Smithsonian Institution
National Air and Space Museum: Wright Brothers: The Invention of the Aerial Age
Beautiful, well-done site from the Smithsonian on the Wright Brothers: Who were they and what was the importance of the era they ushered in? Their roots are traced back to the Great Migration. Classroom activities and interactive...
The Henry Ford
Henry Ford Museum & Greenfield Village: Wright Brothers
Biographical information on the Wright Brothers, including their childhoods, the Wright Cycle Shop, the world's first airplane, a chronology, and links to more information.
Science Museum, London
Science Museum Online Stuff: The First Flight
An excellent article about how Orville and Wilbur Wright's interest in flight developed and led to the first airplane flight.
Smithsonian Institution
National Air and Space Museum: Wright Brothers: Engineering the Wright Way
Great interactive provides students with an opportunity to use engineering skills to design and test airplane wings based on the methods of the Wright brothers. Step into the workshop and design a set of wings that will fly your glider...
Other
Wright Brothers Aeroplane Co.: Aviation's Attic
Explore this virtual museum and learn the history of the Wright brothers and their determination to fly.
Library of Congress
Loc: Wilbur and Orville Wright Papers
Over 49,000 digitized primary documents having to do with the Wright brothers and their work with flight. A timeline of the brothers' work, a family tree, and other special presentations are offered.
Ibis Communications
Eye Witness to History: The Wright Brothers First Flight 1903
Orville Wright's account of his and his brother's first three airplane trial flights.
CommonLit
Common Lit: "The Wright Brothers: Air Pioneers" by David White
A learning module that begins with the biography "The Wright Brothers: Air Pioneers" by David White, accompanied by guided reading questions, assessment questions, and discussion questions. The text can be printed as a PDF or assigned...
Smithsonian Institution
National Air and Space Museum: Wright Brothers: Who Were Wilbur and Orville?
Classroom activities, interactive experiments, timelines, and other artifacts that celebrate the Wright brothers' first flight.
National Inventors Hall of Fame
National Inventors Hall of Fame: Orville Wright
This site honors Orville Wright for his invention, in collaboration with his brother Wilbur, of the airplane. Content includes a brief biography of the inventor, as well as look at how his invention has impacted our society.
Smithsonian Institution
National Air and Space Museum: Wright Brothers: Invention of the Aerial Age
Biographical details about the Ohio-born Wright brothers, who ushered in the aerial age with their invention of the first powered airplane.
Other
Open University: First Flight: The Wright Brothers
A look at what the Wright Brothers accomplished. Includes information on the scientific experiments that they conducted, and the 1903 flyer they built to protect themselves from injury as they both learned how to fly.
PBS
Pbs: American Experience: The Wright Stuff
Companion website to the PBS documentary on the Wright Brothers and their contributions to aviation.
Other
Symposium Papers: Following the Footstpes of the Wright Brothers
A compilation of symposium papers that have been presented on the Wright Brothers which includes details about their lives, invention, and historic flight.
NASA
Nasa: Biography of Orville Wright
Provides an interesting biography of the life and accomplishments of Orville Wright. The highlight of this site is the terrific historic photos throughout the text.
Smithsonian Institution
Smithsonian Learning Lab: Stories of the Wrights' Flights
This lesson plan has students read primary materials from the Smithsonian collection written by the Wright brothers, and compare and contrast them to secondary sources, such as newspaper stories from the next day. There is background...
The Franklin Institute
Franklin Institute: Flights of Inspiration
Franklin Institute site showcases the first flight taken by the Wright brothers. Follows the Wright brothers plan to achieve first flight as they used their failures to win them success in aviation.
Polk Brothers Foundation Center for Urban Education at DePaul University
De Paul University: Center for Urban Education: The First Flyers [Pdf]
"The First Flyers" is a one page, nonfiction, reading passage about the Wright brothers and their obsession with flying. It is followed by questions which require students to provide evidence from the story; it includes: determining main...
The Henry Ford
Henry Ford Museum & Greenfield Village: Wright Brothers
Brief history of the lives and accomplishments of Wilbur and Orville Wright. Includes a chronology of major events from Wilbur's birth in 1867 to Orville's death in 1948.
Siteseen
Siteseen: American Historama: Wright Brothers Facts
Learn numerous fun facts about the first powered airplane flight by the Wright Brothers and the Birth of Aviation.
Read Works
Read Works: The Amazing Flying Machine
[Free Registration/Login Required] An informational text about the Wright brothers inventing the airplane and how that led to other aircraft inventions. A question sheet is available to help students build skills in reading comprehension.
Curated OER
National Park Service: Aviation: From Sand Dunes to Sonic Booms
Features 100 aircraft, airfields, research labs, military installations, battle sites, launch facilities, and other places that tell about people and events that made the U.S. a world leader in aviation. Highlights of this travel...
Other
Wright House: Wilbur and Orville Wright
This site is a biography of the Wright brothers and includes several pictures of airplanes.
Smithsonian Institution
National Postal Museum: Art of the Stamp: Kitty Hawk (1903)
View the artwork for a U.S. postage stamp issued in 1998 to commemorate the Wright Brothers first flight near Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. Includes a detailed paragraph about the famous flight.