On the Wings of Prayer
During the winter of 2003-04 when the world was celebrating 100 years of flight we also studied Aviation. This is what we used to create our unit of study. We did this congruent with Kray getting is Aviation BSA Merit Badge. See our field trip to end the unit.
Please see the General Science page for more books and links.
| Resources--books | Resources--websites | Projects | Writing Assignments |
Resources
Books
Non-Fiction--Information books:
This unit is HUGE! The amount of information is daunting. At one point we had over 100 flight items checked out of our public library system. To aid in processing the information I have broken the books into these general categories. Science & Flight, General History, Wright Brothers, Amelia Earhart, Charles Lindbergh, Jets & Modern Planes, Space & Other flyers
Science & Flight
 | All You Ever Wanted to Know about Flying; the passenger's guide to how airliners fly by Julien Evans (Motorbooks International, 1997; ISBN 0760304610) |
| Amazing Aircraft by Seymour Simon (Scholastic, 2002; ISBN 0439467780)* KR |
| Aviation Boy Scouts of America Merit Badge Book (BSA, 2000; ISBN 0839532938) KR |
| Eureka! It's an Airplane! by Jeanne Bendick, illustrated by Sal Murdocca (The Millbrook Press, 1992; ISBN 1562940589)* KR |
| Flying and Gliding (Making Science Work series) by Terry Jennings (Raintree Steck-Vaughn, 1996; ISBN 0817239596) KR |
| Flight by Donald Lopez (Time Life, 1995; ISBN 0783547617)* |
| Flight: Fliers and Flying Machines (Timelines series) by David Jefferis (Franklin Watts, 1991; ISBN 0531152332)* |
| Helicopters by David Jefferis (Warwick; 1990; ISBN 0531190692) KR |
| High In the Sky by Steve Parker (Candlewick Press, 1997; ISBN 0763601284) KR |
| How Do Airplanes Fly? by Isaac Asimov & Elizabeth Kaplan (Gareth Stevens, 1993; ISBN 0836808002) KR |
| Pilots and Aviation by Carter M. Ayres (Lerner, 1990; ISBN 0822515903) |
| Planes Gliders Helicopter and other Flying Machines (How Things Work series) by Terry Jennings (Kingfisher, 1992; ISBN 0856978699)* |
| Planes and other Aircraft by Nigel Hawkes (Copper Beech Books, 1999; ISBN 076133260X) KR |
| The Fantastic Cutaway Book of Flight by Jon Richards, illustrated by Alex Pang (Copper Beech, 1998; ISBN 0761307265) |
| What if....Airplanes (what if series) by Steve Parker (Copper Beech Books, 1995; ISBN 1562949462)* KR |
| What's Inside? Planes edited by Hilary Hockman (DK, 1992; ISBN 0789442965) |
| Wings and Rockets by Jeannine Atkins (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2003; ISBN 0374384509) |
| Your Flight Questions Answered by a jetliner pilot by John Cronin (Plymouth Press, 1998; ISBN 1882663233) |
General History
| Amazing Flights by Ole Steen Hansen (Crabtree, 2003: ISBN 0778712028)KR |
| Aviation: Reaching for the Sky by Don Berliner (The Oliver Press, 1997; ISBN 1881508331) |
| Before the Wright Brother by Don Berliner (Lerner, 1990; ISBN 0822515881) |
| Century of Flight (Time-Life, 1999; ISBN 0783555148) |
| Distance Flights by Don Berliner (Lerner, 1990; ISBN 082251589X) |
| Early Flying Machines by Henry Dales (Oxford, 1992; ISBN 0195209702) |
| Feathers, Flaps, & Flops; Fabulous Early Fliers by Bo Zaunders, illustrated by Roxie Munro (Dutton Children's Book, 2001; ISBN 0525464662) KR |
| Fly! A Brief History of Flight Illustrated by Barry Moser (Willa Perlman, 1993; ISBN 0602228946) |
| If We Had Wings by Rinker Buck (Crown, 2001; ISBN 0609605534) |
| Museum of Flight ; 100 Years of Aviation History (Elton Wolf, 2002; ISBN 1586190393) |
| Reaching for the Sky by Don Berliner (Oliver Press, 1997; ISBN 1881508331) |
| Ships of the Air by Lynn Curlee (Houghton, 1996; ISBN 0395693381) KR |
| Strange and Wonderful Aircraft by Harvey Weiss (Houghton Mifflin, 1995: ISBN 0395687160) KR |
| The Smithsonian Book of Flight by Walter J. Boyne (Wings Books, 1987; ISBN 0517118505) |
| The Story of Flight by Judith E. Rinard (Firefly books, 2002; ISBN 1552976424) |
| The Story of Flight; Amazing Flights, The Golden Age by Ole Steen Hansen (Crabtree, 2003; ISBN 0778712028) KR |
| The Wrong Stuff? Attempts at Flight Before (& After) the Wright Brothers by Phil Scott (Hylas, 2003; ISBN 1592580440 |
| They Never Gave Up; Adventures in Early Aviation by Michael Wilkey (Orca Book, 1997; ISBN 1551430770) |
| Wing of Madness; Alberto Santos-Dumont and the Invention of Flight by Paul Hoffman (Theia, 2003; ISBN 0786866594)* |
| Wings over Washington by David G. Gordon (Museum of Flight, 1989: ISBN 0914859979) |
Wright Brothers
| Airborne, A Photobiography of Wilbur and 'Orville Wright by Mary Collins (National Geographic Society, 2003; ISBN0792269578) KR |
| First to Fly; How Wilbur & Orville Wright Invented the Airplane by Peter Busby; paintings by David Craig (Crown, 2002; ISBN 0375812873)* KR |
| Miracle at Kitty Hawk; The Letters of Wilbur & Orville Wright by Fred C. Kelly (Da Capo Press, 1996; ISBN 0306812037) |
| My Brothers' Flying Machine; Wilber, Orville and Me by Jane Yolen, illustrated by Jim Burke (Little, Brown and Co, 2003; ISBN 0316971596)* KR |
| Taking Flight; the Story of the Wright Brothers by Stephen Krensky, illustrated by Larry Day (Simon & Schuster, 2000; ISBN 0689812256) KR |
| The First Flight by Richard L. Taylor (Franklin Watts) KR |
| The Flyers; In search of Wilbur & Orville Wright by Noah Adams, (Crown, 2003; ISBN 1400049121) |
| The Value of Patience; the Story of the Wright Brothers by Spencer Johnson, M.D. (Value Communications, 1976; ISBN0916392082)* KR |
| The Wright Brothers by Pamela Duncan Edwards, illustrated by Henry Cole (Hyperion Books, 2003; ISBN 0786826827) KR |
| The Wright Brothers (In their Own Words series) by George Sullivan (Scholastic, 2002; ISBN 0439263204)* KR |
| The Wright Brothers (Lifetimes series) by Richard Tames (Franklin Watts, 1990; ISBN 0531140024) KR |
| The Wright Brothers by Ginger Wadsworth (Lerner, 2004; ISBN 0822501996) KR |
| The Wright Brothers at Kitty Hawk by Donald J. Sobol (Scholastic, 1961; ISBN 0590429043) KR |
| The Wright Brother for Kids by Mary Kay Carson (Chicago Review Press, 2003; ISBN 1556524773)* |
| The Wright Brothers; Heroes of Flight by Carin T. Ford (Enslow, 2003; ISBN 01766020029) KR |
| The Wright Brothers; Inventors and Aviators by Andrew Santella (Child's world, 2003; ISBN 1567663699) KR |
| The Wright Brothers; Inventors of the Airplane by Wendie C. Old (Enslow, 2000; ISBN 0766010953)KR |
| The Wright Brothers; How they Invented the Airplane by Russell Freedman (Holiday House, 1991; ISBN 0823408752)* book has original pictures from the Wright Brothers |
| The Wright Brothers, the Birth of Modern Aviation by Anna Sproule (Blackbirch, 1999; ISBN 1567113281) |
| The Wright Brothers Pioneers of American Aviation (Landmark books) by Quentin Reynolds (Random House, 1950; ISBN 0394847008)* |
| The Wright Sister, Katharine Wright and her Famous Brothers by Richard Maurer (Roargi8n Book press, 2003; ISBN 0761325646) |
| To Fly, the story of the Wright Brothers by Wendie Old, illustrated by Robert Andrew Parker (Clarion Books, 2002; ISBN 061813347X) KR |
| Wilbur and Orville Wright, Young Fliers (Childhood of Famous Americans series) by Augusta Stevenson, illustrated by Robert Doremus (Aladdin, 1984; ISBN 0020421702) KR |
| Wright Brothers Legacy by Walt Burton & Owen Findsen (Dayton Art Institute, 2003; ISBN 0810942674)* |
Amelia Earhart
| A Picture Book of Amelia Earhart (series) by David A. Adler illustrated by Jeff Fisher (Holiday House, 1998; ISBN 0823413152) KR |
| Amelia Earhart (Lifetimes series) by Richard Tames (Franklin Watts, 1989; ISBN 0531108511) KR |
| Amelia Earhart; meet the pilot by Carin T. Ford (Enslow, 2002; ISBN 0766020037) KR |
| Amelia Earhart, the Pioneering Pilot (What's Their Story? series) by Andrew Langley, illustrated by Alan Marks (Oxford, 1997; ISBN 019521403X) KR |
| Amelia Earhart by John Parlin (Young Yearling, 1962; ISBN 0440401178)* |
| Amelia Earhart by Heather Lehr Wagern (Chelsea House, 2003; ISBN 0791074986) |
| Amelia Earhart; First Lady of Flight by Jan Parr (Franklin Watts, 1997; ISBN 0531114074) KR |
| Flying Ace; the Story of Amelia Earhart by Angela Bull (DK, 2000; ISBN 078945436X) KR |
| Sky Pioneer, a photobiography of Amelia Earhart by Coinne Szabo (National Geographic Society, 1997; ISBN 0792237374) KR |
| Who Was Amelia Earhart? by Kate Boehm Jerome, illustrated by David Cain (Grosser & Dunlap, 2002; ISBN 0448428563) KR |
Charles Lindbergh
| Charles Lindbergh by Lucia Raatma (Compass Point) KR |
| Good-bye, Charles Lindbergh by Louise Borden, illustrated by Thomas B. Allen (Margaret K. McElderry Books, 1998; ISBN0689815360) KR |
| The First Transatlantic Flight by Richard L. Taylor (Franklin Watts) KR |
| The Spirit of St. Louis (Cornerstones of Freedom series) by R. Conrad Stein (Childrens Press, 1994; ISBN 051606628X) |
Jets & Modern Planes
| Boeing Airlines by Alan J. Wright & Robbie Shaw (Ian Allan, 1998; ISBN 0711025878) |
| Early American Jetliners by Ugo Vicenzi (MBI, 1999; ISBN 0760307881) |
| Helicopters by David Jefferies ( Warwick, 1990; ISBN 0531190692)KR |
| How Jet Engines are Made by Julian Moxon (Threshold Books, 1985; ISBN 0816000379) KR |
| Illustrated Encyclopedia of Helicopters by Giorgio Apostolo (Bonanza Books, 1984; ISBN 0517439352) |
| Jet and Turbine Aero Engines by Bill Gunston (Patrick Stephens, 1997; ISBN 1852605863) |
| Jet Engines; Fundamentals of Theory, Design and Operation by Klaus Hunecke (Motorbooks, 1997; ISBN 0760304599) |
| Supersonic Fighters by Bill Sweetman (Capstone, 2001; ISBN0736807926)KR |
| The First Human-Powered Flight by Richard L. Taylor (Franklin Watt, 1995; ISBN 0531201856)KR |
| Unusual Airplanes by Don Berliner (Lerner, 1986; ISBN 0822504316) |
Space & other flyers
| Apollo 11; First Moon Landing by Michael D. Cole (Enslow,1995; ISBN 0894905392) |
| Chuck Yeager by Colleen Madonna Flood Williams (Chelsea House, 2003; ISBN 0791072169) |
| Chuck Yeager Breaks the Sound Barrier (Cornerstones of Freedom series) by R. Conrad Stein (Childrens Press, 1997; ISBN 0516202944) KR |
| John Glenn; A Space Biography by Barbara Kramer (Enslow, 19998; ISBN 0894909649) |
| Journey into Space; the Missions of Neil Armstrong by Andrew Langley, illustrated by Alex Pang (Chelsea House, 1994; ISBN 0791028224) |
| Neil Armstrong by Shannon Zemlicka (Learner, 2003; ISBN0822503956) |
| The First Flight Across the United States by Richard L. Taylor (Franklin Watts) KR |
| The First Human -Powered Flight by Richard L. Taylor (Franklin Watts, 1995; ISBN 0531201856) KR |
| The First Solo Flight Around the World by Richard L. Taylor (Franklin Watts) KR |
| The First Supersonic Flight by Richard L. Taylor (Franklin Watts) KR |
| The First Transcontinental Air Service by Richard L. Taylor (Franklin Watts) KR |
| The First Unrefueled Flight Around the World by Richard L. Taylor (Franklin Watts) KR |
| The Importance of John Glenn (series) by Rafael Tilton (Lucent, 2001; ISBN 156006689X) |
Activity Books:
| Airplanes of World War I Coloring Book by Carolo Demand (Dover, 1979; ISBN 0486238075)* |
| Aviation Legends Paper Airplane Book by Ken Blackburn & Jeff Lammers (Workman Publishing, 2001; ISBN 0761123768)* |
| Best Ever Paper Airplanes by Norman Schmidt (Streling, 1994; ISBN 0895569206)* |
| Flight! Gliders to Jets activity guide Delta Education science in a nutshell |
| Great Inventors and Inventions by Bruce LaFontaine (Dover, 1997; ISBN 0486297845)* |
| History of Flight Coloring Book by A.G. Smith (Dover, 1986; ISBN 0486252442)* |
| Modern Experimental Aircraft by Bruce LaFontaine (Dover, 2000; ISBN 0486410374)* |
| NBAA's Aviation For Kids Program Activity Guide www.nbaa.org |
| Planes and other Aircraft by Nigel Hawkes (Copper Beech Books, 1999; ISBN 076133260X) KR |
| Simple Space & Flight Experiments with Every day Materials by Louis V. Loeschnig, illustrated by Frances Zweifel (Streling, 1998; ISBN 0806945460) |
| Super Simple Paper Airplanes by Nick Robinson (Sterling Publishing, 2000; ISBN0806937793)* |
| The Wright Brother for Kids by Mary Kay Carson (Chicago Review Press, 2003; ISBN 1556524773)* |
| Wright Brothers (History-Hands on!) by Mary Tucker, illustrated by Judy Hierstein (Teaching & Learning Co, 2002; ISBN 1573103535)* |
Audio/visual:
| During the centennial celebration of The Wright Brothers' accomplishment the History, Discovery, PBS The Learning Channel and other cable channels had some great specials about flight and many other related topics. I totaled it up and we had over 30 hours of video to watch. |
| Amelia Earhart (Great American for Children series) (by Schlessinger Media, 2003) |
| Amelia Earhart; Queen of the Air (by A&E Biography) **parental preview required** |
| Blast off; A kid's introduction to the space program video by Ken Kebow (by Hallmark Home Entertainment, 1995) |
| John Glenn; American Hero (PBS Home Video, 1998) |
| Men in Space; documentary (A&E Home Video, 1991) |
| The John Glenn Story: A Return to Space CNN, 1998) |
Websites
Wright Brothers and history:
| U.S. Centennial of Flight The In depth section is wonderful The Toothpick Air force is also very educational |
| AV Kids A web site set up for kids to learn about the history of flight see above for listing of activity guide. |
| Wright Again from AVKids. This is a comprehensive lesson plan. |
| NASA's web page for the Wright Brothers "Across the Curriculum" WONDERFUL links and education |
| Countdown to Kitty Hawk Info about the attempt to recreate the 1903 flight. |
| The Wright Flyer Recreation of the Wright Flyer's home page. |
| Wright Brothers NOVA Online Teacher guide. Wonderful if you taped the program, although many activities can be done without viewing the program |
| The Wright Brothers from the U of North Alabama |
| The Wright Brothers from AllStar Network (small biography) |
| Wright Brothers Aeroplane Co. First-to-fly.com photos of all 19 Wright Brothers' planes and tons of information! Worth the day spent clicking and learning. |
| Wilbur and Orville Wright short biography with links. |
| The Wright Brother from Enchanted Learning |
| To Fly is Everything A virtual museum covering the Invention of the Airplane from Mississippi State The collection of photos is wonderful! |
| National Air and Space Museum (Smithsonian) Great information to read and experiment with even online. |
| Wright Brothers National Park National Park service |
| Charles Taylor the forgotten aviator from centennial of flight |
| Re-Living the Wright Brothers from NASA |
| How to Build a Model Wright Flyer from Wright-Patterson AFB |
Lessons plans:
| Aviation lesson plan from Education World |
| FAA curriculum page for link to lots of lessons plans or their page for links on general aviation. FAA's home page |
| Paper models of Airplanes (and other stuff) Most of this is to purchase, but there are a few free downloadable models. Fiddlersgreen |
| Ballooning Unit from explorium.org |
General Aviation:
| Boeing's Commercial Safety web page have a "how airplanes fly" page simple yet very educational. |
| Blue Angels home page WOW!! |
| How an Airplane flies from Howstuffworks (with lots of links) |
| Paper airplanes how to fold lots of paper airplanes--free! |
| US Air Force History Museum and home page |
| Alex's paper airplanes |
| Aviation pictures from the Aviation zone |
Amelia Earhart web pages:
| Amelia Earhart museum.com |
| Amelia's Airplane Hanger |
| Amelia Earhart from America's Story |
| Ninety-Nines International
organization for women pilots |
Projects
| Pick a topic and write a report or complete a flapbook. |
Writing assignments
| Write an ending to the Amelia Earhart story. |
| Finish the paragraph, "If I sitting next to Orville on the first flight......" |
| Write an original poem about a historical moment in the world of aviation. |
Field Trip
To end this wonderful unit on flight we went with a dear friend to a very small airport north of us and went flying. We all took turns going up and around the city of Monroe, Washington. But before we could do that, Kray performed a pre-flight check. It was pretty cool seeing all the things a pilot does before taking off.
It was first my turn with the two littlest. We took off, went around and landed. I stayed in for another flight of up and around but this time Matt and Mike joined me. Then it was Steve's turn to go with Kray and Jason. George (the pilot) took them out to Wallace Falls and then over our home. He even let Kray fly the plane for a few minutes. It was a super way to end the unit.
Click here to see pictures.
Completed: April, 2004
Last update: May, 2007
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