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Flight on the Beach

Flight on the Beach

Students will learn about the Wright brothers and create a model of their first flying machine.

Lesson Plan

Supplies Needed

Gather all the supplies needed to bring your craft ideas to life! From paints and markers to glue and scissors, our crafts section has everything to spark creativity and make every project truly special.

  • Craft Sticks
  • Recycled Cardboard Box
  • Toothpick(s)

Steps

  • Step 1

    The Wright brothers, Orville and Wilbur, were American inventors and aviation pioneers who achieved the first powered, sustained, and controlled airplane flight. Have students learn about these incredible brothers who as young men made and repaired bicycles. Eventually they became interested in gliders (which have no power supply) and eventually developed a gasoline-powered engine. Where did they test their inventions? What else did they create?

  • Step 2

    Have students create a diorama that features the Wright brothers' first plane. They can begin by decorating the inside of a box with markers, crayon-decorated paper, or colorful construction paper. The plane can be made using craft sticks and toothpicks for the frame and cut paper for the wings. They can use Model Magic to craft a pilot and other airplane accessories.

  • Step 3

    Ask the students to present their dioramas to the class and discuss these amazing brothers and how they revolutionized travel.

Standards

SS: Science, Technology, and Society: Become aware of how science and technologies inluence beliefs, knowledge, and people's daily lives.

SCI: Science, Technology, and Society: Identify how technologies such as communication and transportation have evolved and how people have employed advances in technology to modify daily lives including health and economics. Explore historical examples and imagine future technologies.

Adaptations

Students can dive deeper into the Wright brothers and the history of aviation by reading "To Fly: The Story of the Wright Brothers" by Wendie Old and Robert Andrew Parker or "The Story of the Wright Brothers" by Annette Whipple.

Interest in interplanetary travel was inspired by fiction writers such as Jules Verne ("From the Earth to the Moon") and H.G. Wells ("The First Men in the Moon," The War of the Worlds"). Have students explore the history of spaceflight and some of NASA's missions.