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The Wright Brothers on "Hollywood Squares"

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Subjects

  • Arts & Humanities
    --Language Arts
    --Literature
  • Educational Technology
  • Science
    --History
  • Social Studies
    --History: U.S. History

Grade

  • 3-5
  • 6-8
  • 9-12

Brief Description

Test knowledge of the Wright brothers by playing "Hollywood Squares."

Objectives

Students will

  • read (or listen) with comprehension.
  • follow the rules as they actively participate in a game to test their reading (or listening) comprehension.

Keywords

Wright brothers, reading, comprehension, game, aviation, transportation, Hollywood Squares, tic tac toe

Materials Needed

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.

Assessment

Select ten questions from the Wright Brothers "Hollywood Squares" Question List. Those ten questions will comprise a quiz. Students will correctly answer at least eight of the ten questions.

Lesson Plan Source

Education World

Submitted By

Gary Hopkins

National Standards

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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