ReadWriteThink: January 11, 2009: Amelia Earhart completed her solo flight from Honolulu to Oakland in 1935.

January 11, 2009

		Amelia Earhart was born in 1897. Once she began flying in 1921, she quickly set numerous women’s altitude, speed, and distance records. On this day in 1935, Earhart became the first person—male OR female—to fly solo from Hawaii to California. On June 1, 1937, Earhart began her last journey: to fly around the world. After successfully flying 22,000 miles, she failed to arrive at a scheduled stop on Howland Island in the Pacific. No trace of her or her plane has ever been found. Image courtesy of the Library of Congress

Amelia Earhart completed her solo flight from Honolulu to Oakland in 1935.

CLASSROOM ACTIVITY

Heroes come in many shapes, sizes, situations, and packages. A hero to one person is not necessarily a hero to another. This day in history provides a chance for students to explore the definition of a hero. Have students ask at least three people (one who is their age, one who is younger, and one who is older) these questions:

Who is someone you identify as a hero?
Why do you think that person is a hero?

Once they’ve gathered their interview answers, ask students to share them with the class. Have them explore, as a class, the characteristics that are repeated and the reasons for any commonalities found in the results. Additionally, ask students to note anything particularly unusual in the responses. Then, use the interactive Venn diagram to create a classroom Venn diagram with three circles, each identifying one of the most common characteristics of a hero. Finally, have students place each of the heroes’ names on the appropriate place in the Venn diagram.

When everyone has had a chance to share their findings, students can create posters that include pictures of their own heroes and words that describe the qualities that make each one heroic.

Lesson Plans

Heroes Around Us
This ReadWriteThink lesson for grades 6–8 has students examine the differences between a hero and an idol in a variety of texts.

Heroes Are Made of This: Studying the Character of Heroes
In this ReadWriteThink lesson for grades 9–12, students define heroism and use graphic organizers to compare and contrast heroes in literature.

What Makes a Hero?
In this upper elementary EDSITEment unit, students examine the qualities of a hero and identify historic figures they consider heroes.

What Makes a Hero?
In this ARTSEDGE lesson for high school students, students define “hero” and research one from works of art depicting different kinds of heroes.

Web Links

America’s Story: Amelia Earhart
This Library of Congress page includes photographs, a brief biographical sketch, and links to additional stories abut Amelia Earhart.

The Flight of Amelia Earhart
This page, part of the Women Who Changed History section of the Scholastic website, provides a teacher’s guide and student activities related to Amelia Earhart.

The My Hero Project
This site invites people around the world to publicly celebrate their heroes through images, video, and text.

What is a Hero?
Older students will enjoy these thoughtful essays from Indiana University’s Viewpoint, examining heroes from a variety of viewpoints.

Texts

Saffa, Joan (Director). 2000. The Final Hours: Amelia Earhart’s Last Flight. Smithsonian Institution.
Produced in cooperation with the National Air and Space Museum, this film provides a look at Earhart’s life and her last flight. Theories on the cause of her disappearance are analyzed, and some of her judgments as a pilot are questioned.

Sabin, Ellen. 2005. The Hero Book: Learning Lessons from the People You Admire. Watering Can.
This book invites children to explore what they think makes a hero. A downloadable Teacher’s Guide is available.

Ryan, Pam Muñoz. 1999. Amelia and Eleanor Go for a Ride: Based on a True Story. Hyperion.
This illustrated book describes the true story of when Earhart and First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt slipped away from a party to go flying.