Description

What our History of Transportation in America: Air Travel lesson plan includes

Lesson Objectives and Overview: History of Transportation in America: Air Travel teaches students the history of airplanes and traveling by air. By the end of the lesson, they will understand the economic, social, and political changes in the innovation of air travel. This lesson is for students in 3rd grade, 4th grade, and 5th grade.

Classroom Procedure

Every lesson plan provides you with a classroom procedure page that outlines a step-by-step guide to follow. You do not have to follow the guide exactly. The guide helps you organize the lesson and details when to hand out worksheets. It also lists information in the yellow box that you might find useful. You will find the lesson objectives, state standards, and number of class sessions the lesson should take to complete in this area. In addition, it describes the supplies you will need as well as what and how you need to prepare beforehand.

Options for Lesson

There are suggestions in the “Options for Lesson” section of the classroom procedure page for additional activities or ideas. Many cities have local airplane museums,
airports, National Guard, or other air units. Arrange a field trip to visit one of those locations. If a field trip is not possible, have someone come speak to the class about the future of aviation.

Teacher Notes

The teacher notes page provides an extra paragraph of information to help guide the lesson and remind you what to focus on. The blank lines on this page are available for you to write out thoughts and ideas you have as you prepare the lesson.

HISTORY OF TRANSPORTATION IN AMERICA: AIR TRAVEL LESSON PLAN CONTENT PAGES

The History of Transportation in America: Air Travel lesson includes four content pages. Since the first moment when ancient humans looked up at birds soaring in the sky, they have wanted to fly. The history of flight is as much a part of human history as the innovation of the wheel. Society greatly changed once the wheel became common. It’s difficult for modern humans to think beyond what we observe—airplane flights occurring almost daily—to how life was before flight became a routine event. So how do we get from wanting to be like birds in flight to joining them?

Early History of Flight

Picture this: It’s a blustery, windy day. You think to yourself, What a perfect time to fly a kite! Would it surprise you to learn that many aero historians believe the earliest successful flying attempts began with kite flying in China during the fifth century BCE? While these flights were not manned, it stoked the desire for human flight. Before kites, many people undoubtedly thought they could duplicate a bird’s wings. They believed they could fly by strapping wings to their arms and launching from high cliffs, buildings, or hills. As expected, the results were not the best! Flight is much more complicated than early humans understood.

Fast forward to the 15th century when genius inventor Leonardo da Vinci drew images of several flying machines after years of studying birds. One of his drawings looks very similar to our modern helicopter.

Then, in 1783, the Montgolfier brothers took a radically different approach to flight that did not mimic birds. They discovered that when the air inside balloons is heated, it becomes lighter than the air around it. This causes the balloons to float. Here is an interesting twist: The first balloon flight was flown by a sheep, a rooster, and a duck! The balloon floated to an altitude of 6,000 feet and traveled about a mile. Later in the year, the first manned flight in the balloon occurred with two human passengers. Although hot air balloons were a significant step towards flight, they were difficult to steer and impractical for extended passenger trips. Many still believed studying birds was the key to human flight.

By the 18th century, scientists better understood how flight works. In 1799, an inventor and scientist named Sir George Cayley described the forces of lift and drag present in flight. From his research, he designed a fixed-wing aircraft called a glider. Unique to his design is that humans could control the glider’s direction by shifting their body weight and movement from the cockpit. Cayley wrote an article called “On Aerial Navigation” that shows a fixed-wing aircraft with a power system for propulsion and a tail. Cayley’s scientific approach to flight accelerated the thinking about the potential for manned flight. By the late 1800s, global interest in flight was at an all-time high. Inventors worldwide raced to be the first to build a reliable glider with a power system capable of long-distance flight.

19th and 20th Century Innovation

Otto Lilienthal was the author of a book on aerodynamics that is said to have influenced the Wright Brothers. In 1891, Lilienthal, who was a German engineer, designed a glider that could fly a person over relatively long distances. His glider is similar to modern hang gliders used today. Lilienthal made an estimated 2,500 flights before being killed in a crash when strong winds forced his glider out of control.

By 1900, several engineers and inventors worked globally to build and fly the first mechanically powered airplane. Influenced by generations of research and designs, the Wright Brothers took on the challenge to design and fly the first powered glider. The Wright Brothers achieved the first controlled, sustained, powered flight on December 17, 1903, at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. Even though the flight lasted less than 15 seconds and traveled 120 feet, it was considered a remarkable breakthrough in aviation design. In 1908, the Wright Brothers succeeded in carrying a passenger 2,000 feet across the beach at Kitty Hawk. The aviation industry finally officially took off!

A year later, a German company started the first airline in the world. However, the company (DELAG) used airships in place of planes. While a vast improvement and capable of carrying passengers, the dirigible (blimp) proved limited, and the gas used to float the blimp was dangerous. Planes still seemed the best idea for passengers.

Meanwhile, while passenger travel on an airplane was still in the concept stage, militaries across the globe began using planes. Many of the designs and engineering of military planes were adaptable to larger passenger planes. By 1920, several companies formed to start commercial passenger airlines.

Early Planes vs. Modern Jets

Early passenger airplanes were far different from our modern jets, which fly daily! The planes had to fly low because the engineers had yet to figure out how to pressurize the cabins so that the aircraft could fly at higher altitudes. Planes were very noisy, cold, and uncomfortable to travel in. Passengers often experienced air sickness from turbulence due to low-altitude flights and the weather. Some airlines employed nurses to assist ill passengers during their journies. That should tell you something about early passenger aircraft travel!

By the 1930s, many technical issues had been resolved, and passengers were treated to a much more comfortable air travel experience. In 1935, Qantas completed the first international flight, demonstrating that commercial passenger travel was feasible. However, air travel was costly and still dangerous. Wealthy people were the only ones who could afford to fly. Few airports with modern runways existed. Plane engines were not as reliable as they needed to be.

Golden Age of Flying (1950–1970) and Competition

By the 1940s, pressurized cabins allowed aircraft to fly at higher altitudes and speeds. Aircraft could fly greater distances as well, and the industry began standardizing airport safety. New cabin, engine, and wing designs expanded the number of passengers who could fly, from 32 in the 1930s to 140. These changes reduced passengers’ flight costs, made air travel less of a luxury, and opened the door to business travelers and less affluent consumers.

Rapid advancements in plane and engine design, like larger passenger capacity, and competition between aircraft companies drove prices down, making air travel a better choice than other passenger travel options, such as trains or automobiles. Aero historians sometimes refer to this period as the Golden Age for Airlines, as competition between airlines resulted in high-end services being offered to consumers to entice them to choose one carrier over the other. Prices dropped, services increased, and planes became a preferred travel method.

By the 1980s, fierce competition between airlines drove innovation and strategies for airlines to gain more customers. Before 1978, the federal government had strict controls or regulations on how airlines should operate. But during that year, airlines were deregulated, radically altering the competition between carriers. While deregulation lowered consumer prices, many airlines could not compete and either merged with a competitor or went out of business. In 1980, there were twelve major carriers and several smaller regional discount carriers. Today, there are four major airlines. Though several small regional discount airlines remain, these airlines cannot compete with mega airline companies in major profitable markets.

Impact of 9/11 on Air Travel

The events of September 11, 2001, greatly affected the United States. No other historical event other than the bombing of Pearl Harbor had such a dramatic impact. Terrorists hijacked four passenger planes. Two of the four crashed into the Twin Towers in New York City, resulting in a massive explosion, fire, and collapse of the towers. A third plane crashed into the Pentagon in Washington, DC. The fourth plane crashed into a field in Stoneycreek Township, Pennsylvania, when brave passengers fought with the hijackers and forced the aircraft to the ground. Nearly 3,000 people were killed as a result of the attacks. These attacks dramatically changed passenger airline travel.

Security at airports increased, and Americans (even today) remain on high alert for suspicious packages or people. Passengers must arrive much earlier for flights. Certain items are no longer allowed to be carried on the plane. Passengers must have identification and pass through a series of screenings before they are allowed to board. Many flights have undercover air marshals aboard. While many of these enhancements increased the safety of passengers, they also caused some Americans to rethink how they travel. By the 2010s, airline safety features and the fear of hijackings waned. The number of people flying soared—until the next big crisis in America: the Covid-19 pandemic.

Impact of Covid-19 on Air Travel

In 2020, a worldwide pandemic caused nearly every business in America and beyond to shut down, including the airlines. It is estimated that more than half of the world’s population was forced to stay indoors and was not allowed to venture out in public, except for emergencies. Air travel dropped rapidly, and many airlines faced bankruptcy or went out of business due to this decline. The US federal government provided financial relief to the airlines to keep them in business. After the pandemic, people feared getting sick because airlines typically seat passengers closely. It would be a few years before people felt safe again. Today, the airlines continue to recover from the disastrous years of lockdown during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Airlines continue to evolve as Americans choose to travel. While there are fewer large airlines, many smaller airlines and private companies fill the void between the larger airports. Americans remain confident that airplanes are a safe way to travel. In fact, the probability of being killed in a plane crash is one in 11 million compared to cars, which is one in 366! Air travel will continue to innovate, upgrade comfort features, and remain a preferred choice for Americans who like to get somewhere quickly.

HISTORY OF TRANSPORTATION IN AMERICA: AIR TRAVEL LESSON PLAN WORKSHEETS

The History of Transportation in America: Air Travel lesson plan includes three worksheets: an activity worksheet, a practice worksheet, and a homework assignment. Each one will reinforce students’ comprehension of lesson material in different ways and help them demonstrate when they learned. Use the guidelines on the classroom procedure page to determine when to distribute each worksheet to the class.

PLANE TRIP PLANNING ACTIVITY WORKSHEET

For this activity, students will plan a fun plane trip. They will use the internet to plan a trip to their chosen destination. Then they will fill in the table on the worksheet page with the information they find.

AIR TRAVEL PRACTICE WORKSHEET

For the practice worksheet, students will compare birds to aircraft, like airplanes. They will first research bird and aircraft flight. How are they the same? How are they different? In the outer columns, they will list how birds are different from planes. In the middle column, they will list the things they have in common.

TRAVEL POSTER HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENT

The homework assignment requires students to get creative! They will create a colorful poster like the example in the worksheet. They must include words that encourage people to use their airline instead of a competitor’s. (A larger version of the poster is provided for more detail.) Students can use the box at the bottom of the page to sketch a rough draft of their poster before they start working on the final project.

Worksheet Answer Keys

This lesson includes an answer key for the practice worksheet. Given the nature of the assignment, students’ responses may differ, but you can use this answer key as a guide for grading. If you choose to administer the lesson pages to your students via PDF, you will need to save a new file that omits this page. Otherwise, you can simply print out the applicable pages and keep this as reference for yourself when grading assignments.