velocity increases

Deceleration – A measure of velocity decreasing

Next a student wrote about what it would be like to fly.

If I Could Fly

If I could fly I would be able to fly to the sky. I could fly with the birds. I could see the clouds. I could fly anywhere in the world. I could fly to New York, Florida, Georgia, and Las Vegas. I could fly to the beach. I could fly and see the stars. I could fly and see the moon. I could see buildings, people and airplanes.

A special thanks to all our family members that helped us learn more about flight.