Phonics Museum Reader #16

This is the sixteenth of thirty-one readers used in the Veritas Press Phonics Museum program, designed for first grade.

Sample Section:

Story Background:

Since the beginning of time people have been intrigued with a desire to fly. A German by the name of Lilienthal was the first man to make serious attempts at winged flight, but he was killed in a flying accident. Others followed in his footsteps but none could produce a vehicle that could sustain any long-term flight. Orville and Wilbur Wright were the first to succeed in flying in a heavier-than-air, power-driven machine.

The Wright brothers were born at Dayton, Ohio. As they grew older, so did their interesting mechanical things. Wilbur and Orville put this skill to use by operating a bicycle repair shop. Developing a flying machine became a priority after they read an account of Lilienthl's death. Since neither of them had much money, nor any knowledge of flying, the Wright brothers spent a great deal of time observing, reading and studying the principles of flight. They began their experiments with kites and gradually increased the size and independence of their flying machines. However, Wilbur and Orville did not desire only to glide through the air, but sought a means to sustain long-term flight and navigation. With the application of their mechanical skills, the Wright brothers were able to retrofit a motor on a glider and develop the first airplane. In December of 1903, near Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, the first successful airplane flight occurred.

What had begun as a hobby soon developed into a serious scientific study to build better vehicles for air travel. Within a few years the Wright brothers had created a plane that could fly a distance of twenty-four miles at a rate of thirty-five mph. Their tenacity and ingenuity changed the world of transportation.