Lighter than Air: Sophie Blanchard, the First Woman Pilot by Matthew Clark Smith

You can buy Lighter than Air: Sophie Blanchard, the First Woman Pilot here.

Citation: 
Smith, M.C. & Tavares, M. (Illustrator). (2017). Lighter than Air: Sophie Blanchard, the First Woman Pilot. Massachusetts: Candlewick Press.

To Use or Not to Use:
An engaging story your students will love for it’s beautiful writing and unbelievable protagonist!

 Themes:
Breaking barriers, brave women, brave girls, gender norms, gender expectations, women’s history, defying expectations, persistence, career education, passions.

Type:

Picture Book Biography

 Grade Range: 
3-5

Curricular Connections:

Big Ideas:

• Grades 2-3 – Career Education
  • Confidence develops through the process of self-discovery
  • Everything we learn helps us develop skills
• Grade 4-5 – Career Education
  • Public identity is influenced by personal choices and decisions
  • Exploring our strengths and abilities can help us identify our goals

Curricular Competencies:

• Grades 2-5 – Career Education
  • Set and achieve realistic learning goals for themselves
• Grades 4-5 – Career Education
  • Demonstrate respect for differences in the classroom
  • Appreciate the influence of peer relationships, family, and community on personal choices and goals

Content:

• Grade 2 – Career Education
  • Risk-taking and its role in self-exploration
• Grade 2-5 – Career Education
  • Cultural and social awareness (exploring self-identity, etc.)
  • Goal-setting strategies

 

Summary: 
My students fell in love with Sophie Blanchard’s story and the era of early balloonists right away. They were hanging onto every word! This book talks about the life of a daring woman whose passions for piloting hot air balloons in Napoleonic France defied all expectations. At the time, such dangerous work was already considered crazy, so for a woman it seemed to be downright ludicrous and impossible! Blanchard proved many people wrong (before her untimely death which, unfortunately, may have convinced some of the doubters that she was right…but your students are plenty smart enough to see through that logic!).

 

Teaching Tips:

• Sophie Blanchard still faced discrimination because of her gender. What kinds of discrimination might your students see today?
• Many people thought Sophie could not become a pilot simply because she was a girl. How did she make choices and take action to influence her own public identity? Ask your students how people perceive them. Are there stereotypes that people have about who they are? What do/can your students do to influence their own public identities?
• Sophie’s goal was to become a pilot even though many people thought she was crazy. What ‘crazy’ goals might your students have?
• Ask students to set their own short- and long-term goals. How can they make plans to achieve them? Who can support them as they work toward their goals?
• Discuss biases and stereotypes we hold today. Are there things people thing girls, boys, kids, etc. can or cannot do? Are these biases and stereotypes accurate?

 

Other Notes:

• This book is a great read-aloud for Women’s History month…but stories about strong women shouldn’t be confined to a particular time of year.

 

You can buy Lighter than Air: Sophie Blanchard, the First Woman Pilot here.

 

Daredevil: The Daring Life of Betty Skelton by Meghan McCarthy

You can buy Daredevil: The Daring Life of Betty Skelton here.

Citation: 
McCarthy, M. (2013).  Daredevil: The Daring Live of Betty Skelton.  New York: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers.

To Use or Not to Use:
A fun read-aloud that can be used to spark discussion about gender expectations.

  Themes:
Bravery, breaking barriers, brave women, brave girls, gender norms, gender expectations, women’s history

Type:
Picture Book Biography

Grade Range: 
2-5

Curricular Connections:

Big Ideas:

• Grades 2-3 – Career Education
  • Confidence develops through the process of self-discovery
  • Everything we learn helps us develop skills
• Grade 4-5 – Career Education
  • Public identity is influenced by personal choices and decisions
  • Exploring our strengths and abilities can help us identify our goals

 Curricular Competencies:

• Grades 2-5 – Career Education
  • Identify and appreciate their personal attributes, skills, interests, and accomplishments and their growth over time
  • Recognize the need for others who can support their learning and personal growth
  • Set and achieve realistic learning goals for themselves
• Grades 4-5 – Career Education
  • Demonstrate respect for differences in the classroom
  • Appreciate the influence of peer relationships, family, and community on personal choices and goals

 Content:

• Grade 2 – Career Education
  • Risk-taking and its role in self-exploration
• Grade 2-5 – Career Education
  • Cultural and social awareness (exploring self-identity, etc.)
  • Goal-setting strategies

Summary: 
Betty Skelton was an incredible woman; her story had my students hanging on to every word! As a child living in the early 1930s, Betty dreamed of becoming a pilot. Her parents, particularly her father, supported her interest in planes. Her father helped her take her first solo flight when she was only twelve years old. Despite her skills and experience, Betty was turned away from jobs as a commercial pilot and a navy pilot because of her gender. Undeterred, Betty became a stunt pilot. When she tired of flying, she became a racecar driver. She broke women’s racing records and, when she tired of racing, became a boat jumper! Than NASA called and asked Betty to join their Mercury 7 team as the first woman to train as an astronaut. Unfortunately, Betty was not allowed to go to space; the story does briefly introduce the first women to do so. The book ends with “Fun Facts”, quotes, a timeline, and a bibliography.

Teaching Tips:

• Discuss skills Betty may have learned through her endeavors. Discuss what she may have discovered about herself through her exploration.
• At the time this story took place many people had certain ideas about what it meant to be a girl or a woman. How did Betty make choices and take action to influence her own public identity? Ask your students how people perceive them. Are there stereotypes that people have about who they are? What do/can your students do to influence their own public identities?
• Betty’s goal was to become a pilot. Ask students to set their own short- and long-term goals. How can they make plans to achieve them? Betty was supported by her parents. Ask students who can serve as support systems for them.
• Have students write about a time they did something they were proud of or a time when they did something no one thought they could.
• Discuss biases and stereotypes we hold today. Are there things people thing girls, boys, kids, etc. can or cannot do? Are these biases and stereotypes accurate?

Other Notes:

• This book is a great read-aloud for Women’s History month…but stories about women shouldn’t be confined to a particular time of year.

You can buy Daredevil: The Daring Life of Betty Skelton here.