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Lesson Plan Image

Flying in the Sky

Hot air balloons have been around for over two centuries. Students will explore their history and uses, learn how they fly, and create a watercolor image of a balloon in flight.

Lesson Plan

Supplies Needed

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  • Paper

Steps

  • Step 1

    Hot air balloons are one of the oldest forms of flight, predating the airplane by almost 150 years. The first manned flight launched from Paris in 1783. Have students learn about how these balloons stay aloft, whether by hotter air inside the envelope than outside or by a gas such as hydrogen or helium inside their envelopes. Have them explore the various uses of hot air balloons, such as for sightseeing, scientific data collection, military surveillance, environmental monitoring, and others.

  • Step 2

    Ask students to create a watercolor painting of a colorful hot air balloon in flight. They can begin by drawing some features such as the outline of the balloon(s) and basket(s) and other landscape features. Then they can use watercolors to complete the painting.

  • Step 3

    Have students present their art and discuss some of the interesting facts they learned about balloon flight.

Standards

SCI: Ask questions about the features of phenomena observed and conclusions drawn from investigations or models.

SCI: Design pictorial or graphic representations/models that are useful in communicating ideas.

Adaptations

Have students create a 3D hot air balloon. They can trace a large circle on paper, then draw the cables and basket underneath. They will then cut 8-10 strips of paper in various colors longer than the diameter of the circle. Have them fold a tab at both ends of the strip and then begin creating a dome over the drawn circle by gluing the folded tabs over the circle, overlapping them until a 3D ball is created. When their art is complete, hang the balloons to look like a hot air balloon festival on a bulletin board.

Have students explore artwork inspired by hot air balloons such as "Shadow" by Michael Andrews that shows the shadow of a balloon as it glides over a landscape, the surrealist-inspired "Cophetua and the Beggarmaid" by John Armstrong, and "Captain Vincenzo Lunardi....in a Balloon" by John Francis Rigaud. This painting shows three people in a hot air balloon including Letitia Sage, the first British woman to take to the skies.