Resources to Teach Kids About the History of Flight

My 9-year-old son has graduated from wanting to be a bus driver to being a pilot. Not too shabby. Nothing wrong with being a bus driver, but I surely can’t wait to use some of my son, the pilot’s, frequent flyer mile discounts. I have no shame in getting the perks of this new career path.

He has really been into anything aviation-related this year. I am happy to gather all I can for a history of flight unit study for early next year; he is stoked about it.

If you are in search of a topical history lesson in your homeschool, these resources to teach kids about the history of flight will be all you need for your lessons.

From the days of old, humans have wanted to know what it would be like to fly. Trial after trial of errors, mishaps, and semi-successes have led us to where we are today.

Have you seen the pictures of men in the 1800s with light wooden makeshift wings, trying their best at an attempt to soar the skies like birds? Bless their hearts. Although that didn’t quite pan out for them, their curiosity paved the way for the famous Wright brothers’ first successful airplane in 1903 (the Wright Flyer).

Take a moment to stop and think about how incredibly amazing it is that we can fly across lands, oceans, and continents. It boggles my mind. I don’t blame people who are terrified of flying; it’s an unusually incredible thing. If I stopped to think about how high passengers are in flight, I probably would form a phobia myself.

Flying is super cool for most kids. I bet they wonder about it, like my kids do, what it was that led to planes like the Boeing 787 flying seamlessly across oceans.

Check out this mind-blowing fact; In the 20^th century, the Wright brothers’ aircraft named the Wright Flyer was able to fly a distance of 120 feet. TODAY… the newest model, Boeing 787, can fly 10,000 miles in only one tank of fuel! That is craziness!

God created humans, and humans create some pretty amazing things. Researching the history of flight has me excited, as well. I have been learning some cool facts I can’t wait to share with my kids.

Here are a few cool facts and tidbits I will be adding to my lessons on the history of flight:

• In 1670, scientist Giovanni Borelli proved that human muscles couldn’t be strong enough to hold the large-sized wings needed to lift a human off the ground. (What a bummer!)

• Neil Armstrong carried a piece of the Wright Flyer with him to the moon!

• Four forces of flight push the plane up, down, forward, or slow it down; the forces are called lift, thrust, drag, and weight. (I had no idea.)

• Around the year 350 BC, people in China began to make kites using bamboo frames covered in paper and silk.

• Our journey with flight started with simple kites, then gliders, airships, helicopters, commercial planes, and now even supersonic flight. Don’t know what supersonic flight is? It sounds like a cartoon airplane speed, but it’s a real thing. Supersonic flight (breaking the sound barrier) is when something travels at a speed faster than sound or 1235kph/768mph.

• Do you know there is such a thing as a “gliding snake”? You have to Google it in one of your lessons when speaking about gliding objects! Your kids, and you, will freak out.

• In 1783, a duck, a sheep, and a rooster flew in a hot air balloon made from linen and paper by the Montgolfier brothers.

I can go on and on, but let me get to some resources that will help you in your history of flight lessons. I promise you will find even cooler facts that your kids will enjoy and even giggle about.

Check out these resources to teach kids about the history of flight in your homeschool:

Airplane Board Books for Toddlers (Aviation Unit Study) | Mommy Evolution

Aviation History Timeline-Build an Aviation Museum Printable

Engaging Amelia Earhart Unit Study for K-2 | Embark on the Journey

Aviation History Lesson | Year-Round Homeschooling

FREE Amelia Earhart Lapbook | Homeschool Helper Online

FREE First Flight at Kitty Hawk – Wright Brothers Coloring Pages | Patriotic Coloring Pages

FREE Amelia Earhart Mini-Unit | In All You Do

Books About Flight | The Chaos and the Clutter

Build A Flying Machine Stem Challenge for Kids | Views from a Stepstool

History of Flight Printable Board Game | Deceptively Educational

30 Days of History: History of Flight | Write Bonnie Rose

History of Flight Game: Early Flight, Wright Brother, Space Flight Review| Wonder-filled Days

Engaging Amelia Earhart Unit Study for K-2 | Teaching with Children’s Books

The History of Flight Unit Study | Homeschool Helper Online

Wrights Brothers Balloons Coloring Page | Patriotic Coloring Pages

The Wright Brothers Unit Studies and Free Printables

A Brief History of Flight | Quick Whit Travel

Flight Unit Study Resources | Premeditated Leftovers

Label the Airplane | Our World Wide Classroom

History of Flight for Kids | 123 Homeschool 4 Me

History of Aviation Unit Bundle: NO PREP 13 DAY UNIT! BONUS FILES | SciLee Science Depot

History of Flight Coloring Book | Rainbow Resource Center

Take Flight With S.T.E.M. | Virginia is for Teachers

Flight Unit: Man-made flight; science readings, activities, and worksheets | Box of Possibilities

Flight: The Complete History of AviationThe Wright Brothers for Kids: How They Invented the Airplane, 21 Activities Exploring the Science and History of Flight (For Kids series)First Heroes of Flight (Smithsonian Kids)Cleared for Takeoff: The Ultimate Book of FlightFirst Flight: The Story of Tom Tate and the Wright Brothers (I Can Read Level 4)The Apollo 11 Moon Landing: July 20, 1969 (24-Hour History)First Flight! First Airplane to First Spaceship – Aviation History for Kids – Children’s Aviation BooksFirst Flight: The Wright Brothers (DK Readers, Level 4)How Do Hot Air Balloons Work? (Lightning Bolt Books ® _ How Flight Works)The First Moon Landing (Graphic History)Explore Flight!: With 25 Great Projects (Explore Your World)Amelia Earhart (Little People, BIG DREAMS)Amelia Earhart (Little People, BIG DREAMS)Night Flight: Amelia Earhart Crosses the Atlantic

 

Learning the history of flight will be a pretty cool lesson for your kids. What is even cooler is that the history of flight is still being developed today. Our modern times will be bringing even more and more evolutions to flight. We can expect even cooler drones and even more incredible innovations like the AeroMobil, a real flying car with all that a car and an airplane have to offer. Skies the limit, pun intended.