Sample American History Research Paper
The ‘Wright’ Way to Fly
By: Mr. Mangin
In an era when driving an automobile was hard to fathom, flying a machine in the air was an
impossible dream. However, this is exactly what Wilbur Wright and his brother, Orville, accomplished.
Wilbur Wright was born on April 16, 1867, in Millville, Indiana, and later moved to Ohio. He
was third of seven children. His parents were Milton (Dad) and Susan (Mom). He had two older brothers
(Reuchlin and Lorin), a younger brother (Orville), and a younger sister (Katharine). Two of his younger
siblings, twins named Otis and Ida died they were infants.
Wilbur and Orville were partners who owned two bicycle shops. Little did they know at this time
that they were about to change the history of the world.
“The desire to fly is an idea handed down to us by our ancestors who...looked enviously on the
birds soaring freely through space...on the infinite highway of the air,” Wilbur Wright said.
When Wilbur was almost 30 and still living with his dad, Bishop, he realized that he wanted to do
something more with his life. So he, along with the help of his brother, received lots of information and
read for hundreds of hours about flight. They also started experimenting with kites and gliders. Things
didn’t always run smoothly for the dynamic duo; learning the intricacies of the wings, wind tunnels, and
control systems proved to be very difficult to perfect.
Then on a cold December day in 1903, Wilbur’s brother, Orville, tried to successfully fly a
motorized airplane in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. Orville only managed to fly 120 feet for 12 seconds on
his first try. Wilbur nearly doubled this feat by flying 200 feet on his first attempt. On Wilbur’s second
attempt, he did even better. He was able to fly about three football fields for 59 seconds! Amazingly, it
cost less than $1,000 to create their original plane and make their dreams come true.
Five years later, Wilbur set another world record by flying for 2 hours and 19 minutes in France!
Unfortunately, he died on May 30, 1912, of a fever.
Today, flying on an airplane or taking the space shuttle to the moon are considered second nature.
We can thank Wilbur and Orville Wright for making this a reality.
Sample Bibliography
Public Broadcast System: Nova. “Wright Brothers’ Flying Machine,” Public Broadcast System: Nova,
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/wright/inventors.html, December 31, 2008.
Shrader, William E. “Wright Brothers,” World Book Encyclopedia, 1986, Volume 22, pp. 420422.
Tobin, James E., To Conquer the Air: The Wright Brothers and the Great Race for Flight, New
York: Free Press, April 14, 2003.
Wright House. “The Wright Brothers: William and Orville Wright,” Wright House,
http://www.wright-house.com/wright-brothers/Wrights.html, 31 December 2008.
American History Research Paper Rubric
Category
SelfAssessment
Points
Interesting Title
5
Attention-Grabbing
Introduction
5
Effective Conclusion
5
Date & Year Famous
Person Was Born
Date & Year Famous
Person Died (if
possible)
City & State Most
Associated with
Famous Person
Main Historical Reason
Why Person Is Famous
At Least 8 Other
Interesting Facts about
Famous Person
At Least One Quotation
or Part from Famous
Speech
Bibliography -- At
Least 1 Print Reference
(Book or Encyclopedia)
& 1 At Least 1 Website
Reference
Correct Use of
Paragraphs, Spelling,
Grammar, &
Mechanics
Total
5
5
5
5
40
5
10
10
100
Teacher's Assessment
Bibliography Directions and Samples
Book Bibliography
Author’s name (last name first), book title, city: publisher, date.
Tobin, James E., To Conquer the Air: The Wright Brothers and the Great Race for Flight, New
York: Free Press, April 14, 2003.
Encyclopedia Bibliography
Author’s name (last name first). “Article title,” Encyclopedia title, copyright date,
volume number, page numbers.
Shrader, William E. “Wright Brothers,” World Book Encyclopedia, 1986, Volume 22, pp. 420422.
Website Article Bibliography
Author’s name (last name first) or publishing company. “Article title,” website
title, URL, access date.
Wright House. “The Wright Brothers: William and Orville Wright,” Wright House,
http://www.wright-house.com/wright-brothers/Wrights.html, 31 December 2008.
Public Broadcast System: Nova. “Wright Brothers’ Flying Machine,” Public Broadcast System: Nova,
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/wright/inventors.html, December 31, 2008.
(Indent the second and each additional line of each bibliography citation and
alphabetize the first word of each author’s name.)
Sample Wax Museum Script
Wilbur Wright
Hi, I’m Wilbur Wright. I was born on April 16, 1867, in Millville, Indiana, and later moved to
Ohio. When I was almost 30 and still living with my dad, I wanted to do something more with life. So, I
received lots of information about flight and started experimenting with kites and gliders. Then on a cold
December day in 1903, my brother, Orville, and I tried to successfully fly a motorized airplane in Kitty
Hawk, North Carolina. And did we fly – at least I did. My little brother only managed to fly 120 feet for
12 seconds on his first try. I nearly flew 200 feet on my first attempt. On my second try, I did much
better! I was able to fly about three football fields for 59 seconds! Five years later, I set another world
record by flying for 2 hours and 19 minutes in France! “The desire to fly is an idea handed down to us by
our ancestors who...looked enviously on the birds soaring freely through space...on the infinite highway
of the air.” I died on May 30, 1912, of a fever.
American History Wax Museum Presentation
Rubric
Category
Points
Famous Person's Name
5
Date & Year Famous Person Was
Born
5
Date & Year Famous Person Died
(if possible)
5
City & State Most Associated with
Famous Person
5
Historical Reason Why Person Is
Famous
20
Appearance (Dress & Talk Like
Famous Person)
20
Famous/Interesting Quote
At Least 2 Other Interesting &
Important Facts
Lots of Eye Contact with
Audience Throughout Your
Presentation
Time (Between 45 seconds and
1:30)
Total
5
15
10
10
100
SelfAssessment
Teacher's
Assessment