a copy of The
Wright Brothers, a biography to read aloud; or copies of the entire document
for each student
ten posterboard cards; write a large X on five of them, a large O on the other five
Lesson Plan
In this activity, you will read aloud The
Wright Brothers, a brief biography. Students will listen carefully, because
they will play a Hollywood-Squares-style comprehension game after listening to
the story. You might even encourage them to makes note about important information
as you read; then allow student to use their notes as they play the game.
Alternate ideas:
Provide a copy of the biography for each student to read by herself or himself. You might give the reading as a homework assignment; let students know there will be a quiz (the Hollywood Squares game) the next day. Their teammates will depend on them to have read carefully.
Use a projector attached to your computer to project the pages of this online biography as you read aloud. Click the images that are included to see them larger.
The Game
For the game, set up nine desks -- three rows of three desks -- at the front of the classroom. (This will mimic the Hollywood Squares set, which looks like a tic-tac-toe game board.) Choose nine students; have each student sit at one of the desks. Arrange the rest of the students into two teams.
Flip a coin to determine which team will go first. The team that wins the coin toss is the X team; the other team is the O team. The first member of the X team chooses one of the "celebrities" seated in the game board area.
Pose a question to the celebrity; select a question from the Wright
Brothers "Hollywood Squares" Question List. If the celebrity does not know the answer, it is his or her job to provide a bluff answer that sounds like it really could be the answer.
The member of the X team who chose the celebrity announces whether he or she agrees or disagrees with the celebrity's response. If the member of the X team is correct, they earn an X and the celebrity holds up a card with an X on it. If the member of the X team is incorrect, the opposing team "gets the square," and the celebrity holds up a card with an O on it.
Next, play passes to the O team. The first member of the O team chooses one of the eight remaining "celebrities." Ask that celebrity the next question on the Wright Brothers "Hollywood Squares"
Question List.
Play continues until one team has three Xs or Os in a row. That team wins the game. For the next round, choose nine new "celebrities," and divide the retired celebrities between the two teams.
LANGUAGE ARTS: English GRADES K - 12 NL-ENG.K-12.2 Reading
for Understanding NL-ENG.K-12.8 Developing
Research Skills
SCIENCE GRADES K - 4 NS.K-4.2 Physical Science
NS.K-4.4 Earth and Space Science NS.K-4.7 History and Nature
of Science GRADES 5 - 8 NS.5-8.2 Physical Science
NS.5-8.4 Earth and Space Science NS.5-8.7 History and Nature
of Science GRADES 9 - 12 NS.9-12.2 Physical Science
NS.9-12.4 Earth and Space
Science NS.9-12.7 History and Nature
of Science
SOCIAL SCIENCES: U.S. History GRADES 5 - 12 NSS-USH.5-12.6
Era 6: The Development of the Industrial United States (1870-1900) NSS-USH.5-12.7
Era 7: The Emergence of Modern America (1890-1930)
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