Flying into history

Topic: The past in the present

Learning Activity

Schools & Teachers

Stage 1

History: Years 1 & 2

History

Students explore sources showing how flying machines have changed over time.

Key inquiry question #1

How have changes in technology shaped our daily life?

Learning Intention

We are learning to:

discuss the similarities and differences of technology from the past and sequence them over time.

Success criteria

What I'm looking for:

I can explain how one example of changing technology affected people’s lives over time.

Student Activities

Flying into history

Student work in groups or pairs to place the images of aircraft into the correct chronological sequence on the timeline.

Number of set tasks:

NSW Syllabus for the Australian Curriculum History K-10

A student:

HT1-3 describes the effects of changing technology on people’s lives over time
HT1-4 demonstrates skills of historical inquiry and communication

Students:

Comprehension: chronology, terms and concepts

distinguish between past, present and future (ACHHS032, ACHHS048)

Use of sources

explore and use a range of sources about the past (ACHHS034, ACHHS050)
identify and compare features of objects from the past and present (ACHHS035, ACHHS051)

Research

pose questions about the past using sources provided (ACHHS017)

Explanation and communication

use a range of communications forms (oral, graphic, written, role play( and digital technologies (ACHHS022)

Continuity and change: some things change over time and others remain the same
Perspectives: people from the past will have different views and experiences
Significance: importance of an event, development or individual/group

Learning across the curriculum

Critical and creative thinking
Literacy

The impact of changing technology on people’s lives (ACHHK046)

Students:

discuss the similarities and differences of technology from the past through a range of sources and sequence them over time
use a range of communication forms to explain how one example of changing technology affected people’s lives

Activity notes for teachers

Mix 'n' Match

Students:

Work in groups or pairs to place the images of aircraft into the correct chronological sequence on the timeline.

Activity answers

Date	Description	Historical Information
1. 1870	Balloon made by Mr. Gale flying in the Domain, Sydney, 1870.	Mr. Thomas Gale flew in a balloon from the Domain Sydney, over the Sydney Mint and landed in Glebe.
2. 1890	Lawrence Hargrave and his kites at Stanwell Park near Wollongong, 1890.	1880-1895 Lawrence Hargrave was an Australian inventor who experimented with kites to develop designs for powered flight. He launched a number of his designs at Stanwell Park near Wollongong.
3. 1910	Famous American magician and escape-artist, Harry Houdini flying his French-made aircraft in Australia, 1910.	The great American magician an escape-artist, Harry Houdini, achieved the first controlled powered flight in Australia in a plane.
4. 1930s	Australian female pilots, Nancy Bird and Jocelyn Howath, about 1930-33.	Nancy Bird (later Nancy Bird-Walton) was a pioneering female pilot. She was known as the 'Angel of the Outback' because she helped set up a flying medical service to help babies in country areas of Australia.
5. 1951	Captain PG Taylor, pioneer airman, and a Catalina flying boat preparing to fly to South America, 1951.	Captain Patrick Gordon Taylor flew a seaplane from Australia to Chile. Years before he had been awarded a medal for bravery when he saved a plane whose engine was broken. He climbed out of the plane while it was in mid-air and transferred oil from one engine to the other.
6. 2010	Qantas A380 Airbus, Sydney Airport, 2010.	Qantas airlines started in Australia in 1920. This is a picture of the modern Qantas A380 Airbus.

How will people travel in the future?

Ask students to:

Think about and talk to another student about what travel might be like in the future.
Draw a picture to show their ideas about travel in the future.
Write words on their picture to label the important parts.

Background information

This learning activity is designed to help students understand concepts of time, such as past, present and future

The artist drew this in 1891 and it shows his idea of what Sydney would look like in the future. Ask students to consider the difference between the artist’s idea of the future and the Sydney Harbour Bridge of today that was built in the 1930s.

Draw students’ attention to the artist’s drawing of the aircraft and point out that aeroplanes like this had not been invented in 1891. This was the artist’s impression of what the future would be like.